The Little Things

Like Max climbing in bed with me at 2am and telling me "I brought my robot airplanes!" Comfy.

The way Charlie pats me on the back when he gives me a hug,

Anna planning a birthday party for her doll and making a list of things we will need for it . . . balloons, make up, cake or pie or cup cakes, glitter, and pink frosting.

The signs on Anna and Max's rooms that say "Jesyz Hawz" (Jesse's House) and "Wudyz Hawz" (Woody's House).

The blue house Anna made out of tissue paper and half of a glue stick.

Charlie, in the bathtub, splashing and laughing until he tips himself over.

And Max when he prayed (sincerely) that he would not wipe his nose on the couch.

It really is the little things that count

One-year-old Charlie

Today is Charlie's birthday! His first year has gone by painfully quickly, and I am a little sad that he is already one. We had some family over for cake on Sunday to celebrate, which was so much fun. I always feel so blessed when I think about our amazing families and how much our kids are loved!

Here is what I want to remember about one-year-old Charlie. . .

• Charlie is such a happy boy--he is happy to hang out with mom in the kitchen with all the canning jar rings and tupperware lids. He is happy to crawl after his big brother and sister and be part of the action. He is happy to hang out in his bed when he wakes up and talk to himself for a while before joining all the action again.
• Charlie likes to eat bananas and peas and cookies, of course, but most of all he loves cheese.
• He loves pictures of his family. If Charlie is sad, he feels better when we stand by our family picture in the hall so that he can point at everyone while I say their names.
• Charlie growls really loud. Along with that very important animal noise, he also says num-num, dada, mamamamamamamamamamamaaaaaaaa, and na-na (anna and/or max).
  
• Charlie is a funny boy. He pounds on his chest like Tarzan and claps and dances and has lots of energy.
• Charlie sometimes bites. Anna and Max have both been the victims of some pretty painful looking bites. In Charlie's defense though, his big brother and sister love him so much that they are usually always right next to him, or right where he is try to crawl, or occasionally sitting right on top of him.
  
• Charlie still takes two naps everyday and sleeps all night. We feel lucky.
• He loves his grandmas and grandpas and uncles and aunts. He also loves anyone who will wave at him.
• Charlie pretends that his is talking on the phone all the time. If he doesn't have a hold of something that resembles a phone, he just uses his hand. He says "Huh, huh, oh, oh, bye!" It is so, so, so adorable.
  
• He wants to be a big boy--we went swimming a few weeks ago and Charlie was not sure about the water, he was hanging on tight to me and fussing and then I told him "Charlie! You're such a big boy!" He stopped crying and sat up and looked so proud of himself.
• Charlie gives good loves and kisses and sometimes bites, like I said before. He loves to cuddle and rock-a-bye in the big chair in his room, and I hope that lasts for a while longer!

Happy Birthday Charlie-boy! We love you so much!

Three-year-old Max

What I want to remember about three-year-old Max

• For Halloween Max just really wanted to be himself more than anything I suggested. He kept saying "Mom, I just really want to be Max." We finally settled on Max the Astronaut.
  
• We call Max "Maxie" a lot (which I'm pretty sure I promised Taylor we wouldn't do when I was lobbying for the name Max--sorry.) Anyway, Max knows how to spell his name M A X, but he prefers to spell it MAXC for Maxie, and he makes me write it that way on all his important stuff.
• Max is mostly all about rules--meaning he likes to make them up, and enforce them, and point out when I am breaking them. He is also pretty good about following them himself but for those times when it's hard, he really loves the phrase "I think that was an accident."
• Max is organized. He will take any spare container he can find because his goal is to have each of his earthly possessions stored in either some kind of box or a ziplock bag.
  
• I never quite know what Max is thinking, and he thinks a lot, and his thoughts are original. One day when we came home from church I asked Max what he learned and he said to me "I learned that Jesus wants me for a sunbeam and Mary wants me for a little lamb." Another time our home teacher was doing a great job of telling the story of Jonah and the whale to the kids and at the end he said "So what can we learn from that story?" and Max yelled out "That whales have bellies!" That's what he learned.
  
• Max is determined and focused and intense. He will do what he decides to and that is a great thing about him.
• Max is strong and has big muscles. He helps me carry lots of heavy things.
  
• Max and his daddy built the most amazing box together a couple months ago with their tools. They are good buddies and a lot alike.
  
• Max likes aliens and monsters and scaring his sister and mom. He also asks for hugs a lot and makes sure that everyone has a toy to play with and a treat to eat. He sings the best lullabies to his baby brother and plays the most exciting games with Anna.
  

We love you so much Max!

Bathtime