Things I want to remember

Well, we survived the 4th of July with our sanity intact. Barely (for me anyway). The illegal fireworks in our neighborhood made it sound like we were in a war zone. And if I know anything about the kind of people that like to shoot off illegal fireworks, I know this: we will likely hear them again every night for the next two weeks. That said, I forgive you people. You just want to have fun. I get it. But I have two babies, and a sensitivity to noise. But that is not what I sat down here to write about.

There have been so many moments lately that I want to tie up in a bow and tuck away into my heart's memory forever. The problem is that I have a very bad memory. Ask my husband. He will agree and sigh in exasperation. The benefits? I live in the present better than a lot of people :). But lately my boys, oh my sweet little boys! They just brim over with immense joy and sweetness and I want to bottle it up and give it to every sad or lonely person I see. Max is such a fan of his baby brodder and loves to give him toys and kisses. And that Isaiah, all you have to do is look into those blue-brown eyes and give him a smile and he just beams. He is our beamer, and that light could penetrate the darkest of souls.

Here is a little list of things the boys are up to these days:

 

Max

• The boy continues to have incredible curiosity to how things work. I have been told by several people now how good Max is at at putting things together, and how he has great spacial and mechanical intelligence. It will be interesting to see what that becomes.
• He has a wonderful imagination. There is one baby rocking chair that he likes to turn upside down and pretend it is his car. He brings out his "keys," or something that resembles keys, and tucks one or two stuffed buddies next to him and off he goes! 
• And yes, he loves cars... and trucks and motorcycles and buses and airplanes and tractors and just anything that appears to move. We think he even dreams of these things as the first thing he said this morning was, "Motocycle? Motocycle. :)"
• Max sings! I often catch him trying to sing a tune, and it is the sweetest thing to this momma's ears. HIs favorite lately is "Ho Ho Ho HOSANNA! Ha Ha Ha ney-DIA!" (Hallelujiah)
• Two nights ago we transitioned Max to his "big boy bed" that we bought months ago in preparation for moving Isaiah into the same room. It was a bit of drama the first night, but I am so proud of him. He was a little scared to not have the security of the crib around him, but he slept the nights through, and napped there yesterday as well. 
• He will not keep his clothes on for anything. Even first thing in the morning, when it is still chilly outside, he strips down to his diaper and runs about the back yard. Even after I put his favorite clothes on! Crazy kid.
• He is copying practically everything he hears these days, for the good and bad. It is pretty funny to hear what comes out of his mouth.
• Books. The boy loves his books, even though he makes me tear out my hair when I catch him tearing the pages of said beloved books.   There are a couple books in particular that will make an appearance if you come to visit us. He loves to "read" them to anyone who enters our door. 
• "Daddy funny." Max enjoys a good laugh or joke and it is so great to see his sense of humor developing. When Joaquin does something silly, Max will grin from ear to ear and yell, "Daddy FUNNY!"
• We have moved recently to a cozy little house and Max loves the backyard. He practically lives there. He is especially fond of his bikes that were left by the home's owner. We all are so happy in our new home, and it is no secret that Max is thriving here. He used to hang on our front door handle at our condo and beg to go "Bye bye, momma!" Now when we are away from home for longer periods of time, he asks, "New house, momma? Go new HOUSE! Ride bike!!" 

Isaiah

• Our little cuddler. This boy loves kisses especially on his cheeks and tummy and will giggle and laugh all the while. 
• He loves being held, but is getting better at doing more independent play activity. 
• He sleeps! Wow, after all those weeks I have complained about being up every few hours, he has made up for it and then some! He now sleeps 9 to 10 hours straight through at night and goes down so easy. I LOVE THIS. 
• His smile, as I said above, can light up a room. And so far he is a pretty friendly little guy, granting those sweet smiles even to strangers at the store. It makes my heart burst with pride. As I sit here typing away, Isaiah sits in a bouncy seat in the corner of the room. Every so often I smile down at him and he smiles away, sticking out his little tongue and turning it up. Coo.
• He soothes. After months of me trying so hard, and talking too much about how to comfort him at night and when he is upset, he finally discovered his fingers. He will suck on his pointer and middle finger, or middle and ring. It is the cutest thing. And I am so happy to be rid of those awful pacifiers. They served their purpose I guess, but when they fell out constantly, I was through.You may say that I will sing a different tune if Isaiah is still sucking on said precious fingers in a couple years. Well, time will tell, you never know.
• He does not like tummy time. Like, not at all. We are working it, but he protests pretty quickly every single time, even when he is in the best of moods.
• At five months old, Isaiah is still sleeping in his bassinet, but I hope and plan to move him over to the crib in the "boys room" this week.