Observations

I was looking at my son yesterday as he prepared to take a sip of apple cider. There was something about the way he anticipated the taste of his favorite drink, something about the way he licked his lips as he brought the glass towards his mouth, there was something so amazing to me about his total whole body focus that I wanted to write about it. I decided to write about the things I love so much about my children. The tiny moments that I notice because, well because I look at them so often and with such interest. So here is my attempt at naming 25 things I simply love about my boys:

1. I love the way Anders drinks from a glass. I love how excited he is when he is really thirsty and about to have a really good glass of juice.

2. I love the way Anders cries and hugs his brother when he is accidentally hurt by Kuba. There is something heart wrenchingly beautiful about the way he says "Kuba." It is as if his world is about to end and if he can just cling to his brother all will be well.

3. I love the way Anders loves his bedtime story. He is a lucky boy in that each and every night either Anna or myself will make up one or two stories just for him. Currently we are on a roll of "Lars and Anders" stories. Lars is a magical polar bear who lives in the arctic and Anders has regular adventures with him. This series has been going for a few weeks now, and was inspired by a real book about a bear named Lars.

4. I love the way Anders says "aminals." And how much he enjoys playing "animals." This game he has invented is all about imagination and the fascinating world of his favorite animals. He has been playing animals for years now, and nothing makes him happier than when one of us plays along with him. It really is the way to his heart.

5. I love the way Kuba says "a gi ga dor." (the fact that he can say a 4 syllable word like alligator already is pretty darn great too!

6. I love feeding my children. I love making Anders lunch for school and I love feeding Kuba in his high chair. It gives me great pleasure to know that they are eating well and are enjoying their food!

7. I love the color of both of my boys hair. Strawberry blond and white blond. Beautiful!

8. I love the crazy ear piercing siren sound Anders makes when he is pretending to be a police officer giving speeding tickets to Anna and me for running in the house...(yes, we are speeding just for him!)

9. I love Kuba's hysterical facial expressions and dramatic charm.

10. I love both boys love of language. They are brilliantly verbal and fascinated by words. Rhymes, songs, stories, nonsense syllables...you name it, they are all over it!

11. I love how Kuba kisses his doll. Open mouthed, and precisely on the lips.

12. I love how hard it is for my oldest son to truly master toilet training! He really is in control of this one and ain't nobody going to hurry him!

13. I love how much Anders wants to hold his brother's hand.

14. I love how much both boys love being home and playing with us.

15. I love that my boys are gentle.

16. I love how Anders says "eskited" when he really is excited about something.

17. I love how Kuba stands up in the bathtub anytime water is poured or sprayed on him. It's an immediate response and as soon as the water stops he sits down again. (we are working on this!)

18. I love that when we do a blessing on our meal at dinner, Anders wants to go first, and nearly always is able to articulate a real gratitude. Sometimes they are simply remarkable.

19. I love how my boys look. They are so beautiful and I think I will eternally think they are the most beautiful in boys in the whole wide world.

20. I love the slight accent Anders has when he says "girl," and "world." It's sounds more like "guyil" and "wuyild."

21. I love that Anders tries so hard to be a fast runner.

22. I love how eager they both are and how ravenous they are to learn.

23. I love how whenever you ask Kuba if he's hungry, and he is hungry, he says "hummy" - which is slang for "hummus." His favorite food right now.

24. I love how he says "othaside" when he wants to nurse.

25. And finally, I love how completely innocent and open and alive and amazing they are. Just witnessing the purity and intensity of their being is quite enough to make me happy for a lifetime.

Otherside....

When Anders was still nursing, he would say "otha side" whenever he finished nursing on one side and still wanted more milk. It was so cute and Anna and I got such a kick out of it. Well, Anna was trying to teach Kuba this recently, and as is true to form, he found his own way to use the phrase.
Now, whenever Kuba wants to nurse at all he just says "otha side" and ta da, fresh warm mama's milk. Lovely twist, and of course, we love it so much!

Birthday Party!

Anders turned four last week and there was lots of celebrating.

The theme of his party was blue...and there were many fun blue aspects....blue balloons and decorations, blue activities....like blue play dough with real blue candles to play with, blue doodle tops, blue "pass the parcel" game with fun little blue Japanese toys in each layer, blue ring pops (which stained every one's tongue), and even blue cake! It was such a nice party; mellow, and just so fun. The kids played and played so that even the adults enjoyed some conversation. Here are some of the visuals- including a group photo of the kids blue tongues!