The clock is tick tick ticking

It's hard to believe that my boys are already 3.5yrs and 9 months old!  It's also hard to believe that I started this post 2 weeks ago, and am just now sitting down to finish it.  I love my boys, and I love my life, but I wish I could just slow the clock down a bit.  I mean, these smiles need to be appreciated over days and months, not just a few short hours on a Saturday afternoon.

I'm feeling the same challenges in parenthood that I felt after a few years in the peace corps.  My life is so routine that I forget to document the small moments.  I know they are special, but when viewed in the day to day perspective they feel so common that I will never forget them, and yet I'm so afraid that one day when I'm old and gray and the boys have families of their own that I will have forgotten how precious they are now, in their small, sweet, happy perfection.

Speaking of sweet, happy perfection - McConnell's is still a family favorite.  Thankfully Evan is just happy chewing on a spoon, because it's hard enough to get my little bit of ice cream when Daddy and Big Brother are in the mix.

My favorite parenting strategy to date is to not let the kiddos know that something exists.  Who needs ice cream when this little guy is perfectly happy with kale?  9 months old and no teeth yet, but that doesn't stop him from eating everything he can get his chubby little hands on.

Elliott is a budding everything - actor, speller, dancer, and artist.  Of course his favorite toys are the unconventional ones, and he spent an entire afternoon coloring his new "fort".  I tried to explain Michelangelo to him, but he just gave me a blank stare and kept on coloring.

Evan is a happy go lucky kid, and his smiles keep getting bigger.  No, that's not a sad face, his smile is just so big it's taking over his eyes.

He's not crawling yet, but is so close!  You would be amazed how long his reach is when he sees something he wants (which just happens to be everything in sight!).

And another unconventional toy - this spray bottle has been in constant use since August.  Most often it's a fire fighter hose, and Steve keeps him occupied by spotting different "fires" in the back yard for him to go put out. 

The pillows and blankets on our couch come in a close second to the spray bottle.  On this night they were a boat that the boys took out for a quick spin before dinner.  Elliott and Evan are two peas in a pod, and already have so much fun together.  Elliott loves to envelope Evan in big hugs and kisses, and Evan just lights up when Elliott comes into the room.  All Elliott has to do is say a few words of gibberish to get Evan rolling on the floor laughing.

We have added "5 minute clean up" to our evening routine to counteract the disasters they make together.  We set the timer and everyone cleans up as fast as they can (which is snail pace for Elliott), and when the timer goes off we do the "happy 5 minute timer dance" to the alarm song.  We even have a song to sing while we clean, which goes "the clock is tick tick ticking..." over and over.

Yes, our moments may be small, but I have never been happier.  I love these guys!