The Thing About Little Boys

I keep thinking of writing a new post for the ol' blog, and then I sit down at the computer, and I can think of nothing to say.  We have been enjoying Summer.  My boys are getting so big.  I have taken too few pictures.  I'm enjoying my boys during this season, and so I'm going to ramble on about them for a bit.

Hobbes at 2 and a Half.
Boy, do I love this kid!  I am loving this age!
He is old enough to be settled, he can talk coherently in complete sentences, while still speaking enough gibberish to make his speech completely adorable still.
He sleeps through the night (mostly).  When he does wake up in the night, I can talk to him and reason him back to sleep.
He is starting to enjoy pretend play.
He is developing a sense of humor, and he loves a good joke.  (He hollered from his bed to let us know that he was awake this morning, and then when Spiff went down to get him, he found Hobbes lying down in his bed, eyes closed, big smile on his face, pretending to be asleep.  Silly kid!)
He adores his brother and loves everything that Gunner loves.
He thinks that all prayers need to be said by the person asked to pray AND by him.  He accompanies every prayer with his meandering little thoughts.  I love this.
I love that he can climb out of his crib, but he doesn't because he wants that sticker on his reward chart that I have promised him if he stays in bed.  He knows that many stickers on the chart equals mom taking him out for ice cream.  What a good boy!
He is so happy, and he simply loves life.

Gunner at 4 and a Half.
He is 4 going on 14.  He is growing up, and he's going through a new phase of independence.  He's my first, so I am figuring this out with him every new day, and I know I'm making mistakes with him.  It's hard for me because he is my little boy, yet he so badly wants to be big.  I say to myself, "He's only four!" and then in the same thought think, "Yes, but he's almost five."  He is a big kid.  I know that he can probably handle more responsibility than I allow him, and I can see that he craves it.  Yet I can't seem to let go of that level of control that I have always had with him, and I pass over learning opportunities.  Aaaaand on the other hand, he resists responsibilities we do give him because he would rather play.  (Enter the daily job of setting the table.  It is always a fight.)

And then there are the seven hundred times a day when he asks for a hug from his mama, or when he asks to sit on my lap while we read books (really, he's too tall for this to be comfortable).  He is still my little guy, and I'm grateful for that.

I love that he is excited about participating in primary.  Giving a talk means extra attention, which equals awesomeness.
I love that, while he refuses to sing during singing time at church, he listens and learns.  He sings all the primary songs at home.
He loves to read.  His current favorite book series is Tintin.
He feels his friendships so deeply, and he honestly grieves when a friend moves away.

Both of them together:
I love that they play together, when they're not fighting.
I love that it's Summer and that they love to be outside.
They love a walk to the playground.
They love love love LOVE to ride their bikes.  They zip around our cul-de-sac like they own it, Gunner on his 10-inch hand-me-down, spray-painted two-wheeler.  Hobbes on the Strider.  It is their very most favorite activity, and I hear these words from Hobbes multiple times a day: "Wear hemet, wide bike!!!"
I love their enthusiasm for life.
I love that they both equally love ice cream, candy and gum in any form.

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I remember going in for my 20-week ultrasound when I was pregnant with Gunner.  We were finding out the gender of our baby, and I was certain that we were going to have a girl.  We had a girl name all picked out and I was already envisioning my life with my girl.  Then when we found out that Gunner was most certainly a boy, I was shocked, and admittedly sad.  It took me several days to get over it, until I got this piece of advice from another mother of little boys.  She said, "You will love your boy.  Little boys love their mamas in a way that girls never can.  Your boy will be like the boyfriend you never had."

And it's true.  I do love my little boys.  I was afraid of boy things, and I am still uncomfortable with a lot of it that I just don't understand (Why do they love fighting?!  Why?!).  They are rough and tumble, and they have way too much energy, but they are sweet and sensitive, and they have deep feelings and emotions.  Having boys in my home has helped me to understand my husband, and come to think of it, all the little boys I knew when I was a little girl.  These kids are my best little pals, and I'm honored that they trust me the way that they do.   I'm also honored to have the chance to raise them.  Such an overwhelming responsibility, but such a great one, too.