That Time of Year Again...

Well, it was a sunny Saturday in October with temperatures in the mid-70s, so you know what that means--time for the pumpkin patch.  Of course, the rest of Rochester thinks the same thing, so we knew we were in for a busy day at our favorite pumpkin patch.  I won't lie--it kills me knowing how much it costs us to go there every year, but given all of the activities and the fact that the kids will only be little enough to enjoy it for so much longer, it's just one of those things you suck it up and do every year. 

Sure enough, we got there in the early afternoon and the lot was parked out to the road.  Luckily we got a decent spot vacated by an early arriver.  But it was certainly very busy inside.  The good news is that it's such a giant place that people were pretty well spread out at all of the activities, and only a handful of lines were really lengthy waits.  Getting in might have taken longest of all!

After I took the picture of Craig and Carter while we waited in line, Jacob wanted in on the action!

 It wouldn't be a trip to the pumpkin patch without one of these...

We hopped on the hayride to go to the back of the farm...only it was minus the hay because they were running a couple trailers for the big crowd and this one only had benches...

Jacob wanted to go to the sports thing (more later) but Carter wanted to go to this tire climb.  He enjoyed climbing up and into the top tire and through a tunnel around it.

Then he wanted to do the corn maze.  I normally don't do corn mazes, as the one here pretty much scarred me for life nine years ago at our first visit here.  But this one was actually super easy if you didn't want to participate in a contest they're running, so we had a nice walk through the corn.

Back on the outside, Carter wanted to play tetherball.  It was right at head level so it was a bit risky, but hearing him squeal with joy as we played and he ducked was pretty fun!

We finally caught up with Craig and Jacob, who had headed over to the apple guns!

Jacob enjoyed his annual shooting and actually hit a good one off a cow target!  Carter then wanted to go to the playground, and in between climbing and sliding, he did this twice to talk to us and I couldn't stand the cuteness.

The big boys split off again to get Jacob some water, so Carter and I went to this giant cargo net climb with a fun slide.  He impressed me last year with how well he climbed by himself, and this year he had to go it while fighting off a large crowd of kids.  I was a little annoyed that he cut in line for the slide, but when I got up there after he dragged me with him the second round, I found out that everyone was cutting in line.  And here I thought educated kids were so used to turn-taking and lines from school.  Guess not.

Fun slide!

We tried this confusing color maze (you had to follow color paths and change colors at white squares, but had to go in a certain color sequence--I never did get it!) and played some cornhole (bean bags), then checked out the straw crawl.  Carter liked to throw it (I told him to stop), but clearly other kids were too as there was a fine haze of dust in the air.  Probably good we didn't stay there long.

We moved on to the big slides--a giant tube slide built into a big hill, and a set of racing slides on the other side.  The tube slide always shocks me with its speed by the end....it's crazy!  Carter loved it, of course.  I took this picture while in line the second time, and it perfectly captures the gorgeous fall day...

The racing slides are pretty high and fast, too. 

Waiting at the top!

We had a blast on them, and then Craig and Jacob got in on the act.  We raced as a family, and then Jacob decided he really liked it and did a couple more rounds himself.  Of course, he almost injured himself climbing up the wrong part of the hill, but perhaps someday he'll learn to follow our advice.  Ha.  Here he is on one of his runs...


We did yet another slide in a wooded area before heading over to the animals.  We visited the goats and got there just in time to see the cutest little baby goat climb through the fence!  A girl held on to it while Craig and Carter fed it...and it was seriously adorable.

I couldn't help but share the picture of this duck in with the turkeys.  Doesn't it look like he's got a Donald Trump coif going on?

Jacob wanted one more round at the sports area, throwing balls...

...and then we headed back toward the front as we were running out of time.  We did have a  short detour on the spider web...

Not often I get them in the same shot!

Then we visited more animals, including baby pygmy goats...

...and a cow, which Carter and I fed...

It felt funny!

We also saw this emu.  His neck was all tucked in as he laid on the ground, and just as I was trying to take a picture, he looked me like this... 

He pretty much looked like he wanted to eat my camera.

Carter was obsessed with the elevated goat feeding system (where you crank a can of food up a belt to a goat waiting on a catwalk above), but the food vending machine was out.  We were visiting with this guy instead...

...but then someone who had food offered some to Carter.  The goat up above was eager!

Carter was really into it and didn't want to leave, but there was no food left for him.  Of course, I couldn't help but be distracted by the baby piglet across the way.  Last year there were adorable baby piglets, and this year I saw online that another one was born a couple weeks ago.  I couldn't wait to see it!

It is so tiny!  The picture doesn't do it justice!

At first he was nursing, and then he was running around the enclosure like a speed demon!  I tried to catch some video to show his size relative to the staff that was in there, but was only a little successful.  The mama is so big in comparison.  But seriously...too cute!

While Carter and Craig rode the train, Jacob needed a bathroom break.  I couldn't help but snap a picture at the top of the hay bale mountain we climbed on our way back to the pumpkins.

We ended up not buying pumpkins since the line was long and we have another place we can get them.  But while we debated kettle corn and donuts (both no), Jacob asked me to take his picture with the giant jug of maple syrup...?

?????

Our next stop was our favorite gluten-free pizza and cookie place...only this time we were also getting donuts.  Real, gluten-free donuts!  We got glazed, chocolate glazed, and pumpkin glazed.  It's crazy to think this was Jacob's first real donut (not the odd frozen ones we get for special snacks, like when school has donut holes for parties) in three years!  He loved them!

Meanwhile, we always laugh at Carter stuffing his face here...

And he was rewarded with a piece of donut for dessert...

Victory!

As we were eating dinner, I noticed that the sky looked ripe for a gorgeous sunset.  And every time we get far enough south to go to the gluten-free place, mentally I know we're just down the road from Geneseo, home of my alma mater and some of the best sunsets I've ever seen.  Well, I convinced Craig to do one more mini-adventure for the day, and we drove there just in time to see the sunset.

I caught this one as we drove there.

We stopped in the parking lot below one of my old dorms, as I knew we'd have an unobstructed view there.  And this, my friends, is why we always tried to get dorm rooms that faced the valley...

It was really beautiful.  Eventually everyone was getting a little antsy in the van, so we drove back around so Jacob could see the new stadium across the street.  By the time we were back on the road, the sky was looking different but still beautiful.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good picture of it while we drove, but just as we crested a hill near the interstate entrance, we saw the most amazing moon rising!  It was huge, and apparently called a "hunter's moon".  Again, I had a hard time doing it justice from a moving vehicle, but this was the best I got. 

The thin clouds around it made a pretty glow, too.

It was a long, full day, but honestly it went really well.  We only had a few instances of the sibling rivalry that makes us nuts, and both kids were overall very well behaved.  I don't know what magic hit that day, but I will take it!

Yesterday was back to the same old stuff, with a lot of fighting (by the kids) and yelling (by us).  We actually had the kids with us in church yesterday (special single service at a different site, so no Sunday school), which was a little exhausting, plus I was cranky because I wasn't allowed to eat anything interesting all day because of a test I did this morning.  I ate only three pieces of dry toast, two giant bowls of white rice, a piece of plain baked chicken (no breading), and a crapload of salt, as that was all I was allowed to season with.  It was pretty awful, as all I wanted was something sweet.  It was nearly impossible to snack with the limitations, so I tried to keep myself busy so I didn't think about it.  I also couldn't eat or drink anything after 8pm, so I was very hungry by mid-morning this morning during the test, but now it's over and my belly is full.  While I was there I got one other test result from bloodwork on Friday, another one that makes Celiac disease look unlikely, but we'll see what today's test (looking for small intestine bacterial overgrowth) shows.  It's a good thing I have no real symptoms or else I'd be much more concerned about all of this stuff.  At this point it's just figuring out why my intestines are a bit inflamed, but at least it's not bothering me.  Just another day of 2016, the year of the medical bill...

A Night at Strong

After my long day Saturday, it was a challenge to get up and out of bed on Sunday.  I was all alone as the boys had gone to Buffalo on Saturday so Craig could attend a fundraiser, so I knew I just had to get myself ready for church, which seemed much more doable than the average Sunday morning.  I stopped at Wegmans on the way home, and the boys got home shortly thereafter.  We went out to lunch so Jacob could try the new gluten-free crust at Uno, then went to our nephew's hockey game, which happened to be nearby.  It was ironic it was near us, since the boys just came from hanging out with Craig's brother's family in Buffalo, but the kids got some bonus cousin time and it was nice to see our nephew play.  Craig and Jacob had to leave before it was over, though, so Jacob could make it to lacrosse practice, and after the game Carter and I said our goodbyes and headed home.  Not surprisingly, he fell asleep on the way there.  Normally that would freak me out and I'd be desperately trying to wake him up, but I knew we had a busy night ahead that could exhaust him before bedtime, and I figured the nap might reset him from the overtired, hyper behavior he'd had the rest of the day.  So, once we got home, I plopped him on me and we rested on the couch for a while.  It was nice, since he so rarely sleeps on me these days.  I know these times are extra limited now, so I'm enjoying them while I can.

Eventually I had to wake him up so we could eat some dinner and get on the road for our night at Strong Museum!  It's been a while since we were there, and I was excited for Carter to get a chance to see it now that he's getting bigger.  As we ate dinner, the skies were crazy.  There were dark clouds everywhere, but off to the west the clouds ended abruptly and the sun was shining brightly beneath them.  As the sun set further, it lit the underside of the clouds and made everything have this crazy golden glow.  This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice!

We met up with Craig and Jacob right when we got there, as they pulled in from practice directly ahead of us!  I knew it was a bit of a risk to have Jacob there, as he's getting bigger than a lot of the exhibits are targeting, and obviously he and Carter have a hard time playing in the same area.  I will say that he's been making more of an effort to play with Carter, but he still needs to work on his patience and temper when Carter doesn't play exactly as he'd like him to.  Baby steps, though...

I got a picture of Carter in Big Bird's nest on the way in, though we honestly skipped most of the Sesame Street area as a) our time was super limited; and b) he's never been a big fan.  He's always liked Elmo and been fine with it when we've read books with the characters, but it's never really been his first choice.  Not that it matters these days as the quality doesn't strike me as quite what it was when I was a kid...but I digress...

They had a special dinosaur exhibit, and Carter tried digging for fossils...

Then he posed with one of the dinosaurs...

...and then another

I can't remember what this little area was supposed to be, but Carter liked the lights!

I loved how he gave this one a hug!

Carter tried to sit on a dinosaur's nest with eggs, but he was a little small.  However, Craig came in--not having seen Carter try--and he decided to give it a try himself!

We moved on the superhero area, and Jacob and Carter worked together to be "zapped" with superpowers to lift this thing up.  It's too heavy until you press a button and get "zapped", and then it's easy to lift.  It was cute watching them try together.  At least we had one moment of harmony, until each wanted to do it without help!

The Toy Hall of Fame area has been upgraded since I was last there, and it looked very dramatic from below on a dark evening...

Also new since my last visit was the addition of a pinball machine room!  Many of these used to be upstairs with the other video games, but this old store had been converted to house a ton of games and a few historical and technical educational features.  Sharing was a bit of a problem here, as well, and shortly thereafter it was time for the big boys to head home, as they'd done what Jacob was into and keeping him there would only have led to trouble. 

Note the flippers flanking the entrance and the silver ball just inside

Carter and I headed into the Berenstain Bears section, and he actually gave every member of the family a hug!

We haven't read many of these books yet, just a few, but I have a couple from my childhood and we've gotten a couple from the library.  They're a bit long for him most of the time, but I guess he likes the characters!  He tried his hand at playing with money in the quilting shop...

...then moved on to the workshop...

We tried out many of the other areas, including the farm conveyor belt, the playhouse slide, and the dentist...

Pulled teeth...ouch!

In the storybook area, he sat so nicely with the troll near the troll bridge...

Then he decided to climb the "beanstalk".  Unfortunately, he got up but couldn't figure out how to come down.  At first he was just going to go backward down the up ramps, but then a bunch of kids came in and that wasn't going to work.  After a lot of yelling to him, a couple kids convinced him to follow them, and eventually he made his way back down.  Thank goodness I didn't have to climb in there myself!

We were starting to run out of time, so we ventured upstairs to another newly renovated area that focused on classic toys--dolls, building toys, trucks, etc.  I always love seeing toys I owned in the displays...

I had at least one (maybe two) of those Strawberry Shortcake dolls on the left (still in my parents' attic), and a couple of those Care Bears are in my crawl space right now.  Oh, and I did have some of those little Smurfs on the left, too.

And then there's this guy.  I vividly remember being at a gift-type store with my grandma, and I desperately wanted this guy.  However, she thought he was terribly ugly and I ended up with a little china tea set instead.  I still have the tea set (minus a couple handles), but I couldn't help but smile when I saw E.T. sitting there!

Meanwhile, Carter was having fun playing with magnetic Hot Wheel car tracks and digger trucks.  He loved scooping and dumping the plastic rocks...I could barely drag him away!

As time ticked down to closing, I asked Carter one more time if he wanted to go see the butterflies.  I'm not really a fan of butterfly enclosures because they freak me out when they fly near me (they are still bugs, after all), but 1) it's cool in its own way; 2) I can focus on taking a cool picture and that helps with the anxiety; and 3) this is the one time we can get in there for free (normally there's an upcharge), so when we're at this event I try to push it a bit harder.  He had refused previously, which I think was partly because I made him nervous about stepping on one.  But this last time I asked him, he said yes.  When we got down there, they had just cut it off, but the attendant let us in anyway.  We only had about 10 minutes, if that, so we rushed through and looked at butterflies, giant goldfish, turtles, and cool plants.  I didn't really get any award-worthy photos, but I like these...

This one was pretty big!  I freaked out a little as he moved, but he was pretty cool.

This bird was in there as well.  Cool coloring around his beak!

This one flew around for a bit and finally landed on this shower pouf.  Not the most elegant backdrop, but it does match the pink in its wings!

Unfortunately this didn't focus perfectly, but the colors and patterns on this one were so intricate.  Maybe a little too moth-like for my taste, but striking.

The closing announcement came just as we were heading down the hall and toward the exit.  We crammed what we could into two hours, but I definitely need to take him back there soon because we barely got to scrape the surface.  He was a pretty good sport despite me rushing him through, and the best part is that he went to bed just fine.  It was a little late because of when we got home, but he went right down!  It was a fun to spend that time with him, and I hope I can let him run amok there soon!

Finding Beauty in My Work

As much as this blog is about parenting, I think it's important to remember that parents are people, too, and we're allowed to have lives outside of our kids.  And honestly, I think that's hugely important for any parent, let alone one with a very challenging kid at home.  I usually find myself in a rut of just trying to survive the day and not taking the time to enjoy the little things.  I hurry through pickup because I'm eager to get home, or rush through dinner before the kids get out of hand.  I sit Carter in front of a show so I can get a few minutes of quiet downtime, or speed through bedtime books because I'm tired myself.  And all of that means that I don't have the ability to stop and admire what's around me.  If I do, inevitably I'll have two children shoving each other around the second I look back.  So, needless to say, I try to appreciate my time away, even if it happens to be while I'm working.

This past weekend was a combination homecoming/reunion/parents' weekend at work, which meant that my Friday and Saturday were pretty darn crazy.  In fact, Saturday turned into a 13-1/2 hour day!  I did a 12-hour day last year on that Saturday, but prior to that it's been a long time since my frequent 14-hour days when I worked in sports.  I'm a little out of practice, as I'm still exhausted days later, but it was fun and I could not resist taking a few moments to appreciate the activity that was going on around me.

On Friday I had a two-hour shift working a table near registration, and as I waited for the shuttle to head over to campus, I couldn't help but soak in every moment of the beautiful fall day...

After I was done with my shift, I had a little time to wander through a couple new spaces on campus before heading out to one of the quads to hear a carillon concert.  If you're not aware, a carillon is a system of bells that are tuned to be played to make music.  The library tower has one, and while I've heard chimes a couple times while on campus, I'd never heard a full-on concert.  So I wandered out to listen and see the activity on the quad.  There were giant letters spelling out our motto, Meliora (it means, "Ever Better"), and I just loved that moment of enjoying perfect weather, a lively campus, and pretty music...with no distractions.

As I was waiting for my shuttle back to the office (and my car), the sun started setting behind the campus chapel.  It's subtle, but I snapped this picture of the light coming through the windows.  Usually it's hard to see the color in those windows, so I was happy to sneak a little moment to capture it.

On Saturday morning I was back at it by 10am, and it was a cool, dreary morning, a major contrast to the day before.  Luckily I was stationed in a tent so I stayed dry, and it was actually really fun to see all of the activity in the area I was in.  After about six hours in and around that area, I had to go clean up the table setup I'd worked at the day before, and then I had to wander halfway across campus to my car.  By then the rain was gone and it had turned into a cool but decent day.  There was a Ben Folds concert happening outside along the way, so I stopped to watch.  I couldn't help but notice how gorgeous the trees were above me. 

And the leaves below me weren't so bad themselves...

After talking to some friends for a while, I eventually made it to my car and drove to my office.  I decided I felt better about taking the shuttle back and forth for my late night shift, rather than walking to some far-off parking lot in the dark at 11pm.  I changed my clothes, freshened up, and went to my car to wait for the shuttle.  As I waited, I noticed that the clouds were getting little hints of yellow on their edges.  It was a beautiful sight after such a cloudy day, and by the time I got on the shuttle and was on the road to campus, I realized that the sunset was going to be amazing!  The sky was turning shades of hot pink on the horizon, and the clouds above let off a pinky tone.  When I got off the shuttle I tried to find a spot to capture some of the color, but it turned out I just had to wait because everything was blocked by trees.  Still, I walked up to the quad and couldn't resist snapping away.  Of course, the photos don't really capture exactly what I was seeing, but they're fun anyway.

Philanthropist and Eastman Kodak founder George Eastman, from behind...

As I was waiting for a couple people to walk away so I could get the Meliora letters alone, a huge gust of wind knocked the "O" right over!  It's a bit blurry because I had to snap fast to get it before people starting fixing it, but I thought it was funny.

The chapel with some of the fun sunset behind it.  Note that those are the windows I captured up-close in the shot above.

FINALLY...I got the Meliora without anyone else in the picture!

By this point the sky was pretty amazing.  This picture almost does it justice.

One last look at the quad with the lights of Rush Rhees shining like a beacon.

The sky was awesome to watch as I wandered to my last shift.  I got to enjoy a performance by comedian Trevor Noah, and then stayed extra late to accompany a lovely alumna who got stranded at the venue, until we could find her a way back to her hotel.  It turned out to be a very long day, but those little moments of beauty from the weekend were so nice to take in.  I like having the bandwidth to pay attention to them once in a while.  That little mental recharge was nice, especially since the weekend drained me physically!  But the weekend wasn't over yet...more on that soon!

Pride and Joy

I guess we've settled into a bit of a routine lately that hasn't had anything too exceptional to write about.  Not that all is hunky dory, as we still have daily outbursts from Jacob and a recent string of not-great days for Carter, but I guess we've finally settled into the next stage of normal.  We have learned to live with meltdowns, no gluten, sibling rivalry, and whatever else...and while it never gets easy, we get used to it to some degree.  So perhaps that's why not much has been deemed blog-worthy lately.  Or maybe I just fear that I'll be too complainy if I keep talking about our issues.  Or perhaps it's because I can't keep my eyes open at night.  Or maybe we're just starting to age out of this, as so many other bloggers have when they feel uncomfortable telling their kids' stories as they get older.  Of course, almost no one reads this, so...eh, we'll see.

But I did want to take a little bit to commemorate just how fun Carter is right now.  I've said over and over here how there has always been a special little light in this kid.  From the moment he could smile, there was something about that smile that was irresistible.  Everywhere we went, from Wegmans to Disney, we were constantly told what a sweet, happy boy he was.  It still happens, in fact.  There is just something about him.

When Jacob was younger, and to some degree even now, his version of "excited" was somewhat subdued.  He could get really happy about things, like running around and playing sports, but it was almost impossible to get a spontaneous giddy giggle out of him.  And when it came to his style of play, as imaginative as he could be sometimes, there was definitely a serious streak to it all.  For example, his table hockey game may have been played by a mishmash of random hockey guys, but they had to have perfect positioning. 

Around that same time a few years back, I was dreaming of a daughter who would skip through the yard and pick flowers, or get excited over something as simple as a sparkly new nail polish color.  But then I found out I was pregnant with another boy, and admittedly I was initially pretty bummed.  But I knew that was probably a sign that I wouldn't have been the best mom to a girl, and I prayed that I would have a son who was a more perfect fit than I could ever imagine.  And sure enough, God gave us the kind of kid we needed, one who can take the edge off the worst day and make us smile when we need it most.  He's not perfect by any means (he IS three, after all), but now I know what it's like to struggle with "normal" discipline issues instead of the overwhelming, constant ones we have always had with Jacob.  We need to work on his penchant to hit and throw and flat-out disobey, but there is such a sweetness to him that I usually just want to squeeze him and freeze him right at this age.  I never want to stop hearing, "Mommy, I love you," with that perfect, sweet little voice. 

He is so sweet, so earnest, so charming, and so full of enthusiasm.  I think both of us are guilty of spoiling him from time to time because it's so heartwarming to see him smile, hear him giggle, and have him say "thank you" unprompted.  He thanks me for making dinner, or getting him a book, or turning on a show for him. He loves to give hugs and kisses and even jokes about having "only one left," but usually another one materializes shortly thereafter and the hugs continue.  I can barely get through getting him dressed or drying him off after a bath without hugging or temporarily refusing at least a hug or two (we'd never get done otherwise!).  Some nights he comes out of bed asking for one more hug, and I kid you not, he gives the hug and walks right back to bed.  He tells me at least half a dozen times a day that he loves me, often adding, "I don't want anyone to take you," which I think stems from me reminding him to stay close to me out in public so no one takes him.  He has this thoughtfulness to him that is so remarkable to me because it is something Jacob completely lacks (even now), where he thinks to give a toy or a pillow or a blanket to one of us (even if it is a ploy to stay awake longer), or where he wants to share his food, even the good stuff.

I can tell that certain "book-smart" things aren't as intuitive to him as they were to Jacob, but he often makes up for it by making it clear that he understands certain situations and issues much more clearly than I remember Jacob doing.  He just seems to make some deeper connections, and his imagination shows a lot of insight when he's telling elaborate stories about one thing or another.  I find myself constantly struck by his maturity in certain situations, with his patience and understanding beyond his years.  Last week he was having a rough week at daycare, with a few hitting episodes that caused him to miss out on three days of stickers on his behavior chart.  Speaking of which, if he is their worst behaved kid--judging by him being the only one with a chart--then they are making easy money right now.  I keep telling myself they just see more potential in him than other kids and want to nip the bad behavior in the bud now, but who knows?  Anyway, he had officially lost out on his chance to pick from the prize box for the week...except that Thursday afternoon he was with the director in a room with some older kids, and the older kids were acting like crazies.  Apparently Carter was as good as could be, completely unaffected by the chaos (plenty of practice at home, I'd guess), and the director was so impressed that she let him pick a prize.  And I guess that's what amazes me--that for all of the moments where he does normal obnoxious three-year-old stuff and makes me crazy, there are always so many other moments where I'm so impressed by his ability to just be a cool kid.  That may be the norm for most people, but it's never been our reality with Jacob so it comes as a bit of culture shock now.

Of course, he's picked up a nasty TV habit that I know we need to work on.  He loves his shows--Paw Patrol, Team Umizoomi, Blaze, Lion Guard, Scooby-Doo, and most recently Mike the Knight--and frequently asks for one to be put on.  I really do want him to play more, but when he asks nicely and I know it will keep him occupied while I make dinner (or, afterward, when I'm exhausted and want a snuggle buddy), it's harder to say no.  Sometimes that's all that I can do to keep the peace between Carter and Jacob, as they'll either watch together or Jacob will be so annoyed he leaves the room.  But mostly, that's the one time that our energetic little boy will sit quietly and allow a snuggle.  As much of a hugger as he his, he is not a snuggler.  Even at bedtime when he's all cozy in bed, he will now politely ask me to leave once the lights go out and I get one last hug and kiss.  So, understandably, that TV time is gold for a snuggle-starved parent!

But we do need to encourage him to play more.  He absolutely can and does play on his own, but he needs more of that!  He can be so cute when he plays, as he can make a story up about any random toy and combine any group of toys to make a story.  Just this morning he was toting around a plastic jumping frog, a finger flashlight, and the shooter from the Imaginext Batcave, so clearly he's got some sort of storyline in his head where those three things fit together.  Even away from his toys he will tell stories forever, and he can be very thorough explaining things to us.

Anyway, he's just a sweet kid who's generally a joy to have around.  Every time I hear an excited squeal or see a big grin on his face, I'm reminded all over again how lucky I am to have the chance to be the mom to a kid like him.  I hope he never outgrows wanting to give hugs or tell us he loves us.  Part of me wishes I could freeze him right at this age and enjoy the cute things he says and the sweet hugs forever, but I know I'd be limiting us all because his potential to be a great big kid is pretty high too, and we don't want to miss that.  I'm savoring every moment I can right now because I know it won't last long...and I remind myself of that every time it gets hard, but I still know I am one lucky mama to have a kid like him.