Stair Steps

Aren't these kids cute? This is Braden and Landry with their cousin Grace. She turned 5 on Sunday, so we did the fun kid stuff for her birthday. That was actually our 2nd party of the day, the first one being for a friend of ours that turned 3! Kid birthday parties are really fun, but they are also totally exhausting!

One thing that that I really enjoy right now is the weekday mornings. The kids have been going to bed a little later than normal, so when they wake up they are still very sleepy. They walk straight to me, no matter what part of the house I am in. They walk with their eyes closed, heads hung down, with a moping little stride. They get to me and just go limp. It's so sweet because they just want to be held and hugged. It's nice to still be needed that way! It seems that so many areas of their lives have become independent, but this is one time that they really want and need momma at the same time.

I love our little routines in the morning. Braden always holds the door for us going into the preschool. Landry and I both say, "Thank you, gentleman." as we enter. If we don't, he'll say, "What about thank you, gentleman!" We drop Landry's lunchbox at her door and she "helps me drop Braden off" at his classroom. This is her secret way of getting extra time with me! Thursday is donut day. No matter what, the kids get donuts on Thursday. Running late? Too bad. No cash? Rob their piggy banks, because skipping donut day is not an option. Landry always gets donut holes and Braden changes it up every week. Landry just can't venture away from the holes. Mornings are great, and I have to remind myself of that when we are running late and struggling to get all the dressing and hygiene done without gobs of whining about being hungry and tired and wanting to take this and that to show-and-tell. Whoo, what run-on sentence. But life can be like a big run-on sentence somtimes!! Know what I mean?