A Grave Discussion

So Will and Alex got into a lively discussion about gravity, and how there's no gravity in space. They finished with:
Alex: Are we in space?
Will: No, we're on the earth. The earth is that thing that's like a ball, and space is outside of it.
Alex: But I think we're in space.
Will: No, we're on the earth, it's a ball, and it's blue and green.
Alex: What color is it?
Will: It's blue and green, beh-beh!

Just saying hi

on a Sunday afternoon:

And some outtakes, just because:

Bigger Than a Giant

Alex: "Daddy was a kid when we were born."
Me: "No, he was definitely a grownup when you were born. He was a kid a long time ago, before I met him."
Will: "Yeah, he's really big. He's five-ty-six ... is that bigger than a giant?"
Me: "Umm ... I'm not sure how to answer that. ;) Daddy is actually 45 years old. And I'm 37."
Will: "You're only 37?!? You're so little! You're a kid!"

Aspirations

Will: "Maybe, when I'm a grownup, I can HELP people!! ... But I have to learn how to do computers and stuff first."

He's got it all figured out.

This morning, Will asked for his little taggie blanket. I handed it to him and he hugged it to his cheek and said, "I look sweeter with my blanket."

Snugglebug vs. Batman

So my kids still like to rock for a minute before nap and bedtime. Before nap, I sat down in the rocking chair and said to this guy, "Come here, sweet snugglebug." He looked at me and said in seemingly genuine surprise, "How did you know, Mom?! How did you know I wasn't the real-life Batman?"

My little slugger

To put it lightly, my family has had a challenging summer. The biggest of half a dozen major challenges has been my husband's surprising heart disease diagnosis in June. He's had three heart surgeries in the past 7 weeks (the last of which was unsuccessful). This has caused a huge adjustment for the boys, with Daddy unable to wrestle and play with them like he usually does; having to be gentle with his post-surgery wounds and letting him rest a lot more than they're used to.

It's been tough on all of us, but we know God is working through it in many ways. One of those silver linings has been that Will, who has been an EXTREME Daddy's boy the past 2 years, is now bonding more with me again. He seeks out lots and lots of Mommy snuggles, and my tough little superhero-adventurer has been coming to me often with his thumb and blankie, asking me to hold him "like a baby." It tugs at my heart, since it's precious and yet I know it's because he's needing extra comfort.

Tonight though, we bonded over baseball. The boys just played their last T-ball game of the season yesterday and today Will decided he wanted to practice "BASEball, not T-ball." So we spent a good hour outside, first taking turns batting off the T and then with me pitching to him. He was really getting the hang of it!

During that hour, I got told:
"Mom, you're the BEST hitter in the whole world."
"You're the BEST mom in the whole world!"
"It's OK if I miss sometimes; I'm just learning. I need lots of practice. I'm learning from YOU, Mom!"
And when I apologized for a pitch that was too low, he said, "It's OK. Maybe we're both learning! We both need some practice."

I wouldn't trade times like that for anything.