The summers and winters in West Texas are so severe that I get almost giddy at the first hints of fall and spring. This morning we had our first fire of the season and I cuddled up with a blanket and my coffee.
Eydie likes to help make it.
And Gavin likes to do a lot of this.
Brandon got back in town today after recruiting in California. We were all ready to see him again! I made his favorite baked potato soup for dinner. When he is gone it makes me appreciate little things like how the trash gets taken out or the dishes get done while I do bathtime. I end up staying up way too late when he's gone because once I put the kids to bed I finally get to have some time just to myself in a quiet house.
Gavin is two and a half months and smiling a lot more now. It is such a sweet stage as he starts to coo and try to imitate sounds. Eydie loves him and she makes him smile and flinch regularly. He's not sure when he hears her voice if he's gonna get a huge hug or a blanket in the face. We didn't find out the sex before he was born, but I thought it was going to be a girl and I was prepared for that. (I even had Eydie's newborn dresses hanging in the closet of the nursery.) But I LOVE having a boy. I fall more in love with him every time he looks up at me and grins.
Eydie can be very affectionate and funny and loving and trying and frustrating. My patience runs low with her when Brandon is not here to share the discipline. I don't know if it's because she's three or an emotional girl, but I hear "You hurt my feelings, Mom, all the time" several times a day. Like when I tell her to put on her shoes or stop whining or get her milk out of the fridge or don't squeeze Gavin so tight or hurry up or just go potty for crying out loud! I have yet to find a good response that doesn't lead to more tears or arguing.
But then, at the end of the day, we go through our routine of Bible story, song, lying in bed with her for "two minutes" which lasts somewhere between five and fifteen. (Whenever I get in her bed she always tells me, "But remember, don't sneeze into my face." For the record, I've never sneezed into her face.) And before I leave her room she tells me good night, sleep well, sweet dreams, don't let the bed bugs bite, see you in the morning. And it helps to offset the other stuff.
