This is all temporary

Some random thoughts and happenings:
No mother or father can resist the delightful squeels of a toddler wanting to play hide and seek. That's been one of Camden's favorite hobbies the past few weeks. TodayI let go of all inhibitions and joined in the fun, laughing, and squeels! He loves to stand ready to run and says, "chase me mommy" or "chase me daddy."

The cooler temps this week have made it pleasant to be outside or inside with the windows open. We've turned our a/c off most of the week. Fall is in the air and the leaves will be falling soon.

Today we were playing on the computer and Camden and Holden were on my lap. Holden was working the mouse and Camden was caressing the back of Holden's hair between two fingers. I was loving the closeness and bonding I was witnessing. Afterward Camden put his arms around Holden and they hugged. It melted me.

Holden still insists he's going to be Superman when he grows up. He loves Spiderman, Yugi-oh, Pokemon, and Power Rangers. He also likes PBS but Sesame Street is getting too babyish for him he told me a few months back. Camden loves PBS as well. They don't watch it every day. Just when we are home and there's nothing else going on.

Holden and Cliff are inseperable right now. But every once in awhile Holden will find me and we'll play a game on the computer, read a book or hug. He likes to help me with whatever I'm doing too. I was going thru some things in the basement and he was asking me questions about things I set aside and watching me. He had a friend over and thought what I was doing was fascinating compared to playing with his friend. He has this special ability of making me feel so important and loved.

Camden (nearly 23 months) has been very adamant about being read to lately. I have been getting board books at the library and I have a book shelf of toddler books he likes to look at daily. Last week he was just staring at a book for the longest time (15 or more minutes). Then I asked him if he wanted to read it to him and he was very pleased. We cuddled up on a comfy chair and talked about all the animals in the book. He has a lot of stamina and will literally keep going and going until he is crying and fussing every few minutes over something or another. Sometimes I try to lure him to sleep with a book because nursing doesn't always do the trick now to lure him to bed.

The past few weeks Camden has been quite insistent upon watching YouTube videos when I am at the computer. We found some cute cat antics that our whole family laughed about and he loves videos with music set to "Howl's Moving Castle." The way he says, "moving castle mommy" melts me! Another thing he does when I am at the computer is he will ask me to draw something. This has been a huge source of pleasure for him. I remember doing this with Holden a few years back as well. He loves it when I draw frogs. He likes me to trace his hand too. He moves it to a new place on the paper and says, "again mommy." We have one of those large handheld drawing boards that has a slide which erases the screen and he loves that as well! He laughs when he erases something we just drew because sometime Cliff or I aren't finished and we make this suprised look. And there is no telling him no when he wants us to draw for him! This is partially because his 2 year molars are REALLy bugging him lately and he has been quite fussy at times and clingy. He's not sleeping well either.

Cliff is still looking for his next job and it has been very frustrating. He should have something this coming week when the holiday weekend is over and people will be back at work filling positions. In the meantime, it has been a little tense over here. But over-all I think we are managing. Football season has started and Cliff is loving it! I on the other hand am hoping I can withstand the torture of another season of games playing. LOL. At least our TV is the basement and he doesn't watch as much as he used to in the past.

The main thing I wanted to say is, the stages with the boys are priceless. They keep me smiling all day even if I have been a little down in the dumps about lack of income lately. Even if we are totally broke and behind on some bills we will look back on these days with fond memories! We know this is all temporary; stress, toddlers, and all.
Pic 1: Holden at Beaverdale Park on 8/30/06; Pic 2: Camden on a pony ride at the State Fair in August.