A Check up on my boys

I haven't posted in a while about my boys and their personal struggles and triumphs. I want to always document this stuff, one, because I hope they'll benefit from the family history and they love I have for them and how it evolves but also because I'm going to have more of these kid things and I want to remember how I handled things, whether it worked or not and how I can be a better mama.

Liam is growing up quick, he's conversations have become more intellectual lately, its gone from talking about whatever is on his little mind to talking about the people around him and asking them questions, then absorbing the answers. He asks me how my everything is going, my date night, my day, my appointment, making dinner, lessons, everything, he wants to know how it went (which I'm sure stems from our nightly reviews where we talk about our days I know I feel good when we talk about our day at bedtime so I think he does too and he wants to create that feeling throughout the day.) My favorite thing he says right now is when he sees that I'm doing something for him, like packing coloring books in the diaper bag for him to color at the doctors while I get adjusted, he says something like, "mom? you packing that coloring book for me for our day?" "yes, Liam" "WOW! Mom, you sure do a lot of things!"
He validates me and it's awesome!

I also love when he stops mid-complaint to readjust his approach, if he starts to complain about not being able to go outside, he'll start whining then quickly stop, pause a moment and say something like, "Mom, can I please get me shoes on to go outside, please." To which I can almost never say no, especially when he throws in too many pleases. He's also gotten into the habit of taking responsibility for "his Fault" I think a few times, I've said "it's ok Liam, it was my fault." SO now he's concerned with whose fault it is. Luckily, it hasn't come down to him placing blame or bestowing fault, he has just recognized when it was his fault. Like, "Sorry I spilled my milk mama, I made a mess and it was my fault." to which I assure him that accidents happen then he assures me it was his fault, not mine! Its hilarious and very overly polite.

He's loves Matix and often wakes him up in the middle of the night just to see him. (we're hoping that love manifest itself in a different form soon, we could do without the midnight meet-ups). Liam can often be found putting his full body weight on Matix, luckily Matix can hold hid own but Liam struggles with tenderness.

Liam LOVES Tarzan and the Lego movie, and unfortunately he gets some extra screen time while I teach lessons but if he comes out of it singing, "you'll be in my heart" of "Everything is Awesome", I'm ok with it. He LOVES scripture stories and reading books, Pizza, visiting dad at work, jumping from the couch to the floor, wrestling Matix, the car wash, running, singing and playing with friends.

Liams recently been struggling at night time, whether its been getting up and waking his brother, finding him on the couch in the morning, or the foot of our bed, or having bad nightmares, it's been a struggle. I've prayed for him because I feel his pain and his fear and I know how debilitating fear can be, especially when your little mind is still learning the difference between reality and fiction. I myself struggled with nightmares but I was much older, I take comfort in knowing that he wont remeber hardly any of this since he's so young but I know the way I teach him to deal with it and learn from it will be the foundation of his relationship with fear and faith. He's fascinated with fear because its such a new, uncharted emotion for him. He says things sometimes that sound morbid or scary because I know he's just trying to piece together in his mind how he should interpret certain things, like death, bad guys or someone who intentionally chooses to make someone sad or hurt. I think he's just trying to make sense of these basic life situations that go against what he's taught but I hope he places these feelings in his mind where they belong and with the compass of truth and light facing North.

Liam is making friends! It's been a struggle for us, admittedly because of me. We don't have many friends in our area and the few we do don't do play dates...at least not with us, so its been a struggle to get him socialized and in environments with other kids his age but I've worked hard at helping him make friends at parks and being kind and making friends at nursery. Liam's always been very concerned (yeah i know i know, he gets it from me) and I feel horrible about it. I feel like its my fault that he's so worried about who's doing what, if it's right, if its safe. My prayers for him always include me pleading for him to just enjoy if 2 year old life. It's been a struggle for both of us as we learn to let go of things out of our control and I learn to focus on what we can. As a parent, it's been a learning experience and very humbling as I see one of my faults, cripple someone else for a change. He's doing much better and I'm appreciating his happiness more than ever as I see him make new friends and enjoys making them happy. He really is a sweet heart and his friends are lucky to have him, just as he is so very lucky to have them.

Some of my favorite words he says:
Salsalad (Salsa)
He uses the word 'Missionary' as a verb, like "when Kenna is done serving her missionary, she'll come babysit me"
Earthly is Early
Instead of saying 'alone' or 'by myself' he says, "I wanna do it by my lonely"
He always says, 'just a minute ok' and holds out both hands like he's saying stop

MATIX is still eating everything in sight and smiling all the day through. He is 8 months now and I can hardly believe it! Mainly because his milestones are coming at much different times than they did with Liam. Matix is easy to please, he can be happy with a block for 20 minutes but what makes him happiest is being held or wrestled with. Liam isn't a "soft" boy, he's a little more rough and wild but Matix is definitely his brother. While Matix is much more cuddly and loves to be snuggled and tickled, he still has a rough, wrestle-loving side left for his brother. He babbles a lot and I adore that it's mainly 'mamas' that I hear. He's starting to play with his tongue a lot and watches us like a hawk when we are talking, he's very intersted in conversation, looking from person to person as we talk. He's no were close to crawling, in spite of all our efforts. He is perfectly happy spinning around on his belly and letting brother get him everything he needs. I'm ok with his lack of mobility for now. He's grasping food and getting better at putting it in his mouth, he has no problem finding motivation to learn how to shovel more food in. He loves avocados, oatmeal and tomatoes, but he'll eat anything really. He takes 2 really good naps a day and for that I'm so so grateful since Liam has pretty much stopped napping all together. Matix LOVES to be tickled and anticipation is KEY with him, he loves predicting when we'll come nuzzle our noses into his ribs or squeeze his chunky thighs. His smile still makes us laugh, he's started to drop his chin to his chest and look up as he smiles his biggest grin and its hilarious!

Matix goes my Matty-boy around the house, he whips around really fast when he hears his name and gives that famous half-smile that makes us all melt. Matix is very observant and keenly sensitive to those around him, if there is happiness, he not only wants to join in on the laughter but i can see it in his eyes, he wants to know why! He looks around all the time trying to understand why someones sad, mad, happy, scared, excited. He see's the reaction and wants to know its cause first. He gets frustrated when he isnt in on the joke but is quickly pacified when he gets included. I'm try to teach Liam that thats how everyone feels and we should include everyone. Liam has started explaining things to Matix and its adorable. I hope he'll always include him and make him feel like an important part of whatever he's up to.

   His hair is getting long and thick, i can't believe i cut it 4 months ago, i cant imagine how it would look if I hadn't cut it. We like putting it in a mohawk and Liam insists on matching, but sadly his curly mess wont stay stick-straight like Matixs. A few months ago, we noticed that Matixs eyes were changeing colors but unlike most babies, one of his eyes was green on top and blue on bottom. We assumed it was in the process of changing but it's been 3 months and its still divided in the middle, 1/2 green and 1/2 blue. I LOVE it. It's one of those special things we all have that sets us apart.

My boys are growing so much, I have so much hope for them and so much happiness in their learning!