My "Little Mom"

So with it being that Monday after Thanksgiving, I should have more exciting stories, but the thing that seems to be sticking out in my mind today is dear Ami Layne's propensity to mother Dean any chance she gets. This was crystal clear yesterday as I laid on the couch, attempting to catch up on sleep after an eventful holiday at our house. The kids were playing upstairs in their rooms and periodically, Ami Layne climbed down to give me status such as, "I asked Dean to play in his room because I put Rocky (a zhu zhu pet) down for a nap in my room, but he just isn't listening." She proceeded to go up and ask Dean to move again, and it seems that this time he complied because she came back down and said, "Ok, now Rocky can nap because Dean has moved to his room," with a sigh of relief. Although Dean has come to call her bossy often, she refuses to back down in her mothering, whether it be play time or caring for her brother when he is doing something she knows is not right. I don't want her to turn into a bossy little girl, but I can't help but smile at the little pieces of me I see in her expressions and words...

Ami Layne & Dean

Yep! Those are my kids' names!! Just thought I'd start with a lil' profile of each kid so you can get a feel for what they are like.

Ami Layne. My first born, she seems to be finding her own in the world of two-year-olds and beyond. Having been born into a big family, with two highly-active parents, she didn't have much choice but to get used to being around a lot of people a lot of the time. Fortunately, she loves it. Well, there are some people she gives the evil eye, but maybe that just part of being two?? She loves her little bro and likes to be the center of attention. Luckily for me, I use this to my advantage in getting her to help me with Dean when I can. Two days a week, she stays under someone else's care while I work, and doesn't like it for the first two seconds after I leave - then it's all fun and games!

Dean. Or as his sister would say, Deano. My baby boy is 8 months old, or will be in 3 days. He is full of laughs and smiles and loves to watch his sister whenever he can sit up long enough to catch her going from one place to another, one toy to another. I really am amazed at how long he will just sit and obsere everything that goes on around him. He is a little more sensitive than his sister when it comes to getting used to all the people all the time, but seems to be acclimating to that with age. He also travels to day care two days a week and I love the fact that I get an ear full of praises about him every time I come to pick him up!

So, that's a brief synopsis of my two joys. My hope is that along with building memories I can warm your heart as you read their stories...

Are you smiling yet? I am. :D

Simply Forming Memories

So I've decided to try my hand at blogging after coming across other friends' blogs. I figure it can't be that difficult, and I think in the case that I'm writing about my kids, this could be a lot of fun!

It occurred to me yesterday, as I played with my daughter Ami Layne, that there are several things that she and Dean do in an hours' time, let alone a 24-hour period, that just make me smile. Things that I unfortunately forget soon after they've passed, but that warm my heart none-the-less. I've tried to recall some things that are exceptionally heart-warming to share with my husband Mark, and others, but my memory seems to fail me most of the time.

So here it is... my attempt to catch those memories "on paper" so that I can tell Mark and others about them tonight, and for months and years to come. Who knows, maybe there will be some way to collect them and present each of my kids with them when they graduate, or get married , or something???