life

Our lives have been more or less the same as always the past few weeks; lack of school can give life a monotonous feel. The boys have been giving us a run for our money, though. Lucas grows increasingly mischievous day by day. His antics are beginning to wear a little thin... I can only take so many new "skills" in one day. Such as the skill of climbing on top of the changing table in the middle of the night. Or the skill of jumping off the changing table when caught. Or the skill of taking all of the baby wipes out of the container, shredding them to minuscule pieces, then shoving them back into the container. Or the skill of banging the sippy cup "just right" to allow the milk to freely flow all over mom's couch. Ps. These awesome life skills were mastered in a single day. Joel has been more aggressive? violent? abusive? I hate to use such words, but there is no nice way to describe it. Blatantly hitting or smacking us. Banging toys against Lucas's head (luckily, the kid has a ridiculously hard head). Throwing things with all his strength. I don't see the potential for a bully; just average 2 yr old behavior. But tiring none the less. Besides, Robert and I are bigger. Does he really think he is going to win? Luckily all of this rough play makes for sound sleeping... sometimes smack dab in the middle of lunch...

This last picture was caught in mid jump. So glad he has courage...

With an increase of aggressiveness, Joel has shown an increase of love. He will say "I love you" without being prompted. It is always heartwarming to hear those three little words pop out of his mouth without any warning. And he gives the best hugs and kisses, too. See... it balances...