Some Things I Love

Elias and I shared a special moment tonight. By special, I mean we each had a bowl of ice cream in my bed after bath time. It really doesn't get much better than ice cream in bed, does it? While we were eating, he made a comment that spun my mind into a whole list of things I love. Sadly, most of these things are related to the season/stage our family is in right now, which means that they will too soon be gone. Realizing that made me kind-of sad. Realizing that I could blog the list and have a permanent record made it all seem a little sweeter. So here are some things I love about my life right now...
1. Elias says tastes in 2 syllables: "Taste"-"Es" (i.e. My ice cream taste-es really good.)
2. Both of my kids LOVE music. Elena sat on the stairs today with an acoustic guitar singing "I'm in the Lord's Army" (Yes Sir!) Elias spends countless hours on his drums and piano.
3. They both yell "Daddeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!" when they hear the door open at the end of the day. Even if they are upstairs.
4. Elias is discovering the world of math and will randomly bust out with things like "Mommy, 24+24=48" while we are driving. Elena likes to count things too. She has learned to count to 10, but she leaves out 4 more often than not.
5. Elias has been reading a book called "Trash & Recycling" in the car. He regularly informs me of some new piece of information he has learned and I typically respond with "Yes" or "That's right". The other day he said "How do you know all of this already? Did you read this book when you were a little girl?"
6. Elena has Elias' laugh. Seriously, when they both get going with a deep belly laugh, you can't tell which one is which.
7. They are both obsessively orderly and have a need for things to be organized. Not sure who they got that trait from. I guess the fact that it is something I love about them gives a clue.
8. When we are listening to the radio in the car, Elias (lately) always sings the bass guitar line. It is amazing to me to hear him pick that out of any random song and then catch on. Elena sings the ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, The Lord's Army, or Jesus Loves Me (or some combination thereof) really loudly no matter what is on the radio. Every once in a while she catches on and sings a word or two of the song that is actually on.
9. They love to go out into the backyard and play in the sandbox together. Without me.
10. They really are each others' best friend. When we grocery shop and they sit side-by-side in the "car cart", they hug each other about once every 2 minutes. Then they talk and laugh and one of them says "Hug!" and they hug again.
11. They are just so stinkin' cute! Their skin is the perfect shade of tan and their curly hair is just amazing. They both have such a unique look. I really don't think God could have made them any more beautiful. (I know, I am incredibly biased, but hey, it is my blog and I get to say what I want!)
12. I love that I get to stay home and spend each moment of this special formative time with them. I am so thankful to be able to instill Biblical teachings and values into their little minds on a daily basis. Elias starts Kindergarten in 3 weeks, and though that makes me sad for the end of an era with him, it also makes me rejoice in the new season I will have with Elena.