Oh Christmas Lights, Oh Christmas lights!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle All the Sleigh!  Hey!  Oh Christmas lights, Oh Christmas lights, how lovely are thy branches...these are the current favorite songs my Pierce man is singing.  It is so cute to hear this little voice singing his Christmas songs while we do everything - playgrounds, shopping, baking, cooking, taking a bath, I think you get the idea.  Carter joins in too - he is very quick at adding in the HEY!  in Jingle Bells.  :)

We have been so incredibly busy since our excursion out on Wednesday night.  And wait, come to think of it, today is only Friday?  This week has been moving at what seems like a snails pace...honestly.  So here are some highlights of the last two days.

Thursday morning, Pierce wanted to help me make scrambled eggs.  And silly mommy used a bowl that did not have a high side to it, since I was in a hurry and was trying to rush things by just grabbing a bowl.  I don't know why I was in a hurry, but I have felt like we have had to rush all week.  Anyhow, as we get to cracking the last egg, Pierce accidentally dumped the entire bowl of eggs on the floor.  He is crying because he spilled eggs on his favorite pants, and I keep telling him it's alright.  We clean up the eggs, go to make some more, and there are no more eggs in the house.  Carter is now wailing since he is hungry, and Pierce was crying...so I said forget it, and took the boys to purchase some egg and cheese wraps from our local coffee chain.  And since we were in the car, I decided that I did not care if it was 8 am, we were going to Rockwell. 

It did not dawn on me until we arrived, that the playground is metal...metal and moisture creates ice.  Very slippery ice.  I watched Carter fall first, causing me to also fall as I tried to catch him.  His reaction?  He laughed.  And then Pierce caught on that he could "skate."  So he decides he is going to practice for hockey, and the two of them just kept playing on the icy playground skating all around, back and forth.  There were plenty of tumbles, but they just laughed and loved it. 

Once we got back form the playground, I let the boys do what they wanted to do.  I dubbed it their free time, so of course they wanted to watch Yo Gabba Gabba.  It gave me a chance to relax, enjoy my coffee, and get some laundry done.  Plus, I have decided that yes, I understand the boys are young, but they also have to learn to entertain each other and themselves.  I have stopped breaking up the fights over not sharing.  They are now figuring it out...and it usually ends with, "Here Carter.  I'm sorry.  Can I show you how to play with it?" 

Pierce is also becoming very clear in expressing his independence.  I am not allowed to help him put on his clothing, even if it is backwards, and I cannot show him how to do it either.  I have also discovered that if Pierce asks me a question and I give him the answer he did not want to hear, he will tell me I am wrong and that it is xyz.  While this can be a bit aggravating after being asked the same question 3 times in a row, and being told I am giving the wrong answer 3 times in a row, I do absolutely love the fact that he is growing and thinking.

When Pierce woke up this morning, he decided that he wanted to make an omelet.  He picked out the peppers and onions, and I held the knife with him to let him chop the veggies.  He was so proud of himself, and ate all of his breakfast!  A little bit after Carter woke up, I told him that Pierce had made everyone an omelet for breakfast.  He looked at me and said, "No."  I was shocked!  He has never said that before! And he was serious...he did not eat it.  At all. 

However, the boys and I did make peppermint sugar cookies this morning, and I need to figure out how to make a whipped cream frosting.  (It just sounds good).  I was measuring out the flour for Pierce to mix, and he decided it would be much more fun to get the flour everywhere!  So I gave him a container of flour, asked if he wanted to share with Carter (of course he did), and let the boys go at it while I made the cookies.  Let's just say, the floor was white when it is supposed to be this mauve/tan/gray tile.  Totally priceless, but they did help clean.  Which is awesome.

We met with Nana to ring some bells and figure out the timing on a piece of music for our mass on Christmas Eve.  The boys love ringing bells, and Pierce loves going to church.  He is finally starting to understand why people go to church, and I know it is going to come to a point where he is going to want to go every Sunday.  But knowing my child, he is going to want to stay with the adults, not the children.  And the highlight of the day?  The boys and I were able to go out to lunch with Nana.  :)  They certainly love their Nana time, and I do too. 

Now, the final new thing this week that has melted my heart, is Pierce and his stance on how much he loves me.  There is a line from an ever popular children's book that is as follows, "I love you to the moon and back."  I have said this to Pierce every night since he was a baby.  He has finally caught on to where it comes from, and now he argues back in a very playful way, "No Momma, I love you to the moon and back."  The child finds a way to melt my heart more and more everyday, when I did not even know it was possible.  Carter is turning into a massive cuddle bug lately as well, and he keeps melting my heart every time he looks up at me and goes, "Momma!" and then runs into me with the biggest smile on my face. 

I have just realized how big of an entry this is, so sorry.  However, I feel like my children are exponentially growing everyday and I want to write all of this stuff down.  After all, one day, I will entrust them with this blog and all of my insights, thoughts, self criticisms, and happiness.  Love you boys, and I always will love you to the moon and back.  That is one argument that you will not win.  :)