2 and 4

“How old are they?” asked the lady behind me in line at Costco. “2 and 4,” I replied. We proceeded to chat as we stood in line. She told me about her grandchildren, also ages 2 and 4 and what fun ages they are at right now. On the way home, I considered the boys being 2 and 4. They will be 2 and 4 for only 2 short months, until Jack turns 5 in March. Time is slipping away so quickly, and more often than not I forget they will not be this little forever. I forget that our days won’t always be spent the way they are now. So, as I have other times on the blog, I thought I would record what our days are like. Because I know I will forget and I don’t want to. So, here was yesterday:

7:30 – Jack wakes up, runs to our room barely awake and jumps into our bed to wake up the rest of the way.

8:00 – Henry wakes up. He usually wakes up between 7:15 and 7:30, but he had not taken a nap for two days and was exhausted. He slept 13 hours and woke up “happy as a hippo,” as he would say.

8:15 – We decide to make oatmeal muffins for breakfast. Both boys want to help cook and get their new aprons on. Then they pull their chairs over to the counter and fight about who gets to do what.

9:00 – The muffins are done and they boys are hungry. Jack proceeds to eat 5 muffins and Henry polished off 2. Then we read our devotion for the morning (that I mean to read every morning and definitely do not) from the book, “Devotions for Preschoolers.” We talked about Jesus preparing a special room for them in heaven. Jack is amazed by this.

10:00 – We leave for Costco and listed to our Seeds worship CDs in the car. Each song is the words to a Bible verse. Jack knows most of them from listening to them so many times, but I decided Henry needs to start listening to them. Henry sings along by yelling, “spiderman” over and over again.

10:30 – We arrive at Costco. As we get out of the car, Jack takes his coat off and tells me he’s a man and so he doesn’t wear coats. We get our shopping done and decide to eat lunch at Costco. The boys are thrilled. $3.50 later and we have a hot dog and a piece of pizza.

12:00 – We’re home and we watch a new Nursery Rhymes DVD Henry got for Christmas. I also take some pictures and then Jack takes some.

1:00 – It’s Henry’s naptime. He crawled out of his crib for the first time on Thursday so I am expecting another non-nap time filled with visits from the little guy.

1:15 – Mommy and Jack time. We work on the Starfall app (a reading program) on the iPad. He is learning to read sentences. and it is so exciting to watch him figure it out. He had been wanting to read for a long time now and is very proud of himself.

2:00 – Jack’s rest time. I’m cleaning bathrooms. Henry climbs out of his crib and come into the hallway. I stick him back in his bed and tell him that’s a big no-no. I keep cleaning. Henry climbs out of his bed a second time and tells me, “It’s okay Mommy. It’s not a big no-no.” Back in bed he goes, this time he starts crying. I’m still cleaning when Jack comes out of his room and tells me his stomach hurts. He thinks it might be his 5 muffins and half a hotdog for lunch. So he just sits outside the bathroom and watches me clean. After I get done, I tell Jack he can go in and talk to Henry and naptime can be over for everyone. I hear them cracking up because Henry is demonstrating how he gets out of, and back into, his bed.

4:00 – I need to restore some order, so we read books for 40 minutes. We sit in the rocking chair in Henry’s room and neither boy moves a muscle or says a word the whole time. Maybe they should take naps and they wouldn’t be so tired. Then I cut their toenails and explain to Jack that he needs to wash his feet better so he won’t have dirt between his toes. “Oh, I never knew I was supposed to wash my toes.”

5:00 – They’ve had a snack and now they’re playing and watching another new ABC exercise DVD. Jack loves it and very serious about his exercise. Henry pays attention for about 2 minutes and says, “I’m done” and goes to play with toys. “Mommy, you want race cars with me?” he asks. How can I say no? Even though I need to work on supper.

5:30 – Nathan is home.

6:00 – Dinner.

7:00 – Bathtime

7:30 – Henry bedtime

7:45 – Jack bedtime

Our day was also filled with timeouts, hitting, talks about how little boys should and should not speak to Mommy, and lots of hugs and kisses.

During baby dedications at church, our pastor talks about our children being the Lord’s, not ours. That God has placed them in our care for just a season. They are so precious. And I am so thankful they are 2 and 4.

²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸ So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” I Samuel 1:27-28