Just cute photos

There's no real point to this post except to share some photos of my deliciously cute boys. There has been a ton going on in my life this week between work and family and sometimes at the end of the day, before I go to sleep, I flip through my photos just to see Ashton and Alex's little faces. I think every mom would agree that there's a certain magic that happens when your kids have been in bed for a few hours and you've had some time to yourself (and perhaps a glass of wine) (or two): the day-to-day challenges like the annoying whining, dinner chaos, dirty messes and overall exhaustion they wreak upon your life don't seem to matter. I forget that in the two seconds I took to go to the bathroom today, Ashton took his blue crayon to the walls and living room cabinets and while I was scrubbing to get it off, he dumped his snack cup filled with goldfish onto the rug and stomped them into oblivion. The stomping woke the baby up, which screwed his sleep schedule for the afternoon, so even though I put him in his crib he was screaming his face off with overtiredness while I was trying to wash Ashton's hair at bedtime. And washing Ashton's hair is a knock-down, drag-out affair these days. There was water all over the floor and let's just say my stress level and blood pressure were not low.

But....but. Now that I'm in that magic zone and a few hours removed from the experience, it doesn't seem that bad. So when I look at their pictures, all I feel is love. Here are a few of my favorites from the last week, especially this first one.

Owen is Ashton's very best friend and they were swinging together on a gorgeous summer night - you can just see the joy on Ashton's face and it melts my heart. Also on Ashton's face is dirt, because they were playing in a big pile of it.

One day last week, there was nothing Ashton wanted to do. He didn't want to go to the library, take a walk, play trains, go scootering...nothing. I suggested we make some cookies for the big machines (read: the construction workers that have been digging up our road) and he insisted on doing all the mixing himself.

I also just bought him his first pillow. The other night, I checked the monitor before going to bed and I could NOT make out what was going on in Ashton's crib. Some weird shadow or shape?  I went in and found this.

How on earth? 

Alex does not quite give me the material that Ashton does, but I get my best pictures of him when he is in the tub because he is so calm and happy.

That was actually his last bath in the kitchen sink. I bought a sling-seat-thing so he can go in the big bathtub with Ashton now (have you heard the phrase, "two birds with one stone"? ;) ) This was their first joint experience there.

The funny part was, I kept policing Ashton to make sure he didn't pour water on Alex's face and then by accident, I did it :-/ 

Oh, and Alex rolled over a couple days ago. Like, for real, on his own! I put him on his playmat and then found him a few moments later propped up on his little forearms like he had been there forever and was very displeased with how long it had taken me to find him.

So those are my boys lately. My boys who, because they have been in bed for three hours and I've had some wine, seem quite perfect at the moment.

Good night :)