my favorite(s)

when henry was a baby i would always tell him he was my favorite. i would be holding him, cuddling or playing and just blurt out “i love you. you’re may favorite”.  when i got pregnant again, i knew i had to cut back on saying things like that, fearful that if i said it to either of my kids when they were old enough to understand its meaning, it could potentially be hurtful. but sometimes i slip. i have a moment when i am so overcome with the joy, the emotion or the novelty of having a child and being a parent that i blurt out “you’re my favorite” to my kids. because they are. they are my favorite. having kids is my favorite. being a mommy is my favorite. here are some of my favorite things about henry right now:

i love how when he laughs, he throws his hands up in front of his mouth.  sometimes, if you tell him something he doesn’t want to hear or doesn’t understand, he will scrunch up his whole face and go “huh?”. he drags chairs and stools all over the apartment so that he can reach all the counters, tables and shelves that are too high. he calls his pajamas “jaamaas”. he loves watching movies, but he loves changing the dvds more. so when we sit down for a movie, it really turns into 5-20 minute snippets of several different ones. when he is hungry, he says “fuud”. when he is content and having a calm moment he will walk over to his sister and give her a kiss without anyone encouraging him to. he loves ice cubes!  he always wants a cup of water with an ice cube. and a straw. when i reprimand him he asks for daddy. when daddy reprimands him, he asks for mommy. if he can’t find bryan in the apartment, he says “daddy where?  daddy working”. he asks for bacon all day (turkey bacon to be specific). if he and i get a treat, it is usually a chocolate chip cookie. he picks out the chocolate chips and gives me the cookie. the only place where he eats the whole thing is crossroads. he also has a thing for horizon chocolate milk and he can spot the packaging from a mile away. he loves being tickled. he says “tankyou” all the time, but he doesn’t always use it appropriately. regardless, i always tell him he is welcome. when i show him photos of himself and ask him who it is he always says “henry” or “you”. he gets “me” and “you” mixed up.

some of my favorite things about cora:

she is so chipper when she wakes up in the morning. i love it! she actually laughs when i tickle her belly (henry never would with me when he was her age). she loves being held and i love holding her. she really seems like she always wants to be in on the action – whatever henry is up to, or even henry and roy together, she is just so interested. he self soothing mechanism is scratching. she will scratch the side of her pack and play after i put her down until she falls asleep. her smile is so big. and when she smiles her biggest smile, she loses her eyes. she loves me much more obviously than henry ever did.

some of my other favorites right now, in no particular order:

this awesome acrylic sign bryan made that i painted and stuck above the stove. soda water with ice and lime. the awesome cake plate my mother in law sent me. this photographer, her blog, these subjects in particular and their house. i want everything in their house. all of it.