My favorite!

I saw this on a mommy blog this summer and thought, "What a cute idea!" A mom wrote a list of reasons why a certain child was her favorite child.  So I got to thinking, "Which one of my kids is my favorite."  I pondered this for a while going back and forth and then picked.  The winner is..........

Elle, you are my favorite.  You were my first born.  You were my first little girl.  You were the one who got my undivided attention for almost 2 years. I loved you with my whole heart the second I found out you were inside me.  You were my best kept secret inside my tummy.  I love our time together.  I love that you ask me to take you to the red store (Target) so we can have just girl time.  I love that you know when we go to Target to fill up a diet coke for me and red slushie for you.  You are so full of love for all those around you.  You are excited to learn.  You are the most sociable person I have ever met.  You see the good in everyone.  You are also not afraid of anyone or anything-which scares the life out of me!  You have the ability to draw people into you.  When you do, you introduce yourself with, "Hi, I'm Elle Lynn.  Why are you here and when are you leaving."  You are brutally honest with people.  Like the time you asked the lady at Walmart what was wrong with her yellow tooth sticking out.  Or the time you told your preschool teacher you couldn't wear the dress-up clothes because there might be wood-ticks in them that will suck the blood out of your hair.

You are an artist.  You put everything you've got into everything you do-especially your drawings.  You are a leader who loves to find others to follow you :)  You love to play mommy and teach boss your little Charlie around.  I love how caring you are.  One time when I got a piece of glass in my finger you cried for me. Real tears too.  You hated to see me in pain.   I love how you question everything in life. Your father blames me for this trait of yours because I have always been one to explain everything to you and Charlie.  I love your ability to remember details--both small and big.  You have a memory like a steal-trap-door.  You don't forget anything.  I hope this sticks with you through your school years!  I love your smile, your chubby cheeks, your smooth skin, your giggle, your   big personality that can fill a room, your big brown eyes, your great big man burps, your knock-knock jokes, your silly potty talk, your fashion, your ability to get anything you want from your daddy (please teach me this one), your determination, your independence,  your hugs, your kisses, your excitement when I pick you up from preschool each day.  I love you, Elle.  You are my favorite!

Charlie, you are my favorite! (Come on, you didn't really think I was just going to pick one did you?  I love my kids the same :) )  Back to Charlie---Charlie, I knew you were a boy before the doctor ever told me.  Your dad claims there was a 50-50 chance so I might have been just lucky.  I just knew though.  I felt different with you in my tummy, but just like with Elle I fell in love all over again when I found out we were going to have another baby.

Charlie, I love your cuddles. Oh how I loved that first year of life with you.  (I didn't always feel that way, but most of the time.)  I loved that you let me carry you and cuddle you 24/7 that first year.  Where I was, you were strapped to the front.  I love your silliness.  I love how you can go from shy when first meeting someone to shaking your butt right in front of that person 2 minutes later.  I love when you get embarrassed you say "poopy butt" because you are apparently at a loss for words. I love that you can't say your "r" sound because hearing you say "Chawlie" is so darn cute.  I love how you adore your Elle.  I love when you kiss her good-night and hug her you say "Night, Sissy Elwe."  I love how you miss her when she goes to preschool and how you tell her when we pick you up on those preschool days.

I love how kind and caring you are.  You always think of others.  The other morning you insisted on having a diet coke for breakfast and when I said it wasn't a breakfast drink you counter-offered with "Mama, I share my diet coke with you.  See, mama, I share wit you."  How do you turn that down?  I love how remorseful you are after doing something naughty.  You are the first to say sorry and give hugs n kisses to make people feel better.  You are such a little lover.  I love your ability to draw women in. Your dad is most proud of this. You've got this smile that brings them to you wherever we go.  Maybe it's the smile or the poopy butt talk???  I love your infatuation with things--mostly balls; basketballs, volleyballs, soccer balls, baseballs, tennis balls, golf balls, hockey balls :), beach balls, racquet balls, footballs, etc.  I am pretty sure our collection is close to 100! I love how much you love your Hank-O.  You are insistant that we are all going on an airplane and Hank-O the dog is coming with.  I love how you try to do everything the big kids do.  Whether it's trying to play a sport, jumping off of something too high, reading a book, or telling silly knock knock jokes that end with a punchline of "I Spy a basketball."

I love your wild hair, your giggle, your little butt, your silly grin, your manners, your cute little run, your odd duck way of hitting a ball or swinging a club, your grunts, your "I'm so mad" talk, your helpfulness, your questions, your energy, your spunk, your character, your honesty, your heart, how you yell mom-may when you need me and if I don't come fast enough you yell Jenny :).   I love you Charlie!  You are my favorite.

Eating hotdogs in the tub--super safe, I know!

Don't worry guys, I love you both the same.....most days :)

And then there's stuff like this that melts my mama heart.

Stay tuned for my next post....things my kids do that drive me wild.  :)  Trust me, it's not all fun and games with 2 wild ones!