My Little Men

I grew up in a family of girls.  My poor father survived in our house by learning when to comfort girls who were crying for no reason and running to the store for chocolate when necessary.   As a girl in this house of women and one lone man, I had NO CLUE what living with boys was truly like.  That was of course until 7 years ago when I married Brian.  I then learned what it was like to have to put the toilet seat down and throw smelly socks in the washer.  It came as an utter shock that Brian did not innately know to run to the store when I was blue or to give me a hug when the tears threatened to spill.  Learning to live with a BOY was like learning to navigate through a unknown wilderness.  

And then... four years later I received another shock to the system.  I gave birth to a BOY.  With Maddy, I had kind of known what was ahead, but I was a mess when it came to getting to know my firstborn son.  Lets just say I could write a book about everything I learned about changing a baby boy's diaper....  

That was just the beginning however....  Travis brought me into a whole new world.  The boo boos, the dirt, the noises... they were all so foreign to me.  As he grew older and Peyton joined the family, the cars, trucks, and dinosaurs took over my house. I realized that my life has forever changed.  I once had a toy box full of barbie dolls, Disney princess paraphernalia and dress up clothes.  Now after two boys were added to the mix, it is more like every Lightning McQueen in the world is jumbled in with barbie heads and matchbox cars.  I am LUCKY if in the span of one day I don't trip over a race car track or slip on a lightning.

 But I discovered something I never would have expected.  There is NOTHING in this world like the love of a little boy.  They might smell, they might make more car noises than they actually talk on the majority of days, but when their semi grubby hands reach up to hold your hand, or they sleepily grab you around the neck in a hug before bed, my heart melts into a great glob of mommy love for my little guys.  

This week is a celebration of all things BOY.  My Travis and Peyton are 2 years and 3 days apart.  We not only spend this week knee deep in Lightning McQueen Birthday cake, but finding room for their ever expanding collection of cars, tractors, trains, tracks and trailers.  If it has wheels, my boys have it....  After this week, Maddy and I will have to escape the world of boys and men and spend some time doing something SUPER girly.... but I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Between the innocence of babyhood and the dignity of manhood, we find a delightful creature of a boy.
-- Author Unknown