Loving Will and the Natertot

The boys just went to sleep. Rick had to fly to Portland for a couple days and is driving up to my see my parent's and our family paper mill to learn about some of the machines the mill uses. He's covering a company that sells equipment comparable to the equipment Grays Harbor Paper uses. Anyhoo, it's just me right now, enjoying the dark and quiet.

I got a little emotional putting the boys down tonight. Will, in particular. Whenever we give Will a bottle (which we still do before nap and bedtime) he giggles with joy. He runs up on his bed, flops on his back and reaches for the good stuff. I'm going to feel bad taking it away, which I'll do soon. He was quiet for a while after having his bottle in bed tonight but eventually started fussing. His gums are so swollen, and his voice so nasaly, I think he's just having a hard time getting to sleep with a sore mouth. So after a while of the fussing, I went in and gave him a kiss and hug and laid him back down. Usually that's it, but he grabbed me by the back of the neck (with real force) and pulled me down so I had to lie next to him on the bed. He got a good chuckle at his success, kind of like when he gets his bottle. I'm another soothing method for him, I suppose. I don't spend a lot of snuggle-time with the kids, which is one of my downfalls, so I decided to give the little guy what he needed: extra love from his mom.

Will was snuggled up beside me and would look back at me every 20 seconds or so and giggle a litttle more. He was just so happy I was there with him. It makes my eyes a little watery thinking about how sweet he is and how lucky we are to have him as our son. If things would have worked out like we planned, little Will wouldn't have been here, or at least not for a few years after we had Nate. I never hoped or expected to be pregnant while nursing a 3 month old baby. I cannot say enough how thankful I am that our little "accident" occured. He's my mini-me and every time I look at him he pulls my heart strings. He has the world's biggest smile and he's always quick to laugh and to wave hello and good-bye to strangers. I couldn't love the little guy more or be more proud to be his mom. (note to self: read this when I'm upset/stressed/pulling my hair out)

Nate's been trying really hard with his potty training. I feel bad that he had a couple accidents today because he was trying so hard. One accident came after we were watching Nanny 911 (our first time watching it together and it worked out to be a good show for talking about behavior issues and resolution together), and the little girl was being potty trained on the show. Of course, Nate was very excited and hoped up and said he had to pee pee, too. Off he ran to the bathroom (literally). He was taking a while so I went to check on him. Unfortunately, he couldn't get his pants down because his belt was too tight and had an accident and was trying to clean up. Poor kiddo! The other accident came after we got home from the post office this afternoon (always a thrill with a one and two year old) and I undid Nate's seatbelts, left his door open, and went to get Will out as I always do. I thought Nate was exploring at the neighbor's or hiding somewhere, but he actually ran so quickly to the house I hadn't seen him pass me. He was standing on the front mat with wet pants. Darn! We'll get this down sometime soon.

Unfortunately, our washing machine is on the fritz. It won't flush the water out after the rinse cycle, so there's about a foot or so of water in the washer. This IS NOT A GOOD TIME to have the washer break down. Talk about a pile of pee clothes stinking up the laundry room! I'm going to have to hose them down (not to mention Nate's sheets and comforter because he had an accident last night).

The boys and I will be flying up to Washington on our own next week. Call me crazy. I figure it may be a flight from hell (if Will screams for an hour or two as he has on a couple flights), but as long as we're on the plane, we'll end up in Seattle. I think I better start trialing sleepy-time meds to sedate our wild ones. "Wild Bill" as Nate & Rick call Will. Time for me to get to the dishes. Good night!