Never lettin' em' grow up

 I have a confession. At our house, age 3 was....H-E-double hockey sticks. Reese was more often than not pitching a fit in one form or another. I loathed bedtime because it was a major fight to get her to settle down and go to sleep. Plus she got a new baby sis that year. I don't think that had anything to do with her behavior, but I'll tell you without hesitation that their momma was exhausted and exhausted isn't my best look.

But y'all she turned 4 and I could literally squeeze her to pieces. 4 is beautiful. 4 is sweet. 4 is perfect. If I could freeze time, this would be when I chose to do it.

 Elynn is the calm and laid back to Reese's high strung and silly. Basically Elynn is Adam and Reese is me. She says the sweetest things like, "tank chu", "milt tup" (milk cup), "uve oo" (love you), and while pulling at her diaper "I tink" (I stink). And sometimes when Reese gets lucky, Elynn will let Reese hold her like a baby.

Last night Adam brought the movie Paddington home. It is such a cute movie! Paddington has to find  new family... So at bedtime Reese started crying, and it wasn't the whinny cry. It was a real cry. When I asked her what was wrong, she said "I don't want to grow up and leave you." I guess she thought she would have to find a new family like Paddington, and let me tell you it literally hurt my soul. They are both so precious and they can stay with us FOR-EV-ER! Of course I assured her of that, but I know these days are too short. I'm sure she will be tapping her toe when she's a senior in high school just waiting for the day she gets to move out on her own. Lord knows I will need a pill of some kind to get me through it.

 And that's exactly why I want to freeze time. Elynn gets so excited when her daddy pulls up every afternoon, and Reese never wants to grow up. They are perfect. But the best part is that bedtime is no longer a fight. One of us rock Elynn, and the other lays down with Reese and within minutes she is sound asleep. They both end up in our bed, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Having them in our bed is my favorite, and I wish I hadn't been so against it when Reese was a wee babe. (Actually Adam was the one against it, but I'm not one to point fingers;))