The Cherub and the Elf

I love to make things. I live to make things! I sew, embroider, quilt, knit, crochet, dye, print, weave, bead, glue, cut, draw - the whole nine yards! I've never met a craft I didn't like. Sometimes, when I've completed a project, I can't shake my infatuation with it. I have to keep returning to it, to have just one more look, to touch it one more time, to bask in the creative glory.

It's just that way with my boys. I could look at them all day. (Actually, I do look at them all day, and sometimes I get tired of it, but you know what I mean.) They are so beautiful!!!

Addie has the most flawless, creamy white skin, painted-on ruby red lips, lovely white chicklet teeth, extra-long eyelashes, mischievous dark blue eyes, beach-glam blond hair, and a sweet little bantam body that never seems to stop moving. His intensity often makes his cheeks redden, the veins on his neck stand out, and his whole body quivver. He is so verbal and is constantly saying the cutest things... or saying things in the cutest possible way. Tonight, as he fought my efforts to get him into bed, he announced suddenly, "I going downstairs to see what Daddy doing. Mommy wait here." Very sneaky. Earlier, while in the tub, I asked him if he is a baby. "Bennie a baby," he declared, pointing to his brother. "Is Daddy a baby?" I asked. "Daddy a big guy," he responded. "What's Addie?" I asked. After careful consideration he uttered, "Addie a big boy." He sure is.

And Bennett is, as his dad regularly points out, a most satisfying baby. He is so luscious and meaty that you just want to eat him up, all in one bite! He has the roundest, most innocent looking eyes, an open, happy mouth and a funny little tongue that curls up when he laughs. His bum makes a great shelf, and he feels packed solid when you hug him, which inevitably you must do frequently. He's so irresistible! His head is a perfectly round sphere layered with wonderfully soft fuzz, inviting much petting. He likes to show off his Herculean strength by pulling on noses or jewellery or hair, and he's literally pulled chunks of his brother's hair right out from the root. His dad claims to have had his windpipe temporarily cut off by a fierce pinch, and I've been pinch-scratched (a new term invented just for Bennie) to the point of bleeding! All of these assaults have been committed with zero maliciousness and serve to make us not only more cautious around him, but proud of his feistiness.

So for all my complaining, I'm totally, madly in love with these guys! All three of them; the elf, the cherub, and the daddy.