whobody's heart is melted?

There are some moments in my days that seem to make this whole

parenting gig

totally and completely worth it.

(there are actually LOTS of those moments, but they just don't seem to 

be the ones that I tend to catch on camera.)

The first picture is of Cruz and Nash PLAYING. 

(I know, it may seem as if Cruz is actually beating up on Nash....

but they really are playing.)

I know this picture doesn't look super sweet or anything, 

but it makes my heart smile.

I love it when my kids are playing together and developing their own relationships

(even if their relationship may be a little "rougher" than I would like.)

RIght now Nash is going through a 'tough' phase where he is a little 

tough on all of his siblings

than I would like...he is physically rough, and just not very NICE all of the time.  It seems to be that Cruz is the only one trying to stand up to Nash and put him in his place.....

Another thing that I LOVE is when Nash really gets playing....

and I mean, really playing.  

His favorite toys are his tools...he loves to dress up and 'fix things'.  

I love it when he does this! 

He gets totally lost in his "work" and enjoys some alone time (and so do I).

(I should mention that he doesn't do this very often....)

The goggles are TOO much. :)

Here is the kicker for me.  The kids each have their own room, but sometimes on weekends we let them have "sleepovers"....

Nash and Lola had a sleepover last weekend, and when I was in there telling them goodnight, this is what I saw.

Usually Lola uses her flashlight to read at bedtime every night....

so, this night instead of chatting, 

Nash asked Lola to read to him from her new Junie B Jones book from the library.  

I got a little choked up when I saw him snuggled into her. 

I let them read for about 30 minutes, 

and then went in and told them it was time to sleep....

and then they shut the light off 

THEN Lola put her arm over Nash 

JUST like I snuggle the kids when I lay with them.  

I LOVE it when I see my kids nurture each other.

Now, this next picture isn't really that sweet...

because, of course, it is a picture of a broken curtain rod in Nash's room.

This was how I found his room when Nash was 

supposed

to be taking his afternoon nap.

When I asked him what happened, he just said that he was 

trying to look out the window to see when Keaton and Lola got home from school on the bus.

(I don't really know how that made the curtain rod bend like that....

and pretty much snap in half.)

I was glad that it wasn't one of those times that I lost my temper with him....

(as I sometimes don't even give the kids a chance to explain before I flip out)

I took a picture of this...because I wanted to remember him loving them.

Don't get me wrong... my kids DO NOT always show love towards each other.

Not at all...there are so many times that there are 

unloving things said and done....

so, when Nash tells me how he can't wait for the older 2 to get home from school "because I love them."  

Well, my heart melts, and I take a picture to remember the moment. 

(of course, soon after they got home, they were all fighting....)

During that same week...(nap time is becoming a bit of a struggle)....

I asked Nash to go and put his pull-up on to get ready for his nap.  

He comes out and says "i got my pull-up on!"  Little smarty!  My heart is melted when my kids are FUNNY!

Well, every day after lunch (before nap) the kids get to watch a cartoon. 

Cruz always used to just ignore the tv and just play while Nash sat on the couch in a "cartoon coma"

..but recently, Cruz started to pay attention....so I started to make a place for Cruzie with a pillow on the floor. (Since he just goes head first off of the couch...) Once I started having Cruz sit on the floor, Nash decided he wanted to join him.  (smile)....so I took this picture...and LOOK at Nash with his arm on Cruz....that is him snuggling Cruz! I love it!!!

This last picture is a great example of how

Keaton is a great big brother! 

He has really taken Cruz under his wing, and plays with him SO well. 

Here he has his cozy coupe hooked up to a big wheels! He pulled him around the garage for almost 30 minutes like this. Cruz LOVED it.  

Keaton also takes Cruz into his room all of the time to play basketball and listen to the radio.  Keaton moved his basketball hoop down so it is hooked on his dresser drawer....and the perfect height for a 1 year old to DUNK it! He actually has asked me if we could move Cruzie's crib into his room so that they can share. 

My heart melts when they LOVE each other.

Now the challenge of keeping them loving each other as they get older!