Okay so a while back I asked y’all about your thoughts on the full Adobe Photoshop suite vs. Photoshop Elements. Due to OVERWHELMING feedback, or NONE AT ALL!!!!! I went with Elements. Here is a pic of my hubby’s tatoo that I played with…

Cool, eh? There is so much to learn and I am just getting started but it sure is fun! Here are a few silly shots of the hooligans tonight at bathtime also…

I really love taking pictures, I just wish my subjects would sit still long enough to get a decent shot!

I love my new camera. So if I bore you with pictures, I am sorry but it is my favorite past time. Well, aside from politics and make-up. Seriously.

This morning while Joshua was napping I took some pictures of Isaac and it is shocking to me how much he looks like his father. That stubborn type-A personality of his however, is all Mommy….

Most nights, Isaac requests that I lay with him for a while at bedtime. It is usually just a stalling technique, along with:

 ”I have to go pee!”

 ”I need a drink of water” or my personal favorite….

“Daddy said I could play with a toy in bed!”

When I do acquiesce and lay down with him, he begins the chitter-chattering of a 3 year old avoiding sleep:

“Mommy what time is it”

“What does 8 o’clock mean?”

“Why is 8 o’clock bedtime”

“Why are all little boys going to sleep right now”

“Well I’m not tired”

You get the point. So, you can imagine my surprise when I laid down with him tonight and he said nothing. Total silence. He rolled over and clutched his stuffed elephant (Ellie is a new fixture on the bedtime scene these days), wrapped himself in his blanket and was quiet. I could tell that tonight, it wasn’t about stalling. Tonight, it was about me being near him. He just wanted someone to lay close to him while he drifted to sleep. It felt heavenly to be needed in this simple way.

Three year old’s have a way of sucking the air out of the room and the energy from your bones with their constant activity and questions. Isaac has mastered the task of pushing my buttons. In less than 10 words he can have me reeling with frustration. 

Tonight though, as he snuggled next to me in silence,  his stillness communicated a need to my heart that all mom’s have. We want to know that we are important to our children. We want to know we are necessary for more than just putting on the next DVD, unwrapping a piece of gum or retrieving fruit snacks. We want to know that our children sense the bond between mother and child and desire that deep connection.

Tonight, all of the stress of this week was slowly pulled from my mind as Isaac drifted to sleep holding on to Ellie and my heart.

Kevin: Isaac you need to go potty and get in bed. Now.

Isaac: Why? I don’t want to. I don’t have to go potty. (pause) NO!

Kevin: Isaac I am the boss and I said, go potty and get in bed. It is 8:30!

Isaac: (hmphhhhh!)You’re not the boss! (he then trots away and goes potty and gets in bed)

Cut to the next day….

Me: Isaac, how was your day? Did you have a good day?

Isaac: I saw a workerman today. He was working. I don’t want to be a workerman anymore when I grow up.

Me: Oh yeah? What do you want to be?

Isaac: The boss.

Well done, my son.

Kevin: Isaac, did you see Santa on Saturday?

Isaac: Yes! I saw Santa!!!!  he was on a firetruck with lots of lights.

Kevin: Did you tell him what you want for Christmas?

Isaac: No, I didn’t talk to him. He was waaaaaaaaaay up there. And loud.

Kevin: When you see him next time are you going to sit on his lap and tell him what you want for Christmas?

Isaac: I want a scooter.

Kevin: I know, but are you going to tell Santa that?

Isaac: (exasperated) Daddy, I am not going to sit on his lap. I will walk up to him and tell him I want a scooter but that is it. That is it Daddy.

Good to know that my three year old has established “boundaries” that would make a therapist proud…