you.

yesterday in the car...after getting into trouble while waiting for daddy to come out of the store...our conversation went like this:
you: mommy don't yell at me in my seat
me: don't pull the cord out of the dvd player for the thousandth time. I've asked you not to do that repeatedly.
you: well mommy, when you yelled at me, that "feeled my hurtings."

it took me a split second to decipher what you were saying (hurt my feelings backwards) but when I did, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I think it might be the single cutest thing you've said to date....
but that would be a toss up with two other somethings you said last week...

me: i love you so much baby girl! so, so, so, much! forever!
you: mommy, i love you out of control.
what?? where do you get these things?
and this next one is straight from your daddy...
you: (right underneath me in the closet while I'm trying to get ready) mommy, what are you going to wear?
me: i think I'll wear this black shirt if that's ok with with you.
you: sounds like a plan.
after asking you to repeat yourself to make sure i heard you correctly, i laughed and laughed.

oh, how I love you...you just don't even know...
i'll love you out of control forever.
sound like a plan?

Tommy and I stay in touch throughout the day by sending texts...and I often send picture texts to him of something funny (or random) the kids are doing. Last week during swimming lessons, I sent a photo of Isabella trying so hard to swim. Bless her heart, she was swallowing the pool in the process...but she would not give up. And in that moment...I thought I would explode...my heart was pounding and I was so filled with pride or love or something like a combination of the two....and so I sent the photo text with the caption, "Babe...Isn't it crazy how there are no words for how much we love these children?" I knew that he would understand....that he, too, has felt the same. A few minutes later as I was drying her off, my phone buzzed on top of the plastic table that held our belongings. I paused to check the message and smiled when I read his response.
Quite simply put, he just said...."There are no words."

******
Jack got his first haircut. I long for him to have long-ish hair...and I still hope he will...I love that look...But, his was seeming very mullet-ish and I found myself nervously slicking it down with wet fingers while introducing him to people.....soooo, we decided a cut was in order. I made the lady promise that she'd leave the top alone and just trim the mullet. And my heart seriously cracked as pieces of his babyhood fluttered to the ground. With each snip, he transitioned into a little boy. His face seemed longer and he seemed taller...and thinner....and, well, just older. Oh but he looked so handsome. So incredibly handsome.

Apparently he wasn't too excited to lose his mullet. Not even the Blow Pop I brought consoled him.

But how about a curler covered in hazardous perm solution? Ah yes, tastes great.

Daddy continues to urge him to stop eating the curler and to go for the lolli instead.

Both Tommy and I smiled as we realized that even his first haircut can't hide his genes...like father, like son.

*******
Isabella loves the water table/sink we got Jack for his birthday. Except she continually gets in it instead of just playing with it. She has so much fun though...and that smile...and that crazy laugh! Who am I to tell her that it isn't actually made for getting in? It is so fun watching her blossom into a little girl. Her personality is such a mix of ours...and as you might guess, we think she is completely hysterical.

And really, truly....there are no words.