Tonight we are young...so let's set the world on fire, we can glow brighter, than the sun!

As you can see from the lack of posts, life has been pretty busy. I'm always thinking about the blog and am trying to embed every cute moment in my mind so I won't forget, but it all moves so fast these days. At times I wish I had a built in camera in my head so I could record it all. I want to soak up every cute moment, (even some of the not so cute moments), so I can look back and enjoy for a second time when I have a chance to breathe.

James and Thomas going for their first stroll in their wagon together. I remember when James got this as a Christmas gift, I thought "someday I'll be able to pull two around in there!"

Now, I'm not saying my photo albums and video library are not full of "moments" that I've managed to capture, (trust me, I have quite the collection), but it's those "in between" moments-the silent moments, when I can look over and watch as James stands like a little soldier thinking. Or the way he lines his cars up, and always has, or how he begs to pick out "one, two cars" for every road trip we take (and holds up his hands as if to say, I want one for each hand), or how he starts to ask to "watch a woovie (movie) for a "cuckle minutes" (couple minutes) about a mile away from home every day. I know I'll miss the way he asks for "ackle juice and snacks" every morning-even that is beginning to change, and today he asked correctly for "apple juice and snacks." For so long, I didn't want to correct it, and I know that's wrong. I just loved the innocence of this language he has developed. I want to remember that every night as I cuddled him in bed for a few minutes, he'd ask me to hold his hand. He'd hold my hand by his mouth and I could feel the soft air of each breath on my fingers until it finally slowed down and I knew he'd fallen asleep. I know someday he won't run to me when I come to pick him up at school, and so happily say "I love when you come to school to pick me up Mommy." Someday he'll be using every day of the week, instead of just Thursday-since apparently everything happens Thursday in James' book-"I'll come to your house Thursday," "I'll have yunch (lunch) at Gramma's on Thursday," "I go to school Thursday." Or when he finally realizes that a few minutes or hours ago isn't "yesterday." Before I know it, he'll clearly be telling me to "look" at everything-instead of "yook," and when he sits on the couch and asks for me to rub his feet or back, they won't be so soft and small. I know he's growing up, and there is not a darn thing I can do about it but cheer on every accomplishment, take as many pictures and videos as I can, and try to enjoy it all-even the tough stuff like his loopy episodes when he won't nap, how he kicks the door to let me know he's awake, (and continues to kick harder the longer it takes for me to make it to his room), the fact that he loves to be naked right now, (calls himself NAKED BOY), or the darn spitting habit he's picked up along the way.

Clean from his tubby, with a little help of some baby oil, the mowhawk at it's finest!

...and for Thomas-oh my Mr. Thomas. I feel like I blinked and he's already almost a year old. I thought James' first year of life was a blur, but somehow Thomas out did it. Those beautiful blue eyes and chubby cheeked smile have been the frosting on our cake. His giggles-they are priceless...especially when they are aimed at James. I've never seen a baby love to eat more than my little Tommy. He could eat all day long, (which makes me a little thankful that I went the bottle feeding route). He quickly picked up how to hold a bottle by himself, how to feed himself, and how to let us know he wants more. His sneaky ways keep Andy and I laughing-and James on his toes. James has a concentration level like none I've ever seen-which makes him an easy target. If we give James a cup of snacks and a cup of juice, if he doesn't keep one eye on Thomas, it will be stolen. Thomas is a thief-and he's good at it, (this is the only time I'll admit it and think that this is cute-and it better not go past stealing his brothers snacks and toys). At the sound of a beat of music his whole body starts dancing and he claps his hands so hard-he loves music. He does this cute little rock and his eyes twinkle when he dances. He gets little "smile wrinkles" next to his eyes-just like Andy. I've always loved the way Andy's eyes light up when he smiles-and Thomas inherited that from him. He crawls like a one-legged pirate, and sits on his little bum and goes in circles (Friends fans-he PIVOTS). He snuggles his whole body into me when he's tired, right under my chin, and lets me rock him as he falls asleep. He just recently hit the throwing stage, and lets us know he's angry by throwing and kicking his right leg like an angry leprechaun. I can't forget to mention his signature mowhawk. This mowhawk gets more attention than anything else. People always ask me if I purposly cut it like that or style it that way. It's all natural-and he wears it well! The rest of his hair can't quite catch up to his flowing mowhawk!

Brotherly giggles-they already make each other laugh harder than anyone else.

Together, this team of brothers is quite the duo-and as their mom, I truely believe they are the most amazing two boys any mom could have. They bonded almost immediately. James loved the big brother role, and I can see in Thomas' eyes, he couldn't have hand picked a better brother. Hearing James say, "Thomas is my best friend mommy," or hearing him suddenly panic when he realizes Thomas isn't in the car, (if they are separated), is just so cute. He already has an eye out for him. Thomas kicks his legs so hard and reaches for James at first sight each day-or when we pick James up from school or Mimi's house. Their reunion, after only being separated for a few hours, is adorable. Although James sometimes steals Thomas' toys from him, he is very good at "exchanging." He mastered the art of "if I want to play with that toy that Thomas has, I better find something cool to distract him with." It took a little trial and error, but he finally has it down-and Thomas for the most part is fine with it. James knows to giveThomas his pacifier, feed him a Gerber puff or yogurt drop, hand him his bottle, or even to turn on his crib radio when he cries in the morning, all to make Thomas happy. For months, Andy and I belly ached about having them share a bedroom, but it was a smooth, and incredibly easy transition. Thomas finally slept through the night from the first night sharing with James. James embraced his big boy bed after a trip to build-a-bear, (and is extremely proud of his new bed). He enjoys visiting his old crib, (no pun intended), when Thomas wakes up in the morning. He climbs back in and they play until he's ready for his "ackle juice and snacks." James beams with pride when I bring Thomas to Crayon College-James' preschool. He loves telling everyone about T-bird (as he calls Thomas).

Thomas is probably driving James crazy in this picture. He rides in the back, and will taunt James the whole time-making him giggle harder! I think he has my sense of humor!

Tonight, they had a "sing off" in the back seat. Both of them were going back and forth-making the same sound. This went on for a long time. Andy and I just sat in awe and watched. They were making the same sound-in the same tone and were cracking each other up. This brings me to the title of the post. "Tonight, we are young so let's set the world on fire, we could glow brighter, than the sun." This is their favorite song right now. I know it will change, but for now we listen to it over and over again. James knows all the words-and sings them loud and clear. Thomas has the tune down and sings his little heart out when it's on. In the car, James will usually reach over and hold Thomas' hand while they sing it to each other. This gets me every time...EVERY time. Looking at them, looking at eachother, with their happy faces "singing." I want to bottle up that happiness and hold it forever.

Thomas in action-James is distracted, concentrating on making that goofy face. Thomas has time to sneak in and steal some Easter candy!