Lentils.

Friend Noelle said last week that our children go to sleep so that we can remember how much we love them.

West slept 13 hours the night before last & the sun was coming into our windows before Q said good morning, so I was feeling all sorts of love for my boys yesterday (seriously, sleep is magic). When my oldest gave me a kiss on each cheek, the forehead, & then the nose - something he saves for only his sweetest of moments - I almost totally lost it. My two little boys are so different, & so unique, & I love them both so much.

Our days are quiet. We stay home a lot, doing things that you do with little ones - toys, songs, books, snacks, naps, coloring... I miss being out & about as often as I was with Quinn, but I know that this is just a phase & I'm grateful for the forced slow-down. I'm also a huge believer in & protector of sleep, which means that with a four month old who is taking three naps a day, we're home a lot. I'm really happy for those that have ultra-flexible babies who sleep anywhere & everywhere (I don't have such a baby), but I'm really grateful to have a little boy who takes great naps & sleeps through the night - in his crib. He might not take a bottle, & he may not take a binky, but this baby is sleeping - without formula, without rice cereal, without sleep training. I'll take it.

(I have a lot to say about why babies sleep, & I've read a zillion books on the subject, but at the end of the day, I've come to the conclusion that all babies are just different, as are parents. We've found that a combination of Baby Wise & Weissbluth's ideas work best for us, but I'll never be one to say that something works on every baby - & my best tool this second time around has been to just relax more, knowing that everything will sort itself out eventually.)

We've had some long weeks this year. Mike has either been traveling or working long hours in Houston. I wanted to post my menu from last week, but half of it didn't happen thanks to longer-than-expected hours in the office for Mike & quick dinners at home with just Q. I feel like the moments when he's home & able to interact with the boys are so precious right now. This week - he's in New York, which for once I'm not jealous of because it's cold there right now & Q came home from the park today flushed & sweaty. It will be a long few days, but I'll catch up on a few projects & will take advantage of all of the quick + easy options from Trader Joe's to keep things simple. Someday I'll cook again.

In the meantime, Q had his happiest morning last week playing on the back porch with a bag of lentils, some bowls & a few measuring cups. He stayed out there for over an hour, scooping them up & dumping them again & again. I tried to replicate this with bowtie pasta yesterday but he kept saying, Beans! Beans! In those moments when I stress out about Q not being in enough (or any) classes, not getting enough social interaction, not doing enough creative / structured / whatever else things, I try to remember that he's just two - & most often happiest with his family & some leftover lentils to play with.

Snapshots.