I love watching my boys and seeing how much they behave like my husband and me.  One story my   sisters-in-law have told me about Jim was how he would push his belly out as far as he could because he knew it grossed them out but it also made them laugh. Christopher started doing that the other day. It was hilarious, made even funnier by the fact that he kept doing it and laughing because we were laughing. (At one point, he was laughing so hard his belly wasn’t pushed out at all but, he was so pleased with himself that Jim and I kept laughing anyway!)

Christopher is also very much like me in that he collects stuffed animals. They are like a part of him. He can’t go anywhere without at least one of his “friends.”  For my 10^th birthday, my mom took me shopping so I could spend my birthday money on whatever I wanted. I chose this hideous stuffed monkey. My mom tried to talk me out of it but I was persistent. I was going to have that ugly little monkey.When we got home, I dressed it up in a dress and he earned a place of honor on my bed. (Yes, I claimed it was a he but still insisted he wear a dress.) Like Christopher, I was also one of those kids that collected stuffed animals. I got them all situated just right before I went to bed each night. Then I would snuggle down in between them to go to sleep.

So, when I walk into Christopher’s room and find him stacking up all of his stuffed animals on his bed, insisting that they all be there, it makes me laugh. I was so very serious about my stuffed animals. I love seeing just how much like me Christopher is now. The difference is that he also insists on sleeping with a matchbox car. He chooses a different one every couple of days. He holds them in his chubby little hand while his 3 Pooh Bears are horseshoed around his head, all the other animals arranged nicely by his feet. It is so incredibly sweet to see.

My boys may be extremely rambunctious and they certainly keep me hopping. They fight, they bicker, they wrestle, they dump every toy out of the toy box before finding the right one and make a big mess. But, they also like to sit on my lap at night, reading stories or telling me about their day, Christopher twirling a finger in my hair, Jacob holding onto my hand. Walking into Christopher’s room after he’s asleep and seeing him all cuddled up with his animals makes me realize, yes, being a parent is exhausting at times. But, at the end of the day, I couldn’t imagine my life without them.

Lord, just help me remember that tomorrow when the chaos starts all over again.