Carson is TWO!

Actually he is two years and 5 months old. I've been remiss.

The last five months have been quite bizarre with Cargy. His personality is becoming incredibly strong. Good and bad. It is like he has come into his own. He has emerged from baby boy to this very unique and very funny little person.

Off and on throughout the last two years I have been SO sure that Carson was going to be our less challenging child. Every now and then he would go through a bit of a phase, then he would level back out and be so easy.

Those days are gone.

Cargy has an enormous vocabulary and has been talking in sentences (and paragraphs) for the last six months. He says really funny things and especially likes repeating things that he hears from Carver.

Carver and Carson have an interesting relationship. They can play exceptionally well together. They especially love wrestling on the couch, playing with swords and shields, or just running down the halls chasing each other. They also fight constantly and purposefully irritate each other. So many laughs and so many tears shared between those two.

The boys are sharing a room now and the transition was relatively smooth.

They take awhile to get to sleep-- usually because of Cargy wandering the room and messing with Carver. But they both sleep through the night without any issue. Carson wakes up first every single morning but Carver has learned to sleep through Carson's morning shenanigans.

Daniel and I both struggle with disciplining Carson. He is exceedingly cute and he has a really quirky personality. He is naughty, completely mischievous, and totally deserves punishment on so many occasions. Then we try to stick him in time out and he does something cute and we laugh and then he laughs and, well...we are working on it.

Carson loves candy. In any form. It is a legitimate addiction.

He loves loves loves pumpkins. And apple juice.

He loves the big gray cat that visits us daily.

He loves to be "held like a baby."

He loves kisses and hugs and "fist bumps."

He loves balloons. And coins. And Mickey Mouse.

And ketchup. He really loves ketchup.

Carson started school this Fall and he goes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. He loves school. Every day he walks in like he owns the place. Barely a backward glance. So different from his big brother.

He has this enormous grin and infectious laugh.

Carson is exactly the age right now that Carver was at the time of Carson's birth. Recently I was remembering how, when Carson was a newborn, I used to look at Carver and try to picture what Carson would look like at that age. And now here we are. It feels surreal. And sweet. And it hurts my heart just a bit.

I don't know.

Having two boys, relatively close in age is interesting. The boys look different and have very different personalities, but I think the most interesting thing has been realizing how different my relationship is with each one. Not more or less, just so very different.

The other day I was so stressed, and busy, and worried about getting all of my work done and juggling all of the things in my life and I was thinking that it would have been so nice for Carson to go to school three mornings a week.

And then I realized what I was saying.

I want to hold on tight. I want to love every moment. Or at least be thankful for every moment, I'm pretty sure I will never love every moment. But I'm always grateful. Carson is this precious two year old. He is uniquely himself. He is slowly becoming more challenging, and infuriating. But, that is ok. Because I love that he is mine. Even when he is so very hard.

I'll hold him "like a baby" for as long as he likes.