Finding Jake.
There was a period of time today during which laughs became cackles and I fervently whispered apologies out to any neighbors watching us with our boys outside.
There was a storm rolling in. Last summer, I don’t really remember those afternoon storms rolling in with any sort of consistency. But this summer, we’ve had that treat. Sometimes, it makes us hunker down inside with books in hand, curled up on the couch, or watching Harry Potter, The Chamber of Secrets for the upteenth time while the littlest one naps. Today, however, I realized that we needed to be outside, tossing a football, blowing bubbles, and watering our potted plants.
My heart always beats faster when I see him.
Especially when he’s right by my side, helping me wrangle the likes of this boy.
He wasn’t really grumpy. We were trying to coax him into giving us the ol’ stinkeye, and he obliged. He ran around our front yard in his football jersey and underwear like an oversized Speedy Gonzales; seems as though a certain almost two-and-a-half-year-old is liking this potty training business, and the opportunity, no matter how slight, to possibly be able to potty in the grass brings a whole lot of delight to his world. (Again, to my neighbors, I apologize for the rogue toddler in his underwear racing around our front yard today…)
The older one begged for me to squirt him with the hose, which I did relentlessly. He and I go together like peas and carrots, for God knew what He was doing when he placed that little soul into this family. He raced around the yard trying to hide behind trees and then the car in the driveway, but I still nailed him just fine with the help of the new watering nozzle on the hose. I don’t even want to try and imagine just how cold that water was, but his cackling laughter lit up our street in a way that gave me permasmile for the rest of the day.
And then he found a ladybug.
Named Jake.
Jake was set out to roam, and chose to do so all over our boy’s arms and neck, setting him free again in that funny world that he lives in.
Jake is the best tickler among us, now.
The only thing left to do after that tickle fest was to go back inside and make chocolate chip cookies.
And that, we did.
Happy weekend!
