…with some help from Christian, who took over at #6.
Top ten things I love about my kids (#230-239 of my 1000 Gifts):
- The way, when I say, “I’m gonna get you!”, they run toward me.
- How I can tickle Alex without even touching him.
- Playing “cry/hug” with Julianna (I cry, she hugs; repeat—this game is her invention BTW)
- How Alex says “constructions” instead of “instructions.”
- The way Nicholas’s eyes flicker to whoever else is in the room before he decides how much cheese to add to his Cute Pizza.
- Sympathetic criers
- Julianna’s great hugs
- How Alex adores his grandparents and the way he paces around the house when he talks to them on the phone (and to everyone else).
- How much trust they place in us
- How utterly perfect they look when they are sleeping.
On days when they’re sick or cranky, or you’re tired, or stressed, it’s easy to focus on what annoys you. But attitude changes everything, and happiness in life depends on what you choose to pay attention to. So I ask you today: what is it about your children that makes you go all gooey inside?
Kathleen M. Basi 
Such a sweet post and good reminder to seek out the positive. For me it’s when my almost 3-year-old hugs me and says “I love you SO much” or when my 1-year-old says peek-a-boo (“pee-bo”). I needed to hear this on a Monday morning!!
Very nice. I agree it is easy to focus on the negative sometimes!
The things that have made me go gooey lately:
9-year-old grabbing and holding my hand…in public.
7-year-old playing “backyardigans” with her younger sister….again.
4-year-old reaching up to me to kiss me (she’s not usually a kisser!)
18-month-old squealing “Ma-Ma” and when I say, “Yes, Dominic…” and look at him, he gives me that, “I just wanted to say your name and make you look at me” grin.
Aw, this list made me smile. I love the “I’m gonna get you” game, too! And in our house, we make a lot of silly faces at each other. Certain faces can make the kids crack up without even saying anything. It’s still astounding to me that a person who’s barely been alive 1 year can already have such a great sense of humor!
I remember all those times. But I have new ones too. When I think about my first born looking at his first born for the first time. When I think about my son stepping off the planes on U.S. soil, home from Iraq, then home from Afghanistan. I still cherish hugs and I still get that maternal feeling when I see them sleeping. I am proud of the men they have become but they will forever be my “boys.”
Kathleen,
Thanks for stopping by my blog with a kind word! You have a wonderful place here- I’ve tucked you into my reader so I can come back and “get to know you”:)
I love your list and join you in gratitude for our children’s hugs, their hugs and peeking in on their sleepy heads.
Awww…so cute!
I’m a highly emotional gal, so tears come easily if overwhelmed; I’ve had many of my tiny tot students instantly tear up when they see me distressed.
The trust one that you mentioned is another one that really gets me! Every time that one of my twos, threes, and even the pre-k’s, fall and hurt themselves, the first thing they do is look at me…they know and trust that I’m coming to the rescue.
Tiny ones give so many reasons to give thanks!
Katherine,5, still says “nused” instead of “used.” For example, ” I nused the red crayon for my picture.” When John or Sarah try to correct her, I hush them. With each mispronunciation that is overcome, her “babyhood” moves farther away. When she stopped saying “Nakum” instead of “napkin,” I was very sad. =(