How I love my children.....let me count the ways

People always say that you never really know what love is until you have children. Or that there is nothing in the world like having a child to love and to love you back. They talk about the emotions of giving birth and that overwhelming feeling of having someone love you unconditionally. All of those things are true but you know that any child, other than an only child, secretly wonders to themselves on at least one occasion, "I wonder who Mom and Dad like best".

I love my children. I love them equally but I also love them for different reasons. I don't just love them because they are my children. I love them for their individual qualities...even the ones that drive me up the wall on a daily basis. These thoughts have been floating around in my mind lately and hopefully I can do it justice in this posting.

Hannah

I love the fact that she is kind and caring. I love the way she cares about the environment and wants to start an Earth Club at school. I love the fact that she wants to be a scientist so that she can make soaps and shampoos and lotions that are more "green". I love the fact that she explores so many different areas of academics and that at the age of 7 she and I were having a fairly advanced discussion on Sociology last weekend. I love the fact that she wants to snuggle with Mommy all the time and swears to me that she'll always want to have sleepovers with me. I love the fact that she criticizes my driving. I love the fact that she is hard to fluster but that I can make it happen. I love that she has a fantastic sense of humor and is usually fairly mellow like her father. I love the fact that she loves to plan and organize and do charity work like me. I love the fact that she is so incredibly artistic and loves to make things for people. I love the fact that people say she looks like me. I love the fact that she wears clothes that don't match and couldn't care less what people think of that. I love her ambition and desire to travel. I love the fact that she's already thinking about college and that she may attend college in another country. I love the fact that once she was potty trained she only ever had two accidents and has never wet the bed. I love the fact that she is so incredibly intelligent and watching her grow is not a matter of if she'll succeed but more a matter of what she'll settle on as her life's work. I love the fact that at school she is the one that helps out the kids who are being picked on or not played with. I love that she gets insecure when Jake does something better than her. I love that she is so insanely intelligent about some things but can't remember to do the most routine things on a daily basis. I love that she can carry on an intellectual conversation with an adult but that she'll dig in her heels over something trivial and act like a kid because whatever she believes is something she decided on her own. I love that she hates the New Kids on the Block and loves the Jonas Brothers. I love the fact that she doesn't get excited to see Santa at Christmas time but loves to come up with things she can do for him like make him a Christmas ornament and bake him cookies and that he's just another reason for her to tap into her creativity. I love the fact the she sometimes acts like Jake's 3rd parent and that she tries to help him be a better person. I love all of these things about her and so much more.

Jake

I love the fact that he is the complete opposite of his sister. I love the fact that he goes through life full steam ahead and doesn't stop for anything. I love the fact that he is passionate about everything he loves. I love the fact that he is full of questions and that he seems to have an unquenchable thirst for more, more, more - no matter what that "more" is. I love the fact that he is untamed and full of such incredible potential. I love his shaggy hair and the incredibly unique eye color he has which changes with what he is wearing but hate the fact that his baby curls are gone. I love the fact that he surprises me every day and that I don't know what he's going to be when he grows up but I can't wait to watch it happen because whatever he does is going to be huge. I love the fact that he's stubborn, can hold a grudge, and has a temper like me. I love the fact that people say he looks like his father. I love the fact that he can be so bold and in your face but will hide behind you and claim he's shy when you want him to try something new. I love the fact that in the spring he will scream and cry and refuse to put on sandals but that in the fall he'll scream and cry and refuse to put on regular shoes. I love the fact that he is obsessed with Star Wars and that he "can't stop thinking about it". I love that he doesn't get too upset when he gets hurt but that he completely freaks out at the sight of blood. I love that he's a complete Daddy's boy even if that means he doesn't want me around sometimes. I love that he loves to rub people's ears when he's tired or scared and that he prefers Daddy's or Grandpa Snow's but that if he's tired or scared enough he'll ask for mine. I love that he is hilariously funny but that he never seems to figure out when other people are joking. I love that he comes up with crazy concoctions to make in the kitchen and that they usually turn out pretty good. I love the fact that he has his birds he listens to in bed at night and his favorite stuffed animals that have been with him since he was a baby. I love the fact that he talks in his sleep like me. I love his requests for "a lotta chocolate milk". I love the fact that Christmas is the most magical time of the year for him and that he lights up with the excitement of it all when he sees Santa. I love the fact that he wets his pants like I used to do even though I know it drives his Daddy crazy. I love the fact that he hates being younger than Hannah and that he always wants to do whatever she gets to do. I love that he thinks that everything in the world isn't fair because I know someday he'll go out and try to change it. I love the fact that he hates art projects. I love all these things about him and so much more.

Like I said above, so many of these things are traits that drive me crazy on a daily basis but I wouldn't change one single thing about my kids. I love them because they are NOT perfect. They are a little bit of me and a little bit of Lincoln and they are entirely ours. They are who they are and I love watching them develop the potential that I see in both of them. They are both going to take us on a wild ride and I can't wait to see where we end up at the end of the road.