I have a hairy son.  His name is Arno but we call him L.A. for “Little Arno” as it happens to be my husbands name as well, along with his father and grandfather.  He has had several nicknames already in his short 3 years here on this earth but more than anything he lives up to the one my husband calls him – “momma’s boy.”  My kids are my absolute life and I am not sure how I functioned without them and the hairy one makes sure I am aware of this.  On a daily basis, just out of nowhere he tells me “Mommy, I love you.”  It melts my heart EVERY. Single. Time.  Yesterday while we were watching the Wizard of Oz he squeezed me real tight, looked right into my eyes and said, “Mommy, will you always keep me safe?”  I may have teared up with that one.  He also tells me that he can’t go to school because he will miss me too much.  I have been tempted way too many times to keep him home and snuggle all day when he whips this one out but then I wise up real fast after he bonks his sister over the head with a matchbox car for no reason.

Not only is he about the kindest and sweetest hairy little thing you ever met, he is also a little shit.  The really naughty kind that is at times, mind boggling.  He has redecorated nearly every inch of our house with a Sharpie and clogged every toilet at least 32 times with everything from poop to a roll of toilet paper to Lightening McQueen.  The other morning he crawled into our bed about 5 am, opened up the bottle of water that I had next to my side of the bed….stood up and made sure his aim was just right dumped it right on my head. He was aiming for my “earhole” he said.  I knew something was about to happen but I certainly did not imagine my earhole being doused with a pint of water.  The best part as that as I was jumping up in a foggy sleepy haze he was already telling me that “Eden (his sister) did it”.  Keep in mind she wasn’t even in the room.

He regularly tells me, “Mommy, I am so cool.”  He is pretty cool, I have to give him that.  I also regularly tell my kids all the reasons why I love them so sometimes out of nowhere they will walk up to me and say, “Mommy tell me all the reasons.”  Eden sits there and listens patiently with the sweetest smile on her face as I tell her she is nice and kind and pretty and shares and listens and loves while he gets mad if I don’t tell him that he is awesome over and over.  “But mommy the reason you love me is because I am awesome…..and cool”.  That is one of the reasons but there are so many more.  I love him because he taught me what it feels like to have my heart run around outside my body.  A third of it anyway.  He also taught me not to take life too seriously and to dance.  Always dance.

The other day I walked into the dining room to this and I loved it.

There is a mirror propped up at one end of the dining room and he was watching his sweet moves.  I love you L.A. and I love your sweet moves.  I love that I waited years and years to have you and your sister and through the miracle of science you are mine.  When I was struggling with infertility it pained me every month for years that it did not work.  My wise sister Sarah, who also happens to be my best friend would tell me that this was all happening for a reason.  This was very hard to understand at the time.  She said the perfect kid/s were just waiting for me and timing wasn’t right just yet.  I had to just be patient.  I was patient and it was heartbreaking but it was so worth it because I got this hairy guy and my sweet Eden from it all.  As I tell my kids, “I couldn’t love you more if I tried.”  It is the truth.  And how can you resist someone this awesome?