2 is better than 1...sometimes

This week the 2 boys and I packed up and headed to Alabama to visit my sister and her soon-to-be family of 4.  Her and her husband Frank have a daughter Anna, and another, Ella, on the way.  She is 38 weeks pregnant {yes, we've been pregnant together...twice!} and needed some last minute cleaning done, which is nearly impossible at her juncture of pregnancy, so south we went.  I was glad for a change of scenery, and for Carter to have a playmate for a few days.  He and my niece Anna were born 2 weeks apart, and it's been a blessing to see them grow up together.  I've also decided that toddlers are similar to dogs in that 2 is {sometimes} better than 1.  You see, you can use one to manage the other.  One toddler can be used to bait another, for example, into taking a bath, or cleaning up toys.  Two also creates instant running races....often to nowhere in particular and with no obvious winner.  Just running for the sake of running.  And where there is running, there is screaming.  This is when 2 is not better than 1.  So, I took advantage of the gorgeous Spring day and took the running balls of loudness outside for some fresh air and open space.  And {I say this with the biggest smile in my heart} I got to teach them the joy of blowing dandelion seeds.  I showed them once, saw their faces light up, pointed them towards their own and around the yard they went.  I sat watching them find joy in something so simple and thought to myself moments like these make motherhood worth it. I get to relive the wonderment of the world all over again, one dandelion moment at a time.  And then I snapped out of it and realized I would have no pictures to remember it by if I didn't run and get my camera.  

Lucky for me there were plenty of dandelion seed...things{what is the name for those, anyway?} to keep them busy and give me time to shoot. 

 Unlucky for my brother-in-law Frank that he will have unlimited dandelion weeds in his back yard now.