Fleeting moments

I've sat down and begun writing this at least three times and have not been able to get very far. Something, whether a child interrupting or my disinterest, has kept me from being able to record some wonderful and precious times. I hope this time sticks.
Will has been so cuddly and sweet lately, it's hard not to want to hold him and play with him all the time, neglecting anything else that may also need attention. We are trying to break him of eating a few bites at supper, then insisting to get down from his seat, only to beg me to sit in my lap, eat from my plate (or even his) while nestled up against me. We were all finished a few nights ago and here he came, saying "up up" and holding his arms up. He's really hard to resist. I picked him up and we - Carter and I- began counting his toes. He loved that. He mimicked us and counted his toes, too. Then I kissed one set of toes and he promptly offered the other one for fair treatment. I obliged and then he kissed his own toes. Then he wanted to start over and count them again. Carter found this to be adorable and agreed that we must do it again. So we did. Once we completed the routine, I sat up and removed my arms from around him in order to start gathering plates and silverware. After a few moments of sitting in my lap upright, he grabbed each of my hands with his and wrapped them around him again, he twisted his face up to mine and puckered up his lips as I've described them before - cheeks sucked in, lower lip tucked under top teeth- and he planted one on me. That called for some more counting and kissing and he was in heaven again.
Then tonight, the boys were playing in the floor of the kitchen while I was preparing supper and Carter was teaching Will about the ABC's on the fridge. After all the letters from the 3 separate sets had been placed in order, Carter said "chase me Will!" He took off to the right and Will's face lit up and he ran to the left to cut him off at the other side of the circle. They laughed and played for a long time together. As time for supper came, Will walked up to Carter and wrapped his arms all the way around him and hugged him tightly. Carter was so happy and I was wondering why we can't take pictures with our eyes, save them to our brains, hook up the usb cable through our ears and download the images to our computers. It was a beautiful fleeting moment of brotherly love.
Carter has also been in rare form. He said that he couldn't tell me the secret ingredient to the goop he made at the kids museum because the lady said if he did she would send LNs to get him. LNs? Nurses? I was pretty confused and even more confused when he started describing LNs to me and the pronunciation began to change. He kept talking about the movie "Ratatouille" and I was wondering if he was talking about one of the chef's or the gun the old lady used, or the rats. Finally, after an extreme amount of patience on his part, I was able to understand that it was like the short film on the same dvd - ALIENS! OH. But, I can't even try to phonetically spell what he was calling them in the interim between LNs and Aliens. Whew! I felt like I was playing a game of charades that was life or death. I was sweating and holding my breath, getting an ulcer. When I finally go it, he laughed and laughed and said I wasn't very good at guessing! Easy for him to say.
He told me today coming home from school that the cutest girls in his class are Bella, Kathryn, and Ava. But of course, Bella is "the most bootifullest." Then he says "Do you want to know who the handsome boys are in my class?" How could I pass that up??! "Me. That's one. Davis. And Mason." I asked him about Graham and he agreed that Graham was, also, one of the handsome boys. So, he amended it and said there were 4 handsome boys. I asked him how he knew who the handsome boys were and he said "I just know" and it sounded like a teenager - lots of self-righteous attitude. I told him I was glad he told me, but I had seen lots of pretty girls and cute boys in the class. I don't know for sure, but I bet he rolled his eyes.
He had supper at his Mimi and Docs on Friday while Nathan and I enjoyed Valentine's Day Observed. The next day, Carter said "You know what really weird happened at Mimi and Doc's last night?" I quickly weighed my options about whether ignorance is really bliss or if knowledge is power. In the end, curiosity won out. "They ate supper when it was still light outside! I mean, really light. It was daytime." I stifled some serious laughter because we have been eating so late in the recent weeks, I'd been feeling guilty. It seems like before I know what's happened it's 5 o'clock and I've not even thought about supper. So, Carter and I agreed we would try to eat before dark Sunday night. We missed it, but only barely. Nathan and I explained to him that the days are long in the summer and short in the winter. But, to him, it didn't matter that it was before 7, which isn't too late, but it's still dark. We're going to try again in a couple days. Tonight, he didn't want to eat until it was really dark.
Nathan has been sick in the bed most of the day. He must have the flu and I've been warned my chances of avoiding it are slim. I walk around waiting for the sky to fall in. This is the worst illness Nathan has had since I've known him. He is unable to get out of the bed for very long, can barely speak, and looks generally miserable. While Nathan sat with us briefly at supper, Carter told him he had a super power that would make him all better. He stuck his head under the table and I could her him quietly praying. As I've said before, Carter told us he had two superpowers - to love and to pray. We don't know where he learned that.
Carter has been spending his free time planning his 5th Birthday party. It falls on Wednesday, which was the day he was born. It seems like just a little while ago. He first announced that he only wanted a family party. I asked him what that meant and he said "You know, me, Will, Daddy, you....and Bob and Scratch, and Pounce, of course." Of course. I asked if he wanted to invite his grandparents, which prompted his dad to explain to him that some people will come whether they are invited or not and those people are grandparents. He said he would like them to come. So, I asked him if he wanted to have it here or at some other place and he said "I want to have it at the place with all the desserts!" That didn't really ring a bell and we were off on another guessing game. "You know - " and then he said a word that I could not even recognize anything of English in. He then described "where I was sick." Nothing. "But I got to eat some ice cream with some gummie bears after I felt better??" Then it hit me. I sat gob-smacked. Carter wanted to go to the Golden Corral. Not Gattitown. Not Chick-fil-a. Not McDonalds. He wants to go to the Golden Corral. I told him that if that is where he wanted to go, that is where we would go. A few days later, he began to reevaluate his guest list and he said there was someone else he was going to invite. I made him go through the whole list for me, just in case he'd added others I'm missed in some other planning adjustment. He listed those above and ended with "and Joe." Joe? You know, "Jo, who sends me the cards!" My aunt Joanna sends him cards and baby-sits every once in awhile to great reviews. I said "OH Nana Jo" He thoughtfully nodded and said "and Katie." So, my son will turn 5 with only one person under the age of 30 - his 1.5 year old brother - at his party. The AARP group invited are actually quite thrilled at the choice and I am wondering if Will is going to pick Senior Citizens Hour at Bob Evans for his 2nd birthday.
He asked me again "Why can't I just marry you??" I gave him the answer my Daddy gave me when I asked him why I couldn't marry him: "It's against the law." "Oh tarter sauce!"
Finally, today was the day I've dreaded for five years. I registered Carter for Kindergarten. I know I'm more nervous, anxious, scared, and panic-stricken than he will ever be about it. Like I said, his birth seems just a few fleeting moments ago.