Top 27 reasons why Tiger and Eli are the best.

There really are too many reasons to count why my boys are the best, but I have narrowed it down to a small list over the past week or so. It was incredibly difficult since I could literally sit here and type for days on end why they're so wonderful, but for the sake of the blog I gave myself a limit. Here it is in no particular order:

27. I heard the song "Paparazzi" on an episode of "Dancing with the Stars" a while back so now when I take pictures sometimes I'll sing it. Every now and then Tiger will clearly say "Paparazzi, Momma!" What kind of hilarious two year old says paparazzi?

26. Often times while Eli is nursing he will stop so he can look up at me intently and smile. I just hope years down the road I can remember that look on his face.

25. While Tiger was dancing the other day our Brussels Griffon, Bengal, was lying next to him on the floor. He kept looking at her saying "Sing a song, Bengal!" because he wanted her to accompany him with some music.

24. Every time one of us goes to get Eli up out of his crib he looks up at us with the biggest, sweetest smile he can muster. His eyes just light up when he sees us. And have I ever mentioned he is the cutest 4 month old I know?

23. When Tiger leaves a room a lot of the time he will turn to whomever is there and say "Bye guys! Gotta go. See ya!" and wave. Sometimes he'll even say "Adios."

22. For a while when I would take a picture of Tiger he would say "Jesus!" (Sounds sort of like cheese, right?) instead of the usual "Cheese." That changed to "Queso!" and now he is saying "Cheese!" and hamming it up the whole time.

21. Lately Tiger has been pretending to call 'Nette and Papa Mitch on his phone. Here's how the one way conversation goes: "Hello, 'Nette? (or Papa Mitch) No! Okay, bye!" followed by him slamming the phone down.

20. Tiger's favorite joke right now is to look at Aaron and I, point at each of us, and say "One Mommy, Two Daddies!" Then he cracks up with laughter like he is Chris Rock.

19. At bed time now Tiger likes to be tucked in like a mummy with the blanket very tight around his whole body. He always says "Tuck in real tight" and if I go in to kiss him after he's been put to bed he just looks around with his eyes-he doesn't even move his head because he's so confined.

18. Also at bed time lately he'll say "Lay down, Momma" and I'll lay down next to him and talk to him for a minute. I have tried to sneak out without giving him an excuse and that didn't go over so well. So now I tell him "Mommy has to go potty" and since he understands the urge to potty now that he is potty trained this is an acceptable reason for me to leave. So every time I leave now he automatically just says "Go potty Momma."

17. The other day we were getting the boys into the car and it was sweltering hot so I emphatically said "Aaron, do you have the keys? It's hot!" And the next day Tiger walked around saying "Aaron, hot!" all day. My little parrot.

16. Tiger calls his private parts "pirate parts." How cool is that?

15. Lately he likes to say "Happy!" and make an excited, happy face...quickly followed by him saying "Saaaaad" and making a very contrived little sad face. He loves for Aaron and I to do it with him. Sooo cute!

14. Sometimes if he's feeling wild he'll say "CRAZY!" and run around like a crazy man, his feet dancing as fast as they'll go. All of this while he's tickling himself.

13. So I have turned in to THAT Mom. When Tiger is doing something unfavorable I find myself saying "Tiger Mitchell!" with a tone of disapproval. Now he's been walking around randomly saying "Tiger Mitchell!" with the same tone. Hilarious.

12. When 'Nette was here a few weeks ago she was giving Tiger a special bath in the big jetted whirlpool tub when he suddenly stood up with a concerned look on his face and proceeded to go number dos in the water while the jets were going. I won't go into detail but I could probably create a new entry on urban dictionary...poop soup.

11. The other day Aaron and I were sitting in the loft next to the play room upstairs talking while Tiger played. Aaron's cell phone rang and when he looked to see who it was he said "You're calling me!" When he picked up, Tiger was on the other end just chatting away.

10. Eli is now rolling all over the place and getting his knees up under him to thrust himself forward. He's also holding his upper body up with his arms when he's on his stomach.

9. During his after nap TV time Tiger often requests Christmas movies, and it's July! He'll say "Watch Christmas tree!" (Rudolph) or "Watch Frosty!" That's my boy.

8. Every time he uses the potty now he comes out of the bathroom and excitedly says "Check it out, Momma (or Daddy)!"

7. In the car the other day we were pointing out different animals and saw a field with cows. I said "Tiger, what does the cow say?" and when he said "Moo!" I repeated him but gave the cow a country twang...so now when Tiger mimics a cow his "Moo" sounds very southern.

6. Instead of crying like most babies at his 4 month check up the other day Eli laughed through almost the entire exam. I am pretty sure he made the Dr.'s day (and mine!).

5. Sometimes Tiger will make the most angelic face and lean in for a kiss only to trick you at the last second with wild face tickling instead. Where does he come up with this stuff?

4. Tiger will randomly say "Hug family!" and want Aaron or I to pick him (and Eli) up so we can have a family hug. Just today he started saying "Dance family" wanting us all to dance together.

3. While he and Aaron were dancing like crazy men this morning Aaron would say "Dance like you're mad, son" with a British accent so now Tiger says "Dance mad, son!" while he's dancing.

2. Eli's favorite past time is watching Tiger do whatever he is doing. When we went to St. Simons last week if Eli was awake in the car his head was completely turned to look at Tiger, even though he was also just sitting in his car seat. Sweetest thing ever.

1. Tiger now says "Love you" every night to both Aaron and I before we leave the room. Melts my heart every time.

Well, there you have it. Aaron and I are constantly in awe of the gifts God has given us in our sweet boys. Our hearts are truly full.