Brothers.

Whenever I pictured myself as a mother, I envisioned daughters. Of course I thought about dressing them up in pink, ruffly, girly clothes. But, most importantly, I dreamed my daughters would have built-in best friends. Sisters. I have two sisters who I love and treasure more than anything, and that is what I have always wanted for my daughters.

Except....I got boys.

The thing I've been realizing lately is that brothers are just as neat as sisters. They are also built-in best friends. I've enjoyed watching my sons' relationship bud and grow into something they will most definitely love and treasure, just the same as I do with my sisters.

Spencer and Ashton are like any typical siblings. They fight over silly things. They demand equal, if not more, attention. They hug and kiss. They play together. They love and admire each other. And Big Brother protects Little Brother. This last one slays my mommy heart.

This past week I've taken stock of a lot of things in my life due to some very personal reasons, and I couldn't help but find solace in my children's companionship. Sisters or brothers, they're all the same. They're family. Built-in best friends.

Here are some moments from my boys' week:

I recycled an old wipes container and lids for Ashton to play with.

Projects: painting and coloring.

We spent our Saturday night at a chaotic mall play area, where we witnessed Spencer protecting his little brother from all the rowdy kids. At one point Spencer lost track of Ashton, and he turned and spun in all directions in a panic trying to find him. Now that's taking his role as Big Brother very seriously. We never even told him to watch Ashton. We simply said to go play and have fun.

Poor Nina.

The neighborhood kids played outside Friday after a big snowfall. Dave was in charge of taking pictures. This is what I got. He's a man of a few pictures, obviously. I'll have to paint the picture for you. A big snow mountain, lots of kids, sleds, snowball fights, snow mobiles, etc. I watched from my window with a huge grin plastered on my face. It reminded me of my own childhood.

I'll leave you with a conversation we had in our van the other day:

Spenc: I wanna be a girl. 

Me: Well, go ask God. 
Spenc: No, don't say that. 
Me: God is the one who gave you a penis. 
Spenc: No, he didn't put it on. 
Me: Who did then?
Spenc: Nobody. It's just there. 
Dave: Want to go buy a dress?
Spenc: No, I'm a boy! I joked you!

All of this because I said I like Pink, the singer, and Spenc said he liked pink, too, meaning the "girl" color.