I was sitting here just now, getting ready to pay bills and do my bi-monthly routine of moving money around and organizing our finances, with a very sleep Dorien snuggled up beside me on my bed.

And he, completely unprompted, hugged me and said, "You're pretty, Mommy." 

Does it get any better than that?

I think not. 

I marvel daily at his rapidly growing vocabulary, at his grasp of the English language and its complexities, at his ability to string together long sentences that I still am not sure a 2 1/2 year old should be able to craft, and yet, it's the little things that blow me away. 

Two words that no one prompted him to say that perfectly combine to both overwhelm me with love for him and make me feel really good. And we all know that being in your 8th month of pregnancy, feeling pretty is not necessarily a given. What a blessing these little ones are.