The sweet spot.

Finally.

After 20 months of chaos and feeling like I was just barely keeping my head above the water most days when it came to being a mom, I've hit "the sweet spot."

I read this article last night and while I'm not quite to that sweet spot yet, I've hit a different one of my own.

Lukas is finally and consistently sleeping through the night. Halleleujah, it's about damn time! I forgot how wonderful it is to go to bed each night and sleep straight through the night.

He's finally communicating with us. He can respond appropriately to yes or no answers and ask for things that fulfill his basic needs. I feel like I finally understand how to meet his needs which has made him much happier an in turn, me much happier as well.

He's finally done teething. Even his two year molars are through. No more wiping snotty noses constantly and trying to soothe a fussy, whiny little boy. No more around the clock Tylenol and/or Motrin.

Best of all, my kids finally love each other!

Now granted, they've always loved each other. We would have moments in which we'd find them treating each other with that love but those moments were usually fleeting and sometimes, few and far between.

But now, they play together. They sit next to each other on the couch, even though there's a whole lot of empty space around them on which they could also sit. I find them having a dance party in Liana's room, smiling and giggling and genuinely enjoying each other's company. Liana loves to pick up her little brother and give him giant bear hugs or help him see things that are just a bit too high for him to see otherwise. They miss each other when they're apart and run to each other when they're reunited. They both love to read books and now they love to read them together and if Liana had it her way, Lukas would be sitting on her lap instead of on mine.

They love each other.

And it's the best thing ever.

I can finally get other stuff done around the house because they play. Together. Without fighting. (Most of the time at least).

I feel a bit more confident in running errands with both kids. Lukas still hates to sit in the cart but at least he'll stay a bit closer to me.

And Liana is now just old enough to help me keep my eyes on him. If he runs away in the store, she runs after him and tackles him to the ground until I can catch up to them. I can run upstairs to take a quick shower or get ready and leave them downstairs together because I know she'll rat him out if he starts to get into trouble. She looks out for her brother and helps to take care of him... something I'm not only proud of her for but appreciative of.

All of this added together means just one thing... we're here. We made it. We've hit that "sweet spot". The one where life with my kids finally feels a lot less crazy and a lot more fun. The one where I want to eat them up because they're so damn cute and I love spending time with them.

Right now, I'm thankful that my little boy is 21 months old (today!!). I loved him as a baby but I love him even more as a toddler. I love that the hardest days as a family of four are behind us... at least for a while. I'm sure we'll have plenty of other rocky spots as we grow but for now, I'm just thankful for where we are.

So, so thankful.