Great Things about 1 and 3 (almost 4)

My little boys are 1 and almost 4, and I am loving the stage we're in at the moment.  Every phase has its positives and negatives of course, but let's focus on the positives, shall we?  It seems to be pretty easy to do right now.

The little guy:
- Sleeps!  We're in the transition of two naps down to one, which can be challenging; but in general, the little guy sleeps predictably and very well.
- Eats most food that we eat, and can feed himself finger foods.  Almost done with the purees.
- Walks around on his own
- Plays happily by himself when I need to get something done, and is easily entertained when we play together.  A stack of blocks, a pan to bang, some music to dance to....that's all it takes
- Cuddles and snuggles.  Storytime is still in a rocker on my lap, and he still loves our snuggle-time.
- My two current favorite things he does:  1)  When I get him out of the bath, he holds on tight and burrows his face into my neck, and 2)  He gets a book, brings it over to me, turns around and backs up to sit on my lap.  He doesn't have many words, but he communicates so clearly.

The big guy:
- Sleeps!  (Still worth celebrating.)  He's not napping any more, but he goes to bed at night without complaint and sleeps well.
- Is beyond the super-picky phase and will at least try everything on his plate.  He's still not a big eater, but if he eats all his asparagus, I'm happy.
- Rarely has tantrums.  There is still the occasional meltdown when I say no to something he wants, but he is in much greater control of his emotions than he was a year ago.  He is able to listen and understand rules and compromises.  (He is also a master negotiator, which can be a good or bad thing!)
- Learns so quickly!  It's amazing to watch him.   He knows all his letters and numbers, and now he's learning to write them.  He is working on his puzzle skills.  He understands basic math concepts.  Every day brings something new.  The questions are getting harder, but they're still fun to answer.
- He still snuggles, and he loves stories at bedtime.  He still gives lots of hugs and kisses and "I love you"s.
- My current favorite things he does:  I love that he plays with and attempts to teach his little brother, raising his voice into a high-pitched mommy-tone.   I love when he repeats lessons learned back to me, to prove that he has been listening.  I love the pride in his face and voice when he shows me something he can do.