Saturday morning fun

Both kiddos love reading – and I love that!  The family favorite these days is Pinkalicious (thank you, Luke and Kennedy!).

I just love these three people…and how much they love each other!

Charlie and Daddy really getting into Pinkalicious

Nurse Ellie

Ellie spent several nights in the guest bedroom, having been driven out of her room by a minor ant infestation.  One afternoon, we found that she had spent most of her naptime caring for her sick monkey – such a sweet little caretaker.

I think she looks so much like her Auntie Emma here:

And he didn't even see the bus coming!

I remember learning about play therapy in college. They use it to help figure out what is going on with kiddos who are too young to explain what they're feeling or what they've experienced (the kids will often act out the behavior with dolls, etc.). You have to go through years and years of training to interpret the children's behavior, of course, but sometimes I think even a lay person can figure it out. And I've decided that the dollhouse is Ellie's truth serum. Today while playing:

Ellie (as the daddy): Good morning!
Me (as the kiddo): Hi, Daddy! Can we have breakfast?
Ellie: Oh, sure.
Me: What are you going to make for us?
Ellie: Uhm, candy.
Me: Candy for breakfast?! No thank you! Can we have something else, please? [hey, I'm not going to look a teachable-moment-gift-horse in the mouth!]
Ellie: No, candy.
Me: But candy will make our tummies hurt. Can we have something else?
Ellie: It's okay, you can have candy -- Mommy is sleeping.

Hhm.

Mr. Mom

Someone commented the other day that Charlie is just a little sponge soaking it all in; and something tells me that she was right!

Our little fish

Ellie took a series of swim lessons recently and it's just amazing how much more comfortable she is in the water now. She is by no means swimming on her own, but she loves going under water and today decided that she wanted to "dive" for a ring. So brave!

Do you have your tickets...

to the gun show?

Slip 'n Slide

A couple of weekends ago, Damian set up the slip 'n slide in the front yard. Ellie LOVED it (by the way, she's topless for maximum slippage) and Charlie liked playing in the spray, but was too overwhelmed to go hurling down the slide.

These kids have most fun dad in the world!

Daddy's little helpers

Ellie and especially Charlie are really into helping Daddy around the house. Charlie is just overjoyed when he can help carry something -- and as you might imagine, he's a huge help. ;-)

The monkey is loose

Charlie is keeping us on our toes!  A couple of weeks ago, he started flirting with the idea of climbing out of his crib – as soon as I put him down for nap or bedtime, he would stand up and throw one leg over the top of the crib.  If I stayed in the room, he would start pulling himself up the side, so I learned quickly to throw (er…gently place) him in the crib and then run out of the room.  Once I was gone, he wasn’t nearly as courageous…until Tuesday when launched himself right out of the crib.  I heard the thud and then the screams and raced up the stairs in time to hear Charlie trying to open the door of his room (still sobbing).  I turned his crib around (the back of the crib is significantly higher than the front, so now the lower front is against the wall and there’s now way he can climb over the high back), rocked him, and put him down again.  It wasn’t until after his nap that I noticed the terrible bruise on the bridge of his nose.  Poor little monkey!

The bruise doesn’t seem to show up in pictures very well, but you can sort of see it on the left side of his nose.

Ellie’s new friend

A couple of years ago, I found out that my friend’s daughter, Kennedy, had two imaginary friends – Max and Ruby – two adorable little bunnies from a cartoon series.  I thought it was so sweet to think about Kennedy having a friendship with imaginary bunnies and I secretly hoped that one day Ellie would have a cute little imaginary friend.  That hope was realized on Monday when Ellie started talking about her friend, Special Agent Oso, who went to the park with us, rode in the car with us, etc.  Although Oso is not a cute cuddly bunny, it’s still adorable to hear her saying “come on, Special Agent Oso, it’s time for nap” or “watch out Gracie!  Special Agent Oso is sitting there.”  I’m sure the adorableness may wear off as we are all asked to make special accommodations for Mr. Oso, but right now, it’s just pure sweetness.

For those who don’t make a habit of watching the Disney channel, here is a picture of Special Agent Oso:

Shh!

Ellie (after returning from the store with Daddy): Mommy, we got you a card!

Me: You did? Is it a surprise?

Ellie: No, it's a secret.

Stranger Danger

It's possible that my "stranger danger" talk needs a little tweaking. After telling Ellie that she should never get in a car with a stranger, she proceeded to cry (sob, really) for a good 10 minutes. Not because I had instilled in her a healthy fear of strangers, but because (as she explained between sobs) she wanted to ride with strangers and "it isn't dangerous!"

Family pictures

Our favorite photographer took some more amazing pictures for us.  Charlie was not at all in the mood to have his picture taken, but somehow Jason still got some fantastic pictures that show both kids’ personalities.

Pretty sure he thought he was auditioning to be a Gap model or something:

Ellie had a great time striking a pose!

Was this really just a year ago?

Look who's talking!

Charlie, the former mute, is starting to talk up a storm! Many of his words are hard to understand, but it's a start and it's so fun seeing him take so much joy in being able to communicate! Here are the things he's saying:

1. No (this one is crystal clear and often comes in a set of three -- no, no, no!)
2. Hi (also clear)
3. Bye (also clear)
4. Mama
5. Dada/Daddy
6. Gaygee (Gracie)
7. Ay-yee (Ellie)
8. Seesee (Sissy)
9. 'Mon (as in "come on," not "I'm Jamaican, 'mon"
10. Back (put it back)
11. Ball
12. Uh-oh, s'gettio (uh-oh, spaghetti-o)
13. Dank ew (thank you)
14. Bless you (he said it for the first time this morning when Daddy sneezed -- so sweet)
15. Bubbles
16. Geez (please)
17. Yes (we hear this one a lot less often than "no," but he is capable of saying it)
19. Eat
20. Nigh-night

Ready for the talent show

Ellie has a new-found talent: crossing one or both eyes (usually, it's just one eye). As you can tell from the cackling in the background, I think it's pretty entertaining.

Today during lunch...

Me: I'm sorry Mommy has been grumpy today.
Ellie: Yeah.
Me: It makes me sad when you and Charlie don't listen.
Ellie: I listening.
Me: Yes, you are -- thank you.
Ellie: Hey, maybe we sing a song together and you'll feel better!

Talk about busting right through that grumpiness!