From the mouths of Babes

While I'm thinking about it....wanted to write a few funny things the kids have said (or in Dylan's case, the funny things he's doing...he is talking a little more every day though....he's coming around ;)

Eva today at dinner: "Dylan, you have to drink all your milk, see (gulp, gulp) I have to drink it all gone so my bones and teeth won't crack up! Wait, there's still more. (gulp, ah) There. Now my bones and teeth won't crack up."

Keith and I frequently call the kids our little monkeys, to which Eva always says she is not a monkey. Today, guess she wanted to make sure that I understand:
"Dylan is a monkey because he likes bananas. I do NOT like bananas, so I am NOT a monkey."


Eva's little shadow, aka, little brother Dylan: last week Dylan started copying EVERYTHING that Eva does. I do mean everything. Has advantages at times, like when Eva is cleaning up, or sits quietly at dinner. Other times, not so good...Eva doesn't like her food, Dylan pushes his plate away. (and you all know how much he loves his food!:P) Eva falls down. Dylan falls down. Yesterday, took the kids on a nature walk, and every time Eva stopped to look at something on the ground, Dylan stops to look at something on the ground even though he doesn't even know what he's looking at!



The gorilla: Dylan has a stuffed animal gorilla that he likes to cuddle and carry around. Keith and I were telling him to give the gorilla a kiss. So, he walks over to Keith and plants a big smooch on his lips!


We must live in a computer generated world, when a three year old "air-mouse clicks" her choices. No joke. When I asked her what kind of sandwich: "hmm, soy butter (holds out left hand) or peanut butter (holds out right hand)".....points finger to left hand and says in robotic voice "click-soy butter".

Eva's First Day of School

Eva had her first day at Sonshine School (mother's day out), and mommy was definitely more anxious than our baby girl. Seeing my first-born confidently walk into a classroom with her oversized backpack and lunchbox, find her name at her seat, proceed to sit, begin coloring, and simply say "bye, mommy", I felt both a sense of pride and a twinge of heartache. Okay, so it's only two days a week for about 5 hours, but still...

Thankfully, she had a wonderful time. Her response when asked what she thought of school: "Mommy, I want to go again and again and again!". Dylan enjoyed some time with mommy, but he also missed his big sister. I had to wake him from his nap to pick her up, but when I told him we were picking up "Ya-Ya", his little eyes widened and he smiled. They were so excited to see eachother, and Eva couldn't wait to give us a play-by-play of her day. She even admitted she only ate the jelly side of her sandwich! :) She had such a great day, I won't be as nervous on Thursday...maybe.

Eva, mommy and daddy are so proud of you, big girl!

Another year older...

...and yet I feel so young. Maybe it's the kids keeping me on my toes, or could it be the new 'do?



I had a very nice birthday weekend. Saturday, I got a much needed haircut that took a day for Keith and kids to get used to. I went shorter than originally planned, so when I walked in and they were waiting behind the sofa with gifts, not sure who was more surprised! Eva's immediate response was "get your long hair back". Don't think Dylan cared, or even noticed. :) After a few hours Eva said she liked it, but wanted to be sure I could still ride bikes. Not sure where she came up with that..kids are so funny. We had a fun weekend filled with all my favs: shopping, spending time with family, eating great food-cheesecake, wine, Thai on Saturday, grilled fajitas on Sunday. Think I put on a few pounds, but being with my husband and kids to celebrate all that the Lord has blessed me with this past year makes it all worth it. (just have to spend more time on the elliptical this week!)

Thanks Daddy, Eva and Dylan for making my birthday so special! I love you!

Our baby boy is growing up...

Hard to believe that Dylan is officially closer to two years old now. He turned 18 months on August 1st and mommy knows all too well how quickly 6 months will pass. He still likes to cuddle up with us...although, usually not for more than a minute..sniff,sniff. Then he's off to chase the cats or his sister. Dylan is totally into anything with wheels. It's funny to watch him push his toy vehicles around the house, and drive them on the walls and the cats. He also enjoys building block towers, coloring, playing in the mud, climbing and jumping on furniture, and trying to catch frogs! I cringe thinking about the daring and crazy adventures he will have as he gets older. I just hope and pray he doesn't share the same pyromania as his daddy!

Happy 18 months, Dylan!! We love you!

Future paleontologist

Many of you know that Eva absolutely LOVES dinosaurs, so much that she has named each of us a different dinosaur. (Daddy-TRex, Mommy-Allosaurus, Eva-Spinosaurus, Dylan-velociraptor...guess we're a family of carnisaurs). Anyone who strikes a conversation (cashiers& shoppers included) will undoubtedly get a lesson in the prehistoric creatures. They are always taken back by her knowledge and ability to pronounce names such as parasaurolophus and micropachycephalosaurus (what a mouthful!) Of course, the science teacher in me couldn't resist fostering this interest. So we bought her a fossil digging kit that she has painstakingly worked on for days. Her determination and patience were most impressive. Even I couldn't wait to dig the fossils out and kept asking if we could just take a hammer to it already- to which she of course replied "no, mommy, we have to dig them out". We finally finished today and as you will see in the photos, she was extremely proud of her accomplishment. Then, she asked "can we do another one tomorrow?" Perhaps someday she will be a paleontologist.

Trip to the Pond

The kids and I frequently visit the pond near our house to feed the ducks and turtles, or as Eva says, to visit Ming Ming and Tuck (of the Wonderpets, for those not familiar with children's programming on Nick Jr). If we're lucky we usually get a glimpse of the beautiful crane that also lives at the pond. Last week, while I was helping Dylan throw the bread into the pond instead of eating it himself, Eva excitedly pokes me and whispers, "look mommy the crane!!!". We all stood very still hoping he wouldn't fly away. The kids knew this was a rare and exciting event. I haven't seen them stand that still and quite since- well, ever. Mr. Crane walked right up to us, but wasn't even interested in the food. I guess after our many visits, he finally got the courage to check out the little ones who love to use their outdoor voices.