More pool clips...

Noah's attempt at running and jumping in isn't a dramatic as Hannah's, but his dance moves make up for it. And, as you can see, Hannah has some serious balancing skills and no fear-- this must come from her daddy.

Kiddie Pool Fun!

Here are a few clips from our afternoon. They definitely like to ham it up for the camera.

Noah, the Talker

People are often surprised when they hear Noah speak. They ask how old he is and I inform them that he's not even two yet--just 21 months, actually. Even our pediatrician was a little blown away last week at Noah's appointment when we he asked about his language development. A lot of kids Noah's age like to jabber, have many single words that they use to indicate objects or feelings, and are often beginning to string these single words into brief phrases and thoughts.

Noah, on the other hand, has been putting together complete thoughts and sentences for months now, and many days it just makes me smile to see his mind at work as he carries on full conversations. Here is an actual snippet from today. After he woke up from nap, we were playing with an empty diaper box, waiting for Hannah to awaken too.

Noah: I need my wallet.
Me: Where is it?
Noah: It's in my bedroom.
Me: Okay. Why don't you go get it?
Noah: Can you open that door? (As he pulls unsuccessfully at the knob of the hallway door.)
Me: Sure.
Noah: Thank you.

(He returns from his bedroom with a leather cell phone cover that he pretends is both a wallet and a phone.)
Noah: I'm playing with my phone wallet. I'm calling Grandpa Lou.
Me: That's a good idea.
Noah: It's ringing. My phone is ringing. (He looks inside his "wallet" then looks directly at me) I need some money in my wallet. Where is some money?

Seriously. My not-even-two-year-old asked me for a little cash already. I guess he's advanced on many levels.

So it begins...

First of the summer blogs...

Ahhhhh. Time to relax, hang out with my amazing son and daughter, bake yummy treats, work on projects around the house, read lots of books, cultivate the garden and be a happy housewife. Now that skate camp has officially started, I am a stay at home mom. Below are some pictures from this morning: playing, dancing and sharing a picnic in the front yard. Although, I am fully aware of all the trying aspects of parenting too (I was up with kiddos 4 times this morning, between 12:30 and 3:30), it's mornings like this that make me wonder how anyone could think this is not the very best job in the world?

Hannah's birthday vid

My big little man!

Noah's new habit #1: When he doesn't get his way, making this face and saying "So sad! Hug you."

Noah's new habit #2: Attempting to eat all pens and crayons. This is a Color Wonder marker Hannah got for her birthday. I believe there is only one left with a tip now. Somehow, despite being watched like a hawk, he gets a quick and secretive bite in before we can stop him. Hungry boy.

Noah's new habit #3: Helping. Here he is helping fold the laundry. By "fold" I mean "climb in and out of the basket and unfold all the things I have actually folded." It's a time consuming but very fun process-- lots of laughter and wrestling. He likes to help "unload" the dishwasher too. I'm sure you can imagine what that entails.

She says the most random things...

We're backing out of the driveway on the way to my folks house and, out of nowhere, Hannah says, "Mom, in a while when I get older I can learn to drive the car too." I don't even want to think about my sweet little girl being 15!

Then, no more than two minutes later, we're getting out of the car at my mom and dad's and she hits me with, "Mom, why is there white around my eye?" Her mind was on to bigger and more important questions about life.

And finally, as we get out of the car after playing with grandma and grandpa for a while and are heading in to get ready for bedtime she makes the highly astute observation, "Mom, cultivator and elevator rhyme." Seriously!? How does my 3 year old daughter know the word cultivator? And we weren't even talking about farming...