Nothing major to report, other than Oo's theater class performance last week, which I have to say was A-DOR-A-BLE. I took video of it, which I want to edit before I post -- most of the footage is of Oo spinning on one foot, trying to make her dress poof out. So until then, here are some pictures:
And now, some little things the kids are currently doing that entertaining us:
- Oo wakes me up every morning. She tip-toes into my room, stands by my bed, and kisses the tip of my nose. If I don't wake up right away, she'll say, "Wake up, Momma" in a quiet sing-songy voice. I've never been much of a morning person... until now.
- T loves to swing. Always has. He loves when we give him big pushes on his baby swing and send him flying high. But he's also attempting to swing on a big-kid swing. He holds on tight... most of the time. It's going to take a while to learn this new skill. He has, however, quickly mastered how to brush dirt out of his hair!
- Now that her hair is longer, Oo has 3 hair style options -- a pony tail, pig tails, or a clip to hold back her bangs. How does she decide which style to wear? In typical Oo fashion, she follows a pattern -- a hair clip one day, a pony tail the next, pig tails after that, and then back to a hair clip on the 4th day.
- If T doesn't like the way he did something, he has a do-over. For example, he was walking down the stairs today. He made it down 3 steps when he suddenly realized that he wasn't holding on to the wall for balance. So he walked back up the 3 steps and made sure he was holding on to the wall (double- and triple-checking himself) before he went back down again.
- (Nicole... If you're reading this post, be sure to skip past this paragraph. Trust me.) Oo is so lovey, and she tells us all day long that she loves us. Similar to the book "Guess How Much I Love You", she says she loves us "as tall as that tree" or "as big as our yard." When she wants to let us know that she loves us "a lot, a lot, a lot," she'll say, "I love you as far as Chicago." (Our good friends moved to Chicago last year. She misses them "a lot, a lot, a lot," and so to her, Chicago is the farthest place on the planet from our home.)
- Now in the "terrible" part of the Twos, T just wants to be taken seriously. He has been practicing his under-the-eyebrow scowl in front of the mirror lately. And he'll randomly walk up to me and declare, "I serious."
- Oo is obsessed with secrets. If she tells me she's pretending to be a fish, for example, she'll say, "Don't tell Daddy! I don't want him to know I'm a fish." But as soon as he walks into the room, she'll say, "I just HAVE TO tell him! I can't resist." She is also quick to rat me out to Adrian if she thinks I did something that he wouldn't approve of. Of course, Adrian thinks this is hilarious.
- T hums all day long. He has quite a repertoire, including some of the obvious songs, like the themes to Sesame Street and Elmo's World. He also like to hum a waltz he heard on a Baby Einstein video.
- When drawing people, Oo starts with their head, followed by a stick-figure body. She then gives them underpants -- which always look like polka-dotted boxers -- and then draws clothes on top of the body and underpants.
- T has started to make his toys talk to each other. A rubber duck will say, "Hi blue fishy" to the fish bathtub toy, and the fish will say, "Hi duckie." Then T will purposely drop the duck onto the floor and say, "Oops, duckie bonk a head... I okay."
- Oo has strayed away from having imaginary friends. But now she has imaginary big sisters and big brothers -- and they are all characters that she has seen on TV.
- T is in a mommy-love phase right now. I get many, many hugs around my legs every day, and if I'm sitting on the floor, he'll tackle me with a hug from behind. He also likes to make sure I'm always near. If he's headed upstairs, down to the basement, or outside with Daddy, he'll say "Mon Mom" (Come on Mom) until I follow him.
- Inspired by a family down the street, the kids have starting "playing" soccer. They both are very good at dribbling a ball up our driveway with their feet, but I have not yet been able to convince them to play in the grass.
- Oo daily begs to play Internet games. Not a fan of computer games, I only let her play for a short time. She used to play on Playhouse Disney's site, but fortunately she now prefers the games on PBS Kids' site, which are far more educational and challenging. T doesn't use the computer yet, but he loves to side right up to Oo and watch her play. And of course, he has to push a few keys on the keyboard when she's playing, which sends her into a fit. "Ugh, little brothers..."
- T is talking more and more every day. He's recently added some phrases to his verbal repertoire that, combined with his toddler pronunciations, are so freakin' cute. To list a few:
"App-pooter seeping" -- Apple computer is sleeping. (turned off)
"Ah pah pan, mo less" -- It's all part of the plan, more or less. (a phrase he regularly hears on Oo's favorite TV show)
"See you wake up" -- I'll see you when I wake up. (what he says before falling asleep for a nap)
And our number one, most-favorite phrase is "I wan pun-bah pear-puns puss-pah!" -- I want a Spongebob Squarepants push-up pop!
That's all for now. But before I sign off, here's a picture of T reading his favorite books, which he can recite from memory: "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"
