"THAT Girl"

I was just feeding Eve and she reminded me of two things. First, when she's excited or when she's mad, she holds her arms straight out in front of her and shakes them up and down. We were at a friend's house the other day when she and John were in the other room. He took her toy and she squealed at the top of her lungs and did that. We were both doubled over laughing. You just wouldn't expect that attitude out of such a mild mannered little girl.

The other thing will probably embarrass her terribly if she reads this later, but still I have to share my prediction. While I was feeding her, she passed gas rather loudly then grinned her silly little devious grin. I couldn't help but laugh. She's going to be THAT girl. You know, the one girl that can burp the alphabet and tells her friends to pull her finger. It's that grin. I just really think she's going to be a ham, and so pretty that you won't expect it, and she'll pull it off as being funny and not gross. That's my prediction.

Communication and Games

Early in the week I started wondering if Eve might have picked up the sign for "hungry", even though we more often show her "more" and "finished". Now I'm certain she knows what she's doing. She's a champ at it, and does it quite frequently. Funny, John's first and best sign was "more". With as much as my kids love eating, you'd think I'm a good cook (and you'd be wrong).

I don't know where John has picked up on these two games, but he's been asking to play "I Spy" and "Simon Says". We've had lots of fun with it, especially in the car. I'm trying to use Simon Says to my advantage to get him to do things like clean up toys and brush his teeth. It's only kind of working, but still it's lots of fun...and a good way to expend some energy in the house when it's too hot to play outside.

On a motherly note-as much as John has been frustrating me lately with his strong will and attitude (strong will comes directly from me, and I'm thinking maybe the attitude from Buck), I was planning for our trip to Peru today, and I started to get homesick for John and Eve already. Already, just listening to me talk, Mom has said "you're going to have a hard time leaving them, aren't you" and "I promise, they're going to be fine" (followed by lots of detailed assurances). I'm not worried about them at all, more so Mom's sanity (and now, me). It's going to be a nice break, but 10 days is a LONG LONG time.

Counting

I think I counted 15 steps today. Slowly, but surely, she's getting the hang of it. I think I'm actually going to have to buy her some more shoes, but at least she'll be able to wear shorts and dresses without tearing them (and her knees) up.

John has been going through a phase (at least I keep telling myself that's what it is). He does this every now and then. We're going to Peru for 10 days next Friday, and Mom is keeping John and Eve, so I hope he's over it by then. Anyway, I was thinking maybe he's been getting bored. It's been really hot, so we haven't been outside much. The other night we went for a family walk and he ran almost the whole time. Maybe burning off energy is what we need. So, I decided to take them hiking yesterday around 2. Yep, not too far off from the peak heat of the day. We went to a little place called Conestee, about 15 minutes away. It was great, and I was so proud of John. He walked by himself the whole way for the first time (he didn't really have a choice), he did a good job staying on the trail when I asked him to, and staying close enough to me, he enjoyed looking at things and discovering, and he managed to finish even when he was super hot and tired. What a trooper! We had a great time, but the heat really wore us all down. We were definitely ready to be done when the car was in site. BUT, no snakes, and we saw some really cool red ants, so I'd say it was a great trip. And I'm sort of proud that I at least got all three of us (John didn't want his picture taken) at least in the frame on the camera self timer. Only one problem. When John was so hot, I poured some of my water on his head. He thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm hoping I haven't started a bad habit!

What's New?

Well, let's see...

Eve took her first directional steps Saturday (20th?). It was almost like she flipped a switch. I really think she's had all the tools to walk for months now, and has taken steps, but they've just been idle steps while she's playing with something in her hands. It's almost as if she didn't even realize she was moving her feet, and they weren't in a particular direction. She really just hasn't had any interest at all. She won't even hesitate if there's something she wants, she just drops straight to her knees. We haven't been able to trick her at all. She hasn't been afraid, just not interested. Anyway, Saturday she finally decided to give it a go. She's frequently been taking 4 or 5 steps toward what she wants before she falls and crawls the rest of the way. Yippeee! It's really getting too hot to wear pants outside to protect her knees!

Also new with Eve, I think I see one corner of her front, top, right tooth trying to peep through. We'll see. The left one is still BARELY visible. They're just taking their time, for sure.

I got John a few $1 puzzles with 24 pieces. He has really enjoyed them. They are his first interlocking puzzles. I tried to find some with fewer pieces, but he's doing alright with these. He needs lots and lots of help, but he really enjoys it, and is doing well (by my standards) of deciding which pieces fit together and how. It has turned out to be a really fun activity for us to do together.

Yesterday was Father's Day. John and Eve made a comic book for Buck (with a little help), and we just had a relaxing day. John is always asking to listen to his music in the car. I try to convince him to take turns. I told him yesterday that we would let Daddy choose since it was Father's Day. In the evening we were driving home from the pool. John announced that it wasn't Father's Day anymore. Crafty little turd.

One-Year Pictures

And Then There Were Three

Teeth, that is. FINALLY Eve's 3rd tooth broke the surface yesterday. It's the top front left. She's been more clingy, but has otherwise handled it well. She's still not interested at all in walking. She loves to chase the boys around the cul-de-sac, and really holds her own on her knees. She loves loves loves the little Fred Flinstone car that you drive with your feet. She climbs in all on her own and likes to sit backward on her knees and look out the back (and splash in the water if we left it out in the rain). She climbed into a friend's yesterday and I walked out into the yard to find her honking the horn repeatedly with her forehead. Her head butts are getting harder and harder. She grins whenever you look at her and smile, and has a devilish grin when she's doing something sneaky. It totally reminds me of somebody, but I haven't figured out who yet. She's starting to get more picky with her food, but she LOVES yogurt, and I found out yesterday that I can put just about anything on the spoon with yogurt and she won't think twice about it. Oh, and I recently lowered her mattress to the lowest setting because I caught her trying to climb out of the crib.

John continues to be a terror and a joy. A few nights ago we were walking up to bed and I smelled an awful smell when I passed his room. I thought I might have to change a stinky diaper in his sleep (that happened earlier in the week and he slept right through it). Oh, to be so fortunate. I opened the door and found John in the bed-dead asleep-diaper on the floor, and stinky finger paint all in the carpet. Buck offered to clean it up this time (I think it's the second time he's done it to us and he's done it to mom at least 3 times) and let me know I should probably clean his hands because the entire door was "painted" as well. Needless to say, his hands were covered, and it was all dry because it had been an hour or so by the time we discovered it. Yuck. On the flip side, John's expressiveness is something to love. Even friends pick up on it and love it. He gets so excited about things, smiles with his one dimple, and his voice gets higher and higher as he gets to the end of his phrases. When a song comes on that he likes, his whole face lights up and he just grins and sometimes giggles. He also does a cute gasping thing when he's excited. We were shopping for plants the other day and he saw a yard decoration in the shop. He asked what it was and I told him a castle. He gasped and said "really?!" in his voice that gets higher, and the cashier could hardly contain herself. I also think it's neat to see his problem solving skills. Lately when anything happens, his response is "that's OK". Most of the time it is, but he also says that after he's hit Eve with something, or gotten in trouble. Anyway, I was encouraging him to go outside and play early before it got hot. His response, "That's OK, we can play in the shade. The sun not burn us in the shade. It not hot in the shade." I thought that was pretty smart. Oh, and he can sometimes put his underwear on all by himself. We're trying to get him to put clothes on before he leaves the bathroom, at least when we're away from home, but I guess that one is just going to take time.

3D

That's right, we've gone 3-dimentional. We're in big trouble. Buck has created a monster. This is what I found today...

First she climbed up on the stool to grab things off the counter. At least it was her toothbrush. Dental hygeine is important.
Here, you see, she's gone even higher. I've always said as long as you can keep them on the ground you're good. When they go 3D, that's when you're in big trouble. We're officially in big trouble. She was so proud of herself, and got so very mad when I took her down, took all of her goodies away, and put the stool out of reach.

Here are some pictures from our trip to see G.G.

Bubbles are fun...even when you're 90.

A stranger might see this picture and think she's senile. Nope, just the most fun Grandma and G.G. ever. Silly prankster!


I'd say they both enjoyed it.

Another Big Birthday

Last weekend we went down to Albany, GA for G.G.'s 90th birthday! She is my Dad's mother. She is the one named after the Dorothy Perkins Rose that we have in our garden, and from whom the name "Rose" came. You'd never guess she's 90. It was such a great visit. The kids did very well in the car. Eve got bored a few times, but I'm sure she was pleased to be facing forward. DVD players are a wonderful thing! We only got to stay for the weekend, but they loved exploring G.G.'s house and playing with Aunt Patty's toys. I enjoyed visiting and hearing more stories about family history. G.G.'s grandfather and Jimmy Carter's (the former president) grandfather were brothers, and he called her for her birthday and sent a note. Turns out the president doesn't have to put a stamp on it. His signature was where a stamp would go, printed "Postage guaranteed" or something like that. I guess if you've been president, they figure you're good for it. Anyway, it was a great visit, and with a stop at McDonalds for ice cream and play time, we made it home just fine, too. We came home to one fewer fish, and wouldn't you know, that was the first thing John noticed. In John's mind heaven must be filling up. Now it consists of Jesus, Papa, his ironman balloon, and now a fish. Eve took 9 steps Sunday night. Woohoo! They weren't really in a stright line, or in an effort to get anywhere, more so just moving her feet while she way playing. Oh, and we went to the pool for the first time yesterday. It was a hit! I'm thinking we'll be spending a lot of time there this summer.