Time Flies!

I realize it's been a few weeks since I've posted (minus the head start from last night).  Time flies when you're having fun.  I feel like I've left a lot of little funny things out and just should've sat down while they were fresh on the brain.  New computer and software means I need time to sit down and figure out how to get pictures properly placed on the blog.  So, without the fun of pictures...at least for now, here are some things I've missed (in mixed up "Katie's brain" order).
Ellie reached the 15 month mark!  She's a trip!  She's all over the place now and is so proud to now be able to climb into the kitchen chairs.  Unfortunately she hasn't learned to pull them out from the table first, so sometimes she gets stuck on her belly with nowhere to go until someone comes and pulls the chair out for her.  She loves to sit there and just swing her feet...for a really long time.  Now, I'm no spring chicken.  I know good and well the table is the next place I'll find her.  One day last week she randomly started walking around flapping her arms and saying "bock bock" like a chicken.  I'm pretty sure it's from TV, but it's the closest she's gotten to a word, or properly identifying something (she's certainly on the back side of the verbal curve), so it was fun to see!  With football looming on the horizon, though, we set hard at work to teach her what a tiger says.  By the end of the day she had learned to put her hands up near her face and say "ROAR!!!"...well, maybe more like a quiet "ahh", but it's really cute.  "Shh" was her technical first, also super cute.  In fact, John has started a new game of pretending we're spies.  To date, it's my very favorite game.  Everyone sneaks around super quiet.  We were at Mom's yesterday and Mom and John started sneaking like spies down the hall.  The didn't realize it, but Ellie followed close behind saying "Shhhh" with her finger to her lips.  Looks like we might be on the cusp of the verbal explosion, which is so fun!  For 15 month stats, head 18.25 in (69 percentile), weight 23 lb. 13 oz (82 percentile), and length 30 in (30 percentile).  Ouch.  She doesn't look that disproportionate to me.  I think all the other kids are just too tall and skinny!

Last week we spent a few days down in Albany, GA visiting G.G. (my grandmother, their Great Grandma).  We also got to see Aunt Patty and Uncle Don, which is also always a treat.  Growing up I used to spend a week in the summer with Grandma and all the cousins at Grandma's camp.  Even at 93, she's an amazing person and managed to put together a little G.G.'s camp for them!  They had so much fun.  They colored t-shirts, went fishing in the tiny (maybe 2-ft. diameter) "pond" on G.G.'s front porch, pledged the flag, worked lots of puzzles, had a campfire at the end of the day, and most importantly obeyed the one rule at G.G.'s camp...EAT DESSERT FIRST!  We told John about that rule and he was very suspicious at first.  He paused a minute, gave me a wierd look, and said, "You're joking, right?"  It was hilarious.  It was so good to see her and we had a fantastic visit.  After we got back, Eve was pretending she was camping.  When I called her to dinner she told me about her pretending and said, "I roasted marshmallows.  I ate dessert first."

Eve has started learning some things at church (despite the fact they've been teaching her stories and such for a year now).  She is now able to quote her memory verse.  Also, we were talking about the fruits of the Spirit (John's lesson).  In review I asked, what's the first fruit?  "Love.  An the second one is The Big Bad Wolf."  Through a little clerical mix-up, she's listed on the door as one of the teachers.  They're in for quite a year!  Who knows what they'll learn.

Eve is super excited about school! (or gsool as she pronounces it).  She can hardly contain herself.  Meet the teacher is Friday.  I think it's about time I start praying for her teachers :)  She's going to have a ball, and she's really ripe for learning.  She's really sharp and has learned a lot over the summer that I have no idea where it came from.  She's pretty good with most of her shapes and has even learned some letters and numbers, and can sort of write her name.

John says he's excited about school, but I think that's more because he thinks he's supposed to say that.  I sure am going to miss him when he's gone every day until TWO!  What he really is excited about, though, is soccer.  He has his first practice this Saturday.  He didn't ask to play, but we felt like it was a good time to get him involved in something that teaches teamwork and physical activity.  So, we'll give it a shot.  He put on his shin guards and tall socks yesterday and said, "these are like boy tights."  That will embarass him one day.  For the rest of the day he ran around with the shin guards around his biceps, socks pulled up on his legs, and his sunglasses on.  That's what a spy looks like, you know.  Today is his last day of being 4.  Yikes!