Words, Words, Words

Recognizable Mikey Words:

Da da da da da da da (Daddy)

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmm (Mommy)

MA! (more)

Dat (that)

Dis (this)

Yight (light)

At (hat)

shhhhhhhh (cheese)

BAH! (Katie)

UH, UH, UH (kind of like a caveman noise - means any kind of animal he sees)

hhhhhhaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh (like a long exhale - his whisper)

Katie's Words:

Upon being told some of her ants were dead....."Don't worry. We don't have to get more ants, we'll just get a dog."

"Mom. There must be lots of people dressed up like Mickey Mouse all over the place." Sigh. She figured out that wasn't really the same Mickey in all those parades.

After explaining to Katie that she shouldn't tell other kids the park character Mickey Mouse is not real...."If Joey knows that Mickey is not real, then I can tell him that he's not real."

"Mom, your pancakes are super yummy."

I called Katie over to tell her a secret the other day. She came over and I whispered "I love you" and gave her a big hug. She told me, "That's my favorite kind of secret."

"Look! My belly is sticking out just like Mommy's! Her belly sticks out because she eats lots of food."

First Day of School

Monday was the first day of preschool for Katie. She's in the PreK class this year, which means next year it's on to "Big Kid School."

Wow. That was fast.

She had a great time and was excited about all the new stuff she does at school now - practicing writing her name, doing some simple math, leading lines, setting tables, practicing manners, and having her own journal among other things. They certainly keep the kids (and the parents) busy.

Thanks to a friend mommy for this great first day of school pic:

Mikey had his first day of toddler class on Tuesday. I totally forgot to bring my camera. Things were a bit hectic because I was on snack duty. Sigh. Second child gets the shaft....again. Oh well. I'll try to remember next week.

He was a little apprehensive being surrounded by so many new grownups and all the kids. Even though there are two kids younger than him in the class, he definitely looks the youngest. He's still got that baby hair goin' on and is still not walking exclusively.

He spent his time mooshing paint into his hands (and onto my shirt), playing with some toys, splashing in the sensory table water and sort-of interacting with other kids. He was exhausted by the time we left.

I tell ya, this year is going to be crazy. We've got preschool four days a week and most of those days I'm either watching one of the kids friends or dropping my kid off to be watched. But, when I get to work at the preschool and see how much my kids are enjoying their time there and how much they are learning - academically and socially - it's totally worth it.

Pluots, Ants & Legos

Since both kiddies are asleep I figured I'd get in a quick entry. Who knows when this will happen again! Hmmmm. Maybe I should be sleeping....

No matter! On to the posting, my friends!

Did I mention that Mikey loves to eat? He now tells me what he wants to eat.

For example, he'll point at the fruit bowl, I'll carry him over and then he will select his fruit of choice. On this day it was a super ripe pluot.

Watch the mess unfold.....

STEP 1: GET A FIRM GRIP OF THE PLUOT AND TAKE FIRST BITE.

STEP 2: SHOW MOMMY YOUR HALF EATEN PLUOT.

JUICE MUST DRIP DOWN ARM.

STEP 3: FINISH PLUOT. SIT QUIETLY AND HATCH

PLAN TO GET ANOTHER PLUOT.

Katie has some new pets. Meet The Ants.

Yep. The ants for the ant farm arrived this past weekend. It was my job to get them into their new home. It was kinda creepy. I had to put them in the fridge for 15 minutes to make them sleepy so that they wouldn't try to escape the tube they were shipped in. I guess, from what I read, the suckers can bite. I took them outside after their cold shock treatment and tried to pour them into the farm. Well, some of them must be cold resistant 'cause about 5 of them tried to escape by crawling up the outside of the tube. The resistance was quickly smooshed.

I have to say the ants are pretty awesome. They immediately got to work. They moved the dead ants off to the side of the farm and started digging a tunnel. They took the sand from the tunnel dig and mounded it on top of the dead guys. Weird....but fascinating. I'll try and post an updated pic of their tunnels.

We've also gone Lego crazy around here. We've been thinking about redo-ing our kitchen and, I guess, our entire downstairs. To get an idea of how our new plan would look, Huzbend built it out of Legos. Yeah. I know. HOLY NERDDOM, BATMAN.

One caveat, only the upper half of what you see below is actually our house remodel. The lower half including the horse, Admiral Akbar napping and the StormTrooper powwow are Katie additions.

Here is our new living room set up....

And here is our new kitchen/dining room lay-out.....