LOVE

Violet gets a face full of water...

I'm so sorry- I have been awful about posting on here, and even worse about keeping up with actual written updates. I'm going to try to write on here more often, with short blurbs rather than let so much time go by in between. SO much is happening with babes, but even more reason for me to be documenting every special thing.
Oliver's latest accomplishments/chuckle-worthy events:

*talking like crazy! now saying "oh, dear!" a lot- too cute. Loves to recite his family's names: "Mama! Dada! Oliver (Ahhh-ver)! Sissy!"

*OBSESSED with anything with wheels. This is truly a whole new world for me. Obviously I knew what a truck was, but who knew there were front loaders, back hoes, etc? Oliver exclaims over everything from approaching our own car ("CAAAAHH!") to a giant fire engine passing us with the sirens on ("TUUUK!"). Loves to read books about trucks, trains, buses, cars, and loves Thomas the Train videos. The other day he found a photo of he and Violet from last summer and got SO excited- he brought it over to me pointing and exclaiming. I thought he might have remembered the playground or something. No; in the corner of the photo, teeny-tiny was a bike....

*Yesterday, putting him in his car seat, I sighed, "Wow- this car is HOT!". He looked at me and blew out his lips- like when his food is hot and we want to cool it off. Sigh....

*Playing outside this weekend, O found an ant on the ground. "BUG!", he cried! He picked it up and tried to tickle it.... "tick-a-tick-a-tick-a"

*He is very social and friendly. When we play the Treehouse, I will often find him sitting on strangers' (other mommies!) laps, or bringing someone a book to read it to them. At music class last week, one little boy was wearing Thomas the Train pants, and Oliver gravitated to him and shared his mommy's lap for the whole class.
Violet's noteworthy and adorable accomplishments:

*Can count to 12!! It was a surprise to us. I knew she could get to 10 with a little prodding, but the other day after we got there, I said "11", and she said "12"...crazy! And too cute. She can also sing the whole ABC's, the "I love you" song, several songs from music class and the theme songs from our three favorite TV shows.

*She is talking a LOT. Reads whole books by herself- esp loves the Brown Bear and Polar Bear series. Every page goes, "Ah Bah Bear! Ah Bah Horsie! Ah Bah Kitty Cat!". Often Oliver listens in, so they must understand each other.

*Very busy and agile. She can slip under the gate blocking the stairs (horrifying!), under the railing separating our house from our neighbors, she can unlock the front gate to the sidewalk. I know any day I will hear her leap out of her crib.

* She loves art- loves drawing with chalk, loves her crayons and markers (all washable, thank goodness!), and makes artistic things out of brushes and water, utensils, etc. She can already do circles, which is very advanced! :)

*She's kind of into me fixing her hair! It's very cute. I give her pigtails or brush it and put a little barette in, and she sits very still (which NEVER happens), and then races over to the mirror, and admires herself! Smiles, coos, touches her ponytails...not sure if I should be encouraging this, but self-love is healthy, right?


Finally, Cute TWIN things:

* they are really enjoying playing with each other now! After each meal, they play this game where they chase each other from room to room, laughing, tickling (sometimes tackling, which,as you might imagine, does not usually end well). It is hilarious and adroable.

*We can finally play a real game of Ring-around-the Rosie, as they now acknowledge each other's presence in the circle and hold hands. Now if only they could agree on who gets to go "over" vs. "under".