Weekend Roundup (Vol. 1 Issue 11)

Whew.  I. Am. Exhausted.  In other news, I'm thinking I should change this to a monthly thing as our lives our quickly swinging into a chaotic realm; I guess I'll see how this next week holds up.

First, I got a job.  Like a REAL job.  Why?  Because of this.

OK, it's more than that.  It's that we need some more income and because I felt inside that something needed to change before I went C-R-A-Z-Y.  (A term I loosely use but am being completely serious about.)

Now let's refresh you about the other members of our family....

To begin with, Miss Emily has somewhere between 5 and 10 outfits she rotates through.  It takes a whole lotta cajoling and a tiny bit of bribing to get her to wear something I want her to wear.  Even then, when we come back home, she will change right back into whatever dress/shirt/other random clothing item she was originally wearing.  For almost two weeks, her outfit of choice was her bathing suit.

 So most of the pictures in this post will be with her wearing just that.

Emily has become quite the engineer.  She builds towers and trains out of blocks.  She is also discovering new modes procuring what she wants by using all sorts of items--chairs, boxes, containers, couches, etc--to climb on top of and secure her desires (which usually include vitamins, marshmallows, and my gum).

There is a reason child psychologist's refer to children's imaginative play as dramatic play, Emily regularly shows us just how dramatic things can get with only a few toys.  For her birthday, a friend got her a doctor's kit.  Now when Emily gets hurt or doesn't want to do something, she tells me, "Be a doctor, Mommy!" So I must get her doctor items and use them on her.  Or, if we are being really dramatic, I tell her something like, "My belly button is broken!"  She then has to use her skills to fix it.

I think she went from being 3 to 10 in a day.  I am astounded by how much she picks up and even more by how much she understands.  She talks all day long.  She tells us how she's feeling, tells Andrew if he does something wrong, and is very specific in exactly what she wants.

Favorite Phrases/things she has said:
-I be a princess, mommy!
-Her (referring to a doll) is poopy, she needs a diaper change.
-I be sad at preschool. (Which is not true, she really likes preschool.)
-Mommy! I want something.
-I don't like that, Andrew. (When he hits her.)

Emily was in dance, until life became too crazy to fit it into our day.  But at least I snapped a few photos before we said a temporary good-bye!

Every morning Emily asks, "I go to preschool today?"  She adores preschool.  I mean, she gets tired of it by the end of the week (sound familiar?), but overall it has been a great experience.  She tells me about her teachers (Teacher Dawn and Teacher Amber), her friends (Brody, McKenzie), and what she has done during the day (we danced and made pumpkins!).  She'll also tell me if someone does something she doesn't like, in a story-telling manner.  A quick example.

"I go to preschool and [someone, can't quite determine who] hit me and I say "I don't like that!" and I pee in my pants [which doesn't happen] oh, it's just water! And teacher Amber and teacher Dawn help me and read stories to me and I eat lunch, oh, I don't like peas and I fall down, "Ouch!" and I play with Brody, and McKenzie, and I have fun at preschool.

Mr. Andrew has been sick this week, poor baby.  He is as smiley as ever!  He is also busier than he used to be.  Oy vei.

This kid is smart.  Just like his sister.  His language development is off the charts. Here is a small sampling of what he says.
-"Oh man"
-"Airplane!"
-"That" (pointing to whatever he wants or whatever item he doesn't know the word of)
-"Oh, blue truck, Mommy!" (He knows blue very well; in fact, every color is blue.)
-"Please," (said with the sign and with words like "more whatever please")
-"Thank you"
- onge [orange] joos [juice]
-ice tee [iced tea]
-Mommy onge joos! (The flavored water I accidentally bought that Andrew really likes)
-"bug"
-Daddy go? (Used for a variety of things, like if we leave or if I leave.)
 (words, phrases, 3-5 word sentences etc--"Oh man," and other things)

This kid has a sense of humor.  I know I've said that before and it's as true then as it is now, except it's more developed.  He does things just to get the reaction, not like regular toddler-hood antics, but like stuff to get under my, his dad's, or his sister's skin, because he likes to see what we do.
For example, he will run to me and say "My mommy!" Knowing Emily will then run over and say "No, my mommy!"  They think it's hilarious when I respond with "my babies!"  Or, he'll grab her binky and say "my binky."  He does ALL this with the biggest grin.
When he sees my coffee mug on the table, he will run to it, look at me, grab it, and try to take a big swig before I stop him.  Again, with a huge grin.
He will run after Emily trying to hit her because he knows she will start yelling, "No, Andrew! Don't hit me!"  he thinks that is the funniest thing.
He also does this shuffle/walk thing.  Oh my gosh, it is the silliest thing I've ever seen.  

After he hits his sister, he runs after and says "hug" while tackling her.  And, naturally, they MUST end up in a pile on the floor.  How else do you hug someone?

Andrew is also enjoying daycare.  The ladies who watch him are the sweetest ladies ever.  He gets the start treatment because, heck, it's Andrew.  How can anyone NOT give this face the start treatment?

Andrew adores his firetruck, his bus, and the blocks.
His favorite book is a book about airplanes which features quite a bit of trucks.
He loves to sing songs with me.  His favorite songs are "Twinkle Star," "Wheels on the Bus," and "Old McDonald."

As this has taken me at least 3 weeks to write, I will write a follow-up post about how Ben and I are doing a little bit later.