why I love 2-year-olds

Steve: (trying to get the kids to bed) Nicole, which cup do you want?

Nicole: (grabs 3) all of these...

Steve: No, the blue cup is Adam's. Just choose one. Which cup would you like?

Nicole: ummmm... ummmm...

Steve: Nicole, do you want the pink cup or the purple one?

Nicole: I want... the BLUE cup!

Steve: (sigh) ok, go lie down.

Nicole: No! I don' WIKE the blue one! I want the purple one! (Then she turns around with a huge grin on her face and runs to give me a hug. Sometimes I just love the temperamentality and the hilariosity that is a 2-year-old.)


Steve put it nicely: 2-year-olds are indecisive, but they are adamant about their indecisiveness!

at least he's polite...

I asked Adam if I could hold the phone (he was talking to my mom). He politely said, "No, you may not have the phone." It catches me off guard when he's so civil, because the next minute he'll be screaming because I gave him a time out for something... ah, life with a 3 year old! :D

He also keeps me in line. The other day I was frustrated about something and I mentioned how I thought the situation was stupid. I hear this little voice from the back seat saying, "We don't use that word stupid." He was right. It's good to have a reminder that the rules are for everyone. :)

Meanwhile, Nicole has developed a love of wipes. If she is crying or throwing a fit, all you have to do is offer her a wipe and the world is right again. She'll usually wad it up and wipe her mouth, then spread it out and play with it. She'll clean with it, wrap her toys in it, and use it as a mini blanket for her dolls. I think it's hilarious, and hey, it keeps her pretty clean in the process.

And I don't have any pictures, but maybe I'll take some this afternoon at the mall playground. This weekend is our big Fall Cleaning, so wish me luck! And then all the fall holiday fun can start!

Bath time always presents a chance for arguments over who must be washed first.
Steve asked,
"Who should I wash first?"
Adam, who hates being washed, said, "Wash Nicole, she's reaaally dirty."
Steve then said, "I think I should wash both of you."
Adam replied, "Wash both of... Nicole."

Adam put his own pajamas on, the ones with a big monkey on the tummy. However, he got them on backwards.
The result? A cute little boy running out to us saying, "I got a monkey on my back!"

hehe. oh the irony.

it's james' fault

Small boys can be very creative when it comes to getting out of bedtime.

Preface: Last Thanksgiving my brother and his family stayed in Adam's room while they were here, and we kept the door shut and told our kids to stay out, especially when baby James was sleeping.

So, when I got home from YW tonight, Steve said that Adam had shut his door and refused to go to bed because "Baby James seeping. Don't open the door! Baby James' room! He's seeping!"

I had no idea Adam remembered that.

Hehe I wonder what excuse he'll come up with tomorrow night??

Adam: "Chicken nuggets! Chicken nuggets!"
"What do you say, Adam?"
"Yaaayy!!!"


Steve: "Adam, Daddy's going to work."
"No. Daddy play."

Steve says it is quite difficult to leave for work after that one. :)

favorite phrase

Grabbing her up in a hug: "I wuv Cole!

"The moon! Right there! It's on!"

things i do not like to hear

"Bye-bye, Cole"

*door shutting*

bits of thoughts from a tired margaret

Adam has taken to counting lately. He knows what the numbers one and two mean, but everything else I think is still kind of fuzzy... he likes to count to ten, though, when counting objects, and this is how it goes:

one, two, three, four, six, seven, (sometimes eight), ten!

if there are more objects to be counted, no problem: seven, ten, seven, ten....

:) oh, I love the world of toddlers!

Nicole is turning 8 months old today... I thought Adam's babyhood went fast, my goodness! Her's is flying!

I think we've finally recovered from our travel, and so we're being more social this week. We're doing playgroup and library storytime and visits with friends... I'm so glad to have things to do outside of the house!!! That being said, I've been really bad about taking pictures and I promise to post more. Soon. :)

the second part of the trip: snowbird

After we said goodbye to Michael & co, we headed up to Snowbird, stopping at the local Wal-Mart for supplies. (We miss those supercenters! And the cheap food prices!) Steve's dad had graciously rented each of his kids their own room for their family, and ours was perfect. We looked out over the swimming pool with a stunning view of the mountainside behind it.

There were manual egg beaters in every room. Adam was in mixer heaven!

Nicole enjoyed some outdoor time.... and some shoes.

We also did some family pictures. What a gorgeous view!

We had a lot of fun with Steve's family! We did a hike, swimming, game and movie nights, crafts with the kids, and hanging out in the rooms, meeting all the new babies we hadn't seen yet. We also did a family-wide talent show (which Steve filmed). Our acts were twofold: Adam drew a mixer, and I was part of a troupe with Lisa, Colleen, and Bonnie as "chin people" who sang a birthday song to Steve's dad. The whole show was funny and entertaining!

Adam randomly found a cooking show on TV, and when Steve asked for the remote back, he said "It's broken." and wouldn't give it back.
In the words of Calvin's dad, "...that's still one darn sarcastic kid we're raising." :D

Nicole let go of the couch and stood by herself for a few seconds. She repeated this several times over the vacation. She's getting close to walking!

At the end of the day, it was so nice to see two little angels sleeping!

one last funny

We're taking off on our trip tomorrow, so I don't know how often I'll be posting. This funny is from tonight:

Adam got into the kitchen, and found the baking soda. He said, "Make cookies?" and then spilled some on the floor. He was found, and as he was being lifted out of the kitchen, he said, "Oh no..... Cole."

Yes, like we believe the baby did it....

:D

silly adam

Adam has learned the fun of being silly with words. He loves to tell you the wrong answer to a question, and then giggle hysterically. Some questions, like "What color is that?" lend themselves nicely, but funnier still are the out-of-the-blue declarations:

"Adam, where is Nicole's bottle?"

"In the TWASH!"


I also love his imitations of phrases:

"Oh, no (child's name) made a big mess!"

"Good gief! [grief]"

I ought to teach him to say "Good night!" in exasperation in honor of my grandfather. :D

you wish...

Adam's gotten better about telling us what he wants. Earlier this week, he went over to the kitchen gate for a snack. When asked what he wanted, he looked up at me with this mischievous twinkle in his eyes and said, "uh...CAKE?" He was so darn cute that I hated to tell him we didn't have any! Then I told him to try a different snack, and he asked for crackers. I think he just wanted to see what he could get away with!

You cannot hide from the UPS guy with a toddler in the house.

Nicole was playing in her onesie. Adam came over and said that she needed shoes.
I said, "She needs shoes?"
"Socks."
"She needs socks? You're right. What else does she need?"
"Feet."