Happy Halloween

Tuckered Out

Worn out after a fun day with Abuelito and Abuelita

Picky Eater

There are countless nights that Tyler grumbles about what has been served on his plate for dinner. Michael cooked dinner earlier this week- a basic chicken marsala with pasta that I had planned. Tyler raved on and on about how it was the best dinner he had ever had and thanked Daddy for cooking it. The next night when I reheated leftovers Tyler refused to even take a bite of the chicken even though we told him it was prepared the same as the night before. Agh!!!! Maybe I should just have Michael cook every meal?

Animals

When Daphne wakes up in the morning or from a nap she doesn't want to get out of the crib right away. She wants to chat about all the animals on her crib duvet. Daphne points to each animal and waits for me to tell her the name of the animal and what sound they make. Or she makes the sound if she knows it. Tyler used to do the exact same thing at this age when this duvet was his.

Book Worm

Have I mentioned how much Daphne loves books? The girl cannot get enough of them! Daphne constantly brings Michael or me a book or two and holds it out to us and says "book" over and over until we read it. At bedtime she requests "more" after each book and sometimes gets upset when reading time is over. We are really glad Daphne loves reading so much but her requests are not always at the most opportune times, like when we are trying to get her dressed for school! I often find myself rushing through one of her books as I change her diaper and pull her clothes on.

Furniture Testers

We weren't even looking at this sofa
but the kids had to test it out anyway!

We have been shopping for living room furniture and Tyler and Daphne are quite the furniture testers! Tyler loves working the buttons/levers for anything that reclines. And lots of the recline mechanisms are electric so they are easy for him to work. Daphne hoists herself up onto everything- especially ottomans and settees. At two different stores we had to free Daphne from coffee tables that she climbed into! Yes- she climbed onto the bottom shelf of two different two-tiered coffee tables before we even realized what had happened!!!! That little monkey is something else.

Wheeeeee!

Chatterbox

Daphne's spoken vocabulary has increased exponentially over the past week. It seems like she is adding lots of words every day and is starting to use more two-word phrases. Today she even used a three-word phrase for the first time: "I see it." Since she loves the word "mine" so much it is only natural that Daphne has gotten the hang of the word "my": my swing, my car, etc. She also tacks the word "please" on to a lot of things, which is nice: more please, milk please, etc. It is hard to turn down her requests when they are said so sweetly with a "please". That Daphne knows what she is doing!!!!

Tyler Lingo

Lingo I have recently learned from Tyler:

• Bucket dipper: This is a term used at school to describe someone who is acting mean.
• Booty shooter: Apparently this is a term Tyler says that he came up with to describe tooting.

Lil' Aggies

Even though the Aggies couldn't pull of a win against Auburn yesterday, our little Aggies still enjoyed showing off their spirit.

Little Miss Mischievous

Whenever Daphne doesn't want to do something, like get her diaper changed or put on her pajamas, she tries to "hide" in the corner between her crib and the wall. We can still get to her but it's definitely a little harder. She usually giggles as she flees to her spot.

Track Building

Tyler has been building a variety of train track configurations all by himself. This is a new development. Previously he wanted our help to figure things out. It's exciting to see him work through the various options.

Food for Thought

At dinner tonight Tyler asked, "Was Daddy the first human?"

Foam Pit

Tyler and I were at a birthday party yesterday. He had his normal enthusiasm for the inflatable slides. But he was very hesitant about going in the foam pit even though there were often tons of kids in there. Tyler tentatively lowered himself into one corner and felt the foam blocks. After he acclimated he loved it. Eventually Tyler jumped into the center of the pit from the side and did this repeatedly.

Cool, Loud Rock'n'Roll

Today in the car Tyler told me he didn't like the song that had come on the radio. I didn't really care for it either so I changed the station. He told me he didn't like the next station but I left it there because I liked the White Stripes song that was playing. Tyler said, "I only like whatever is rock and roll and is loud and is cool and this is NOT cool!"

Daphne's First Sleepover

Our anniversary was Sunday so we dropped the kids off with Michael's parents on Saturday evening and picked them up Sunday afternoon. Tyler has been away from us before so he was fine, but this was the first time Daphne spent the night away from us. She did great and had a good time with Abuelito and Abuelita. But she let us have it on Monday morning before school. Daphne knew it was time for school and she threw the biggest tantrum ever and refused to let Michael or me hold her for comfort. Usually she lets me hold her if she is upset. I definitely think Daphne was harboring some separation anxiety. Somehow we eventually managed to calm her down and get her to school but it was pretty nerve-wracking.

Confessions of a 4-1/2 Year Old

Tyler told me that they are not allowed to play fighting games, such as Superheroes, at school. However, he also excitedly told me with a big smile and a gleam in his eyes that they play Superheroes anyway but to confuse the teachers they tell them that they are playing Bob the Builder.

Stairs

Apartment life after being in a house for 11 years hasn't been too bad. One of the biggest drawbacks has been the stairs. We couldn't find a first floor apartment that met our requirements so we settled for second floor. The biggest reason the stairs are a pain is because Daphne is still learning how to navigate them. She either has to be carried or more often than not one of us has to hold her hand and go very slowly with her. This means we often have to make one or more trips back to the car for groceries, etc. But after two months Daphne has gotten a lot better at the stairs. The weather is also finally starting to cool off which makes everything a lot better too.

Cool Customer

Our Little Monster

I was sorting through Daphne's pool of hand-me-downs today and came across these awesome monster slippers from the Salatino's.

The Gatekeeper

Lately Tyler likes to block doorways and won't let us through until we give him the correct code. The code varies and you have to guess what it is based on clues he gives us. Some of the clues are a little vague but some are more specific such as it's something round on a car.

Baths

Daphne has started washing herself with her wash cloth when I give the kids a bath together. She is quite proud of herself. Tyler has let me know several times that although he can wash himself, he prefers that I wash him. I fear that at this rate I will be washing him until puberty sets in!

Sunday Brunch

Listening to Big Don do children's rap.
Humpty Dumpty and Twinkle, Twinkle,
Little Star never sounded so hip.

Daphne was obsessed with the pebbles on the ground.
We had to keep taking them out of her mouth!!!!