Birds of a Feather

Deceived by promises of cooler temperatures today, Jean Anne and I decided to take her kids and mine to the zoo. ( To be fair to Chuck and other meteorologists, we were actually back in the double digits today, but the the air felt completely saturated and the breeze was mercilessly non-existent.) They have a special exhibit going on right now called Feather Fest and we've talked for months about seeing it. It's silly, really, that we picked the hottest month to go since we have zoo memberships and could have gone to it in the spring. Anyway, it was really awesome and it probably also helped my weight loss cause because I sweated a ridiculous and gross amount. (Thanks Dad for the super sweat gene!) The kids had a great time. They did get a little cranky from the heat, but they seem to tolerate or ignore the sweaty discomfort so much better than adults. They loved the bird exhibit and if it hadn't been for the lure of their own snacks waiting for them outside the door, they would have been content to feed the birds all day.

It's hard to believe, but Andrew is nearly 16 months. At times he seems so much older to me because he is doing things so much earlier than Sarah did. Sarah's in the "I can do it myself!!!!!" stage and because Andrew pretty much follows her around and copies everything Sarah does, he is doing things that really surprise me. I've always heard that younger siblings learn so much faster for that very reason. Andrew is a social child and always has lots of things to say. He will be one that we will have to watch ourselves with, because he is very good at repeating words back to us. The most common words we hear are: uh-oh, Mama, Dada, hi, bye-bye, night-night, more, all done, no, ya (for yes), juice (for all beverages), Drew, shoes, go, and Sarah (pronounced Era).

Sarah's language is also progressing, albeit at a slower pace. In June she had a full developmental assessment and the only area that fell outside of the bell curve norm for her age was verbal expression (speaking). We celebrate every new word and word combination and it is truly exciting to watch the progress. We used Sooner Start, a state funded birth-three program for Sarah's assessment and speech therapy and highly recommend this program (or whatever your state might have) for these kiddos.

More about Andrew:

He is a super picky eater and I find it a daily challenge to think of things to feed him. I am determined, however, to not be a short order cook. So, some nights when all the dinner has landed on the floor, I have to shrug my shoulders and tell myself there is enough thigh chunk to sustain him for a loooong time. (He has the best squishy thighs to squeeze!) He loves his milk, so I'm sure that helps him stay alive. :) He also loves french toast, blueberries, watermelon, bananas, grapes, yogurt, peanut butter, mandarin oranges, crackers.....and not much else.

He is all boy and all go, go, go all the time. Except when he gets hurt. Then he is a real softy.

He is learning to throw down some impressive tantrums and he has a scream that surely makes dogs in the neighborhood go crazy.

He is a natural in the water. He has no fear of going under and can stay under and move around really well.

He just learned how to give a for real, lips closed kisses.

His favorite book/song right now is The Wheels on the Bus.

His favorite person in the whole world is Sarah.

More about Sarah:

She is every bit a three year old. She is spending more and more time in time-out. I know that she is testing her independence and boundaries, which is developmentally appropriate and healthy, but it is exhausting.

She is still a good helper around the house.

She is in love with bubbles (bubbies) and the moon (moom). Actually, she has been in love with the moon for a long time. She can find it nearly any time of day. Even when it is just a little sliver.

Sarah likes all things Hello Kitty (affectionately known around here as Boo-Boo). We have the t-shirt, sun glasses, wallet, and band aids. I really want to get her the rain boots at Target. Can you tell I don't mind indulging this a bit?

Sarah is still an amazing eater. She ate jalapenos the other night at dinner.

Her two favorite shows on TV are Ni Hao Kai-Lan and John and Kate Plus Eight (which she calls Two Babies).

She has many beloved books, but the ones that stick out to me are I love You Like Crazy Cakes, Fancy Nancy, and A Potty for Me.

More about Me:

Just kidding....that would be a little dull. I am loving being home, though!!