The growing ups both need a nap now

Mommy and Daddy were busy on Friday building the new playset, so both kids occupied themselves by starting a dirt collection in their hair, mouth, noses, etc.

We're all thrilled with the new playset. We celebrated being done with a trip to the Salt Lick, where the table of ladies across from us marveled at the amount of food both kids ate, and a man from the table next to us stopped to tell us he was deaf and our kids were really good. We enjoy getting positive feedback, although it probably never hurts to not be able to hear everything from our table!

Do child labor laws apply if you don't pay them?

I'm pretty sure God makes them funny so you'll keep them...

Ella has had several "milestones" lately that she's extremely proud about. She's been doing a really good job wearing big girl underwear, and has discovered that she can take off her own pants in order to go to the potty. She has confined this new talent to the bathroom, which may be a difference between boys and girls? She's also figured out how to climb the various ladders and climbing walls at the playgrounds (which can be pretty entertaining and exhausting to watch since her legs are really short). She also has coined a new phrase for milk--"cow juice". That makes me laugh almost every time. We recently put a picture on the wall over the stairs; it's an abstract piece with mostly rectangular shapes/colors on it. Every morning as we walk down the stairs Ella tells me what she thinks it looks like. So far her most common themes are religious-- "I think that's Jesus, Mommy."

Ethan has become preoccupied with when he's going to go to school. Today he told me that when he reaches the "final number" (which for some reason is his wording for any age that he will have to be to do something) he's going to drive a car to the bus stop and then get on the bus to go to school. He also gave me lots of kisses, followed immediately by a request to watch some tv. Some work to do on his subtlety! Last night he made me laugh when we were cooking--"Are you going to put some sneezeaning in that sauce?"

If you're wondering how to pray for me these days, patience would be high on the list. It's been challenging to model respectful communication in the face of the kids' frequent bickering with each other, whining, and flat out disobedience. I know you're not supposed to pray for patience since like most virtues it comes through the trials, but we're living the challenges and I'm hoping to use all of these opportunities with them in a way that glorifies God and shows His love. God has mighty things in store for these two little ones, and I'd like all of us to survive 2 and 3 to experience them!

Bouncy sticky fun

We went to play with friends at an indoor inflatable place today. I was amazed to see my normally cautious little guy run around like a banshee climbing, jumping, and sliding on things. Only one rescue mission needed (and it's not a bad day when I have to do a little sliding on a really tall slide, now is it?), and then he went down that same slide repeatedly for the next half hour. It may or may not have been slightly influenced by the fact that his little sister climbed all the way to the top, looked down at me, and slid down with a squeal. Ella loved laying on her stomach and letting the other kids jumping bounce her around. Unfortunately she really liked doing this near the entrances, which led to more than one time of getting stepped on. Didn't seem to phase her much.

We also discovered today that you can trade in your toy at chick-fil-a for an ice cream cone. If you can let go of that reflex to catch all the drips, it's a super sweet sight to see those two attack an ice cream cone. Ella's reactions to the cold are pretty adorable---wish I'd had a camara to catch the faces she makes.

My favorite statement of the day so far was on our drive there. Ethan looks out the window and says, "Look mom, a dinosaur!" When I replied "a dinosaur?" he nonchalantly says, "or maybe a dog." Never saw what he was talking about, and he couldn't understand why I found that so funny.

Be glad if it's only your stomach he asks about...

We had some trees installed in the back and side yard last week, so the kids are eagerly anticipating the arrival of birds. Even after explaining how it might take some time before there would be any birds interested, every time he walks by the back windows or door Ethan is greatly disappointed that there aren't any yet. He'll tell you all about how they like cherry laurels, and how they have different stomachs than us so they eat different foods. He'll usually then ask about some random person's stomach and if it's different than the birds. Apparently he's curious if there is anybody he can offer some of these off-limits berries.

Both kids have apparently decided that naps are for the birds; I think I've gotten one nap each out of them in the past week. On the positive side, they're going to sleep without a peep at night, and they both stay in their rooms for a quiet time (Ethan quietly reads and Ella sings and talks the entire time). On the negative side, NOBODY IS NAPPING!!! There is no time of silence during my day. This is probably not helped by the constant construction noise from the two lots on our street that are being prepared for houses. There is a full-size excavator with a jackhammer attachment digging through a huge mass of limestone that's at least four feet deep. Ethan has a direct view of all of this (and the basketball goal in the driveway where our neighbor's 5 year old plays when he gets home from school) from his bedroom window. Even for a kid who really likes to sleep, there's really no question of what's more appealing.

We worked in the yard again this weekend preparing some beds for a small garden and some herbs and shrubs. Spring preparation is in full force here, with a playset arriving this week and much more work to do getting the beds ready (the soil here is a challenge). We picked up some seeds for the kids to plant inside in cups on Saturday. They liked the dirt and watering, but are again disappointed that they haven't seen the results yet!