Snippets

It's been a crazy couple of weeks and I haven't found time to catch up with the blog. But, since I'm afraid I'll forget the myriad of cute things that M&M have been up to, here are a few highlights:

We're still working on getting Max enthused about the whole potty concept. We read potty books, watch potty videos, and talk about the potty a LOT. He really likes to sit on the potty, but really doesn't like to actually pee or poop on the potty. Even though he's starting to show some signs that he might be ready to potty train in earnest, he isn't quite there yet. If you know he's getting ready to load his drawers and try to get him to sit on the potty, he wants nothing to do with it.

So, the other day he was running around in the kitchen and he suddenly stopped moving, got really quiet, and got that look of "concentration" on his face.

"Max," we said, "are you pooping?"
"NO!!!"
"Do you want to sit on the potty?"
"NO!!!"

We let it drop and after a few seconds he jumped up, threw his hands in the air, and said, "Ta-DA! Poop!!!" Molly, not wanting to be left out, promptly threw her hands up in the air and squealed, "Ta-da!" We burst out laughing, because we no longer consider poop in the diaper to be worthy of a double "Ta-da!" Now, poop in the potty is another matter entirely ...

Max has been able to jump properly (with both feet off of the ground at the same time) for months now. Molly the copycat must think it looks like great fun, because she's recently started "jumping" too. She runs around the house and periodically throws her arms up in the air and bounces up on her tiptoes. She'll even do it on command and it's soo funny -- I need to remember to charge up the camcorder so I can catch it on tape before she stops doing it. She really thinks she's jumping and she's so pleased with herself (shhhhh, don't tell her that she isn't!).

Max is proving to be as anal retentive as his mama. When I take him to the park, he'll spot some trash that someone left lying on the ground. After proclaiming, "Uh oh, trash," he'll try to pick it up and carry it to the nearest garbage can to throw it away. At home, he occasionally finds one of my loose hairs on the carpet (yes, I shed). He picks it up and says, "Uh oh, Mama hair!" before throwing it away. He even likes to help pick up his toys. That's my boy!

Molly discovered a new babbling vocabulary. She actually says (or tries to say) quite a few real words, but she still carries out extended babble "conversations" with herself. She hasn't been sleeping well this past week and the other night she woke up in the middle of the night and just started talking a blue streak, using lots of sounds that she'd never really used before. She must have been so excited with her new sounds that she just couldn't wait until morning to try them out! I also finally deciphered a word that she's been saying for the last few weeks. Every time she woke up at night and I went upstairs to put her back to bed, she would say the same exact word. I finally figured it out when she repeated it one day while tugging at my shirt. She's asking to nurse and saying "Boobies" ("Mmmmmmbies!"). I suppose that isn't the best choice of vocabulary, but it was too funny!

We went to visit some friends a few weekends ago. They had a piano at their house and Max really enjoyed sitting on the piano bench and hitting the keys. He's played pianos before and I was always impressed that he appears to carefully consider which keys to hit -- he doesn't just sit there and hammer away. He really seems to enjoy having an audience and "playing" for him. He must have especially enjoyed his last "recital," because this past weekend he came up to me and said, "Mama, more ride. More ride, more piano! Please!" He's asked me to take him for a ride so he can play the piano at least once a day since then. He's even started noticing when there is a piano playing on the radio. Maybe we have a little aspiring pianist on our hands!

Using four kids (including a two year old and a one year old) as subjects for my photography field trip was probably not the smartest idea. I've discovered that trying to get more than one kid at a time to stop what they are doing, pose properly, look at the camera, and then hold still momentarily is virtually impossible. In addition, I cleverly made everyone wear light-colored shirts on an impossibly sunny day, ensuring that I would blow most of my highlights (see photo at left). I also picked that particular day to try out some new camera settings. It also didn't help that the field trip took place on the one day in October when it almost hit 90 degrees. But, I must say that everyone was a terribly good sport (except for the babies, who just wanted to run around like little wild things) and I got some good pictures in spite of myself!

I'm sure I'll think of a half dozen more things to add as soon as I hit the "Publish Post" button!