Wow!

What a nice summer we had hanging out and traveling! We didn't spend much time at the pool at all, but I throughly enjoyed no schedule, other than for Elizabeth's naps, and outings to wherever suited us each day.

Daniel and Elizabeth get along amazingly well. They genuinely like each other and rarely squabble. More than one of our friends has commented on the two of them together. Their favorite activity this summer was to make a tent, as Daniel called it. Sometimes that involved me throwing a towel or tablecloth over some furniture to cover them. Most of the time though, that just meant they were going to make a huge mess in the corner, under the table, or in the doorway and essentially, swim in it. They would dump out Elizabeth's baby bed, and all of the baskets in our cabinet (cars, little people, puzzles, Star Wars guys) and then sit there and play in the heap. It kept them occupied for a good amouont of time, no matter what!

We ventured to the DC zoo a couple of times, the DC aquarium, the College Park airplane museum and our usual spots - playgrounds, Target, the mall, etc. We played quite often with our friends Caleb and Sofia and could knock out a few hours just about anywhere with them because they played so well together.

We headed to the beach with two of Scott's college friends and their families in late August. We went down to Corolla, which we loved. The families were a good match, with a one and half year old, two two and half year olds, and Daniel approaching four. We'd get up every morning and head to the beach for a couple of hours, return for lunch, and then spend the afternoon and early evening in the pool. Daniel took two days to warm up to the ocean and then was running and splashing in the surf. Elizabeth sat on Scott's lap from the first day and let the waves wash in over them. They absolutely loved it. We found tons of seashells which we managed to forget at the house. D & E played in the sand, but mostly loved the water. On the last night we were there, we all walked over to the beach for a stroll, and E was highly upset that she could not get in! She pitched a major fit. Both of our kids were comfortable in the pool with some floaties. Daniel would swim from one end to the other with a floating barbell under his armpits. You could tell he felt such a sense of accomplishment. He and I stayed outside in the pool all afternoon for a few days while Elizabeth took her nap. It was so much fun just relaxing in the pool and chatting. Daniel has all kinds of ideas and thoughts to discuss these days.

Elizabeth mastered the stairs while we were on vacation. She wants no help going up and down. Her language really kicked in after we got back. She repeats about anything, but will give clear directions, "Eat! Bunny! Up! Spoon! Yes! No!" She says, "Dan'l, empty, car, bike, chair, milk, string cheese, pizzz (pizza), outside, downstairs, upstairs, shoes, gigi." This week she started to recognize the color pink. We are working on others, but pink is clearly her favorite.

Daniel started back to school on the 16th. We had a few shaky starts the first two days, and by Friday he just gave me a kiss and said, "See ya, Mom." He is certainly growing up. They have show and tell, and for his first show, he took the worms he collected in our front yard. I give him major points for originality. He is taking a robot he made of chip cups, juice boxes, straws and blue masking tape this week. I saw a lot of stuffed animals from the other kids, so I am pretty proud of his ideas. Elizabeth wanted an "ackpac" like Daniel's so I found her a mini one, and she thinks she is big stuff walking into school with a backpack like all of the other kids. I have the feeling when she goes next year, she'll leave me in the parking lot and let herself in.

Elizabeth takes advantage of D's time at school to play trains without interupption and correction. She also play with his cars. I caught her counting them as she rolled them down the ramp and nearly fell over. I would say one, and she'd follow two, three. I said four, she followed five, and so on to ten!

Elizabeth is also very interesed in the potty. I cannot believe how much she talks about it, really. I would say it started in July. I pulled out Daniel's potties from the basement storage, and she wanted to sit on them. She put Elmo on them. She pointed at them and said, "poop!" When she had a wet or dirty diaper, she let us know by pointing or saying, "poop!" So, then I started reading her some of the books we have (Ernie and Grover). Elizabeth started selecting those at naptime and bedtime, bringing them to me, saying, "poop!" I bought her a toilet seat, and she had a few random successes after hanging out there for a few minutes. Yesterday, she brought Elmo over to Scott and I. She sniffed his bottom, looked at us and said, "Elmo poop."

Is there a pattern here? I am going to have to potty train her soon, or I fear this window of interest will close!

This is the "Tickle Me Elmo" that is her BFF. He is not really that soft, just a plush robot, really. She puts him in her stroller, sits him next to her at the little table, and offers him a bite or drink of whatever she is having. Occasionally, she wants him in her new big girl bed.

We moved Elizabeth out of her crib on Friday, 18th. The was brought on by a consignment sale and the opportunity for me to sell her bedroom furniture. Scott and I knew we could move her out of the crib soon, she had no problem sleeping in the twin bed while we were in CA, or in the lower bunk bed while we were on vacation. I found out about the sale Monday, we went to IKEA on Thursday, and had her all set up and ready to go on Friday. She is not as consistent in falling to sleep without a fuss, but all in all, she is doing very well and seems to like it. The little IKEA bed is bigger than a crib mattress, but still considerably smaller than a twin, and gives her room to play in her tiny room. I feel guilty that we spent about 10% of what we spent on Daniel's furniture two years ago, but oh well, one day she'll get a new bedroom suite. I'm sure Scott and I will still have the hand-me-down set I got from a co-worker 10 years ago!

At this same consignment sale, I bought Daniel a three wheeled scooter and Eliabeth a trike with a handle on the back. Both LOVE them. I am surprised at how quickly Elizabeth learned to steer and Daniel has learned to push himself on the scooter. We will try to get as much in as possible before it gets cold and I have to get to reading some of my books for some indoor activity ideas!

Daniel is really into "Star Wars" and will have this theme for this 4th birthday party on the 10th. I cannot believe our little boy will be 4. He talks about being a big boy all of the time. Tonight, her read (recited) Elizabeth her books and sang her songs at bedtime. Last week, we went to his favorite place, Subway, for lunch and as we were eating, he brought up losing his teeth as a big boy. I agreed, yes, he would lose his baby teeth, and permanent teeth would come in. He tilted his head to one side in thought and said, "How will I chew wif no teef?"

In August, Scott let him watch the movie, "Monsters Inc." At the end, when the monsters take the little girl back home, Daniel cried. So, I asked asked him if it was a happy movie or a sad movie. His response - "It's bof (both). It's a little sad when they take the girl back to her house, but it is happy because he sees her again. And it makes you fro (throw) up a little bit." "Really? It makes you throw up??" I asked. "You know when you laf (laugh) so hard you feel like you are going to fro up? That's what it does, but then it slows down and goes away."

The same week, we are sitting at a stop light listening to the Imagination Movers CD, and he says out of nowhere, "Mommy, how are bones connected?" So, I reviewed joints like your shoulder, elbow, knee. He follows up with, "Okay. What's under the road?" That little mind is always working! When we went to the library soon after, he found a Dr. Seuss book about the body to check out. After reading it (it is a high level overview of the skeleton and organs), Daniel looked at Scott and asked how Elizabeth got inside my body. Not a connection we would have predicted, that is for sure.

Both kids like to sing in the car. We gota CD at a birthday party that they both want to listen to over and over. I started to Elizabeth's little voice right along with Daniel's to all of the songs. I've got to figure out a way to get them singing on video!