Tatine, 32 months

Caroline...

...calls herself "Tatine"
...loves to do puzzles. She is freakishly good at them, too.
...is just starting to figure out what "brother" and "sister" mean. She thinks it's pretty neat that she has both.
...says "E-I-E-I-O" when she wants to spell something, including her name.

Caroline: a picture in which I cropped myself out.

...used to spill her cup of milk at least once a day. We haven't had too many spills recently.
...still falls off her dinner chair at least once a week.
...currently has no bruises. This might be a first.
...can count to ten, but she still uses "five" whenever she means anything above three.
...says "good morning" instead of "morning," as in: "The sun is up! It's good morning, mama?"

Caroline: a self portrait 

...is our sweetheart. She likes to sword fight with Jonah, but if anyone gets hurt (or even feigns hurt), she will offer a hug and a, "are you okay, Mommy/Daddy/Jonah?"
...knows her daddy loves her. When I say I love her, she responds with, "No, Daddy loves me!"
...likes to comb my hair. She will start by saying, "Oh, Mommy. You have some jelly in your hair."
...does not like to sleep during the day. In addition to "It's good morning, mama!" she will say, "My eyes is open. It is not time to sleep."

Caroline: a picture taken by her brother

feeling contemplative (and missing Dad)

This was one of my favorite places in Tuscaloosa to think. This is one of my favorite people doing the same thing in 2010. That is a beautiful river that I would love to see again soon.

How to Draw, episode 1

We've been watching a lot of how to draw videos. Most of Jonah's favorites come from this contributor. Not surprisingly, he requested that we watch and draw along with the Yoda video. After a few days of this, he decided to make his own:



What's that? My child holds his pencil funny? First, we're working on it. Second, there's this:

big changes

We had two big milestones last night: Jonah lost his first tooth, and Caroline slept the whole night without a diaper. My big kids! We celebrated by everyone waking up at 5:30. Hurray?

I wonder why it's called...

I wonder why it's called hot dogs instead of hot ketchup holder things.

-Jonah

my girls

how to: photographing a baby

Step 1: Give camera to the other children.
Step 2: Erase the 87 pictures of the tile and ceiling.
Step 3: Enjoy the rest.

first day of school (#2)

Jonah and I started school today. It went well! I only wondered if I was ruining his life once or twice. We started with a list of topics to cover. This was a genius idea until about 8:30 when the sun started shining in our eyes. Caroline was not pleased. "No, mommy! Don't write on the window!"

Miriam and I tried out the sling so I could get some dishes done.

We celebrated a successful first day with a trip to Baskin Robbins. Which child do you think used more napkins? (Hint: It wasn't Jonah.)

first day of school (#1)

Tomorrow is Josh's second first day of school as a high school teacher. After much rearranging, we almost fit enough desks in his room.

Happy second first day of school, Mr. Mays!

Dear Dad,

Jonah tried to help me with a crossword puzzle a few days ago. Yesterday, Caroline told me not to sit in the dark brown chair because you would need to sit there.

I told you once that you had to live forever.  38 days ago, I thought I would be okay waiting until the life after this to be together. I've changed my mind.

no pressure

Friday
Jonah: Mom? When we start school are we going to do real art?
me: Of course!

Today
Jonah: Can we start doing real art now even though we're not starting school yet?
me: Of course!

World, I know nothing about art. I hope what I have planned fits his ideas of real art. I wasn't planning on any specific art program or techniques until next year at the earliest!

Help me, Obiwan Kenobi. You're my only hope. (What's that? Have we been watching Star Wars around here? Yes, we have.)