Eve likes to call Aunt Joyce. She likes
the phone. This morning she called Michelle. She likes my phone
:) Here she is talking to Joyce.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0Hmf6Tp2S4]

Eve LOVES the easel and dry erase markers.
Today she drew an “e” although when I asked what she made she
said “a stick!”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUkeWZe3R_E]

We did some (much needed!) cleaning this
afternoon. Lex and Eve were eager to help. Eve grabbed the
little broom and dustpan and “swept” the floor and Lex grabbed
a damp cloth and dusted! He actually did an awesome job! He
dusted the end tables, the floor lamps, the toy shelves, and
the rocking chair (his idea). Then we went upstairs and he did
the dressers and toy shelves in their room. I did the cobwebs
on the ceiling (eek!)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxGlSvG2n3I]

 

She
always wants me to “draw Eve” but this time I drew the circle
and asked her to draw the rest. Not too bad for a 2yr old. And,
’cause I know someone will ask, she uses her right hand more
often, but sometimes uses her left. :)

Michelle and I were chatting and the kids
all took off running into the other room. They seemed happy, so
we let them play for awhile, eventually going in to find this:

 

 

I got a call two days ago reminding me
about Lex’s dental appointment today, the very same appointment
that I apparently never bothered to write down! Good thing they
call! I dropped the kids off at daycare this morning and then
went back at 10am to pick up just Lex. We chatted about the
dentist on the way over and he reminded me that they ARE NOT
allowed to use the loud brush in his mouth and that after he
got his teeth cleaned he would need a sticker before leaving.
He has a very good memory. He opened his mouth for the hygenist
and let her brush. He even let her use the “silly brush” which
is the regular electric spinning brush they normally use with a
more child-friendly top on it. He took a minute to warm up to
the idea, but the hygenist was great and Lex cooperated very
well! Then the dentist checked and all is well. They are still
monitoring that tooth that broke loose a year or so ago, but
the dentist said it was healing nicely. Lex got very excited to
choose a new tooth brush and then got his sticker in the end.
It was great. I gave him big hugs and congratulated him on
doing such a good job. :) I’m super proud of him!

We’ve had a few rough daycare mornings
lately. Lex doesn’t fight about going (he fights about other
stuff instead!) but he keeps saying he doesn’t want to go. It’s
a little sad because he was pretty excited about it for a few
weeks. In the car yesterday morning I told him that daycare was
helping him get more comfortable with people and routines so
that preschool (in about 6 weeks!) would be easier. Instead of
his normal preschool enthusiasm, I got “Oh, mom, I don’t think
I want to go to preschool either.” NOOOO!!!! Sigh. He does like
being wherever he is. :) On the bright side, when I picked them
up yesterday I found them sitting side-by-side in outdoor
chairs, just chatting with each other. All the other kids were
running and playing and they were just sitting together. The
teacher said that they had been like that for most of the time
they were outside. It’s so sweet how much they love and like
each other.

Eve has been amusing me with her
creativity lately. One of her favorite things to do now is
“take” things out of books and give them to people. For
example, while reading a book last night she asked me if I
wanted a giraffe and then proceeded to use her sweet little
pincher fingers to “take” the giraffe off the page and put it
in my hand, and then one for her, and one for Lex. I was
reading her a Richard Scary book the other day and ended up
“holding” an alligator, a mouse, a car, and Goldbug in my hand.
She gets so happy. One day she ran in to the dining room with
her pinchers fingers tight and said “want some tea?” I was
expecting her to get me a pink plastic tea cup, but instead she
released her fingers in my hand and said “there you go!” A few
minutes later I saw a book with a tea party picture opened in
the living room and I’m sure I got one of those cups of tea :)
She cracks me up. She also LOVES the easel we have and spends a
lot of time coloring with dry erase markers or regular markers
(on the paper side). Sadly she also spends a lot of time
coloring on herself and then “wiping it off” with another
marker, so I have to take the markers away from her more than
I’d like to. She also found a big paper bag the other day and
has been carrying it around with her, filling it with all sorts
of stuff. Last night it was so full she had to drag it behind
her and you could hear her coming from a mile away. Sweet,
silly girl :)

We brought home
maple lollipops for the kids from a little gift shop this
weekend. Just a little something. I’m always amazed at Lex and
sweets though. He was SO excited to get to finally open the
lollipop (I didn’t let him when we first got home because he
didn’t nap and he was a cranky pants!). He was so excited and
he sat at the table and licked it a few times and talked about
how yummy it is and what it tastes like and looks like and
licked it a few more times and then put it down and said he
wanted to save it for later. Hmm… Eve on the other hand went
to town! I ended up taking it away after awhile because she was
making a HUGE mess and I figured that was enough lollipop for
the moment. Lex gets very excited about treats, but regularly
eats just half a cookie, or just a little bit of the lollipop.
I’ve even seen him leave popsicles partially eaten. He seems to
know how to regulate himself pretty well in that respect. I
could learn a few things from him! Although, the one treat that
NEVER goes unfinished is brownies and ice cream at Gammy and
Popcube’s house! He loves those!