What are Jack and Cullen up to?

*They call each other by name now, "Dack" and "Hen." I love taking walks with them and one will turn around to the other and shout, "Come on Dack!" or "Heeeennnn, stop!"

*So easy to entertain, I just gave them a trash can full of water to play and it kept them occupied for nearly an hour :-)


*I'm blown away at how they've been combining so many two and sometimes even three word sentences lately. I think they'll be speaking in full sentences within the next couple months.

*They can easily count to three and sometimes even to five (with a little coaching)

*I've got two little echos who follow me around all day. They literally repeat every single thing I say. You know that saying, she's got a sailor's mouth? Well I've realized that I've still got a waitress' mouth- which is nearly as bad! But there's no better reminder for me to watch my language, because if I say something I shouldn't, the same word comes out of their mouths seconds later. Yikes!

*Speaking of profanity, the other day I told Huck to get off the table and Cullen immediately shouted "Off Huck!" Except when it came out of his mouth it sounded more like "Oh f***!" I laughed so hard I cried. No, that's an understatement, tears were rolling down my cheek! Here's what I've learned: it's hilarious when kids swear accidentally. It's not so funny when they repeat a swear word you just said. So enjoy it when it's an accident, but feel mortified when it's your fault.

*Not only do they boss the cats around, but they now tell them when they're being naughty too. Huck will often come out into the backyard with us but the second he jumps up on the fence the boys yell "No No, Huck! Bad! Down!" Then they'll tattle on him, telling me "Huck, out gate!"


*They love looking at pictures, especially of their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousin Violet! They point to each person and name them, sometimes they'll even mention a memory or something about them. When we got back from Seattle, they kept talking about Grandpa giving them oranges or Auntie Rachel letting them blow out "fires" (candles). Now they walk around the house showing me where Violet slept or reminding me that she drank her milk out of a bottle. I love that they're starting to develop relationships with people!

*They've developed an especially good relationship with our next door neighbor, Bob. Bob and his wife are in their 60's with no grandchildren and so they've given the boys several presents and Bob often comes out to talk to them when we're outside. Whenever they see him, they shout "Hi Bob!" (over and over) and when he goes inside they yell "Come back Bob!"


*Cullen falls asleep in front of his bedroom door nearly every night. I spend 10 minutes gently nudging him with the door, trying not to wake him up, before I can squeeze inside and put him back in his bed. I'd leave him on the floor, except I don't think it's too comfortable and so it would probably make him wake up even earlier in the morning. Not an option, so I move him back to his bed.

*Jack had his first (and hopefully last) incident of shoplifting the other day when he stole a tube of toothpaste from CVS. He had it hidden under his leg and it fell out while we were at the library. Thankfully we were just across the parking lot from CVS and the manager was really nice and understanding when we returned it. Still embarrassing though!

*We finally got another tricycle last weekend so we went out and tried to teach them how to pedal. They didn't really get it but they sure enjoyed being pushed up and down the sidewalk on their trikes! The neighbor kids ride their bikes out front all the time so hopefully that will motivate them soon.

*Like most kids, they don't like vegetables. But the few that they do eat are the strangest ones. Tonight they each ate two helpings of salad and yesterday while I was cooking, they kept snatching raw onions off the cutting board and eating them. But broccoli or carrots? Not a chance.

*Their favorite book is the "Bible book" and they sit very still and listen intently when we read it each night. What a privilege to get to share the Bible with them!