rolling, rolling, rolling

"hey, mommy, make a movie of me rolling down the hill."

birthday report

me: "L, stop telling A. what to do; you're not in charge of her."
her: "But, Mommy, now I'm four years old."

we had a nice day and celebrated with a little cupcake (real cake and party will happen this Sunday) and L. wasted no time and played with her new toys all afternoon.

then, this morning: "Mommy, is it Sunday yet?"
me: "No, just a few more days."
L.: "because I want it to be ice cream sundae!"
(thanks for the gift, B & C; I better get to the store quick so she can find out what it is!)

we must be doing something right

sometimes I worry about whether the good dr. and I are doing a good job as parents.
today I asked L. what she wanted me to make for her birthday dinner: "shrimp curry and corn on the cob."

phew.

going on an adventure

He's vertical and trying to keep up with those girls.

I think of you, olittles, when I watch BR walk. Just recently his hands came down to shoulder-length when he toddles around. Up until last week, though, he held them high up in the air, reaching for those mama hands he still thinks should be there, I guess!

"say cheese, BR"

that elusive popsicle...

I was having a deja vu moment while filming this. It's been about a year and now it's BR's turn to have his first taste of a homemade lemonade popsicle. Now if it would just stand still for a minute...

"Look, Mommy, I can run like a cheetah!"

1, 2, 3

That's how old they are, for one more week. Nothing but trouble. Cute, but trouble. Cute trouble.

keeping up with the Livos

Well, I'm not sure we can really rival those Livo gals, but we do have our own fashion shows around here, complete with Santa hats, princess dresses and butterfly wings (sometimes all at the same time).

i love to play with chalk, and also eat it

yo soy Sam

Some advice for all you new moms or moms-to-be: if reading Green Eggs and Ham over and over again means it is no longer the tongue-twisting challenge it once was, here are some suggestions...
it's got a great ring to it if you do it backwards:

"there or here them like not would I.
anywhere them like not would I.
am-I-Sam them like not do I,
ham and eggs green like not do I.
house a in them like you would?
mouse a with them like you would?"

in Spanish:

"No quiero los huevos verdes con jamon."

or, in French:

"Je ne voudrais pas, je ne pourrais pas dans un bateau.
Je ne les prendrais pas avec une chevre.
Pas dans le noir! Pas sur un arbre!
Pas dans une voiture! Laisse-moi tranquille!"

And then if you realize suddenly that you actually don't know how to say mouse, or fox or goat in Spanish and you're ready to give up, there's your 3 yr-old cheerleader: "Try it and you may, I say!"

Oh, and you don't actually have to worry about any mistakes 'cause you can bet your house AND car AND your Christmas bonus that your 2 yr-old hasn't noticed anything different about the way you're reading it tonight anyway!

the answer

Yeah, I knew you'd never guess (took me a week to figure this one out).
This is what is outside the chiropractor's office in our neighborhood:

See? His back hurts 'cause there's a worm on it, of course!

sometimes it's hard for me to walk...

...cause there's this thing grabbing onto my leg.