Soon to Be the #1 Name in America...

Caity will often play "preschool" with her Little People (and by that term, I mean the Fisher Price toys, not midget-sized people). The Little People usually have the names of kids in her actual preschool class (Max, Jacob, Lily, etc), but recently Caity has bestowed this moniker on one of them: Itla. I first noticed it on a piece of paper a while back; she'd written down the names of the kids in the "class", and I saw MAX, JACOB and... ITLA. I thought it was a misspelling - of what, I'm not sure, but I didn't think it was intentional. Just now, however, as I fooled around on Facebook, I could hear Caity playing school behind me, and Itla was definitely a main character. I will have to conduct further research before I know if Itla is a girl or boy, naughty or nice...

Primate Development

This morning I sneezed two times. After each sneeze, Jamie said, "Bless you." This is the first time I've ever heard him speak two words without being prompted... maybe he won't end up speaking like a cave man after all!

Our First Real Conversation

Although he is just 2 months shy of turning 2, Jamie has not had a whole lot to say. By this age, it seems like Caity had a much larger vocabulary and variety of ways of expressing herself. But with Jamie, less is apparently more. So imagine my glee when we shared this exchange this morning:

Jamie: Hot.
Me: Hot?
Jamie: Hot.
Me: What's hot?
Jamie: No!

I was changing his clothes at the time; we were in his room, far from the stove, the sun, or any other heat source. So I'm not sure what was on his mind, but I feel it was a step in the right direction nonetheless.

Overheard

Okay, yes, I know I'm way behind on posts. I usually don't have much to talk about, other than how much I'd like to sell Jamie to the next person who walks by (no, I wouldn't really do that. Right?). Anyway, I overheard a conversation between Caity (who will turn 4 next month) and our next-door neighbor Rebekah (who turned 4 in February) that I simply had to make note of:

Rebekah: I ate THREE pieces of pizza!
Caity: Well, I ate FOUR pieces of apple pie!
Rebekah: Really? When? Yesterday, or tomorrow?
Caity: Tomorrow.

Sometimes preschoolers are very entertaining, especially when they're not trying to be.

Happy, Healthy Children

Here I will post a recent picture of the kids. Note the warm, engaging smiles and the depth of intelligence in their eyes. Also note how they are frolicking in a grassy meadow, the sun shining down and the birds sweetly singing.


Oh, WAIT. I must have been thinking of some other winter's day. This is actually a picture of them, zombie-like, in front of the TV. Something that rarely happens here. Um... right.

Another Caity Song

This is a song she's been singing recently, although we're not sure of the exact origin:

(To the tune of "Deck the Halls")

Jumpy weasel, jumpy weasel
La la la la la, la la la la.
Jumpy weasel, jumpy weasel
La la la la la, la la la la.
Jumpy weasel, jumpy weasel
La la la, la la la, la la la.

And so on. It's really quite catchy... don't blame me if you get it stuck in your head.

Charlie

Caity has a new imaginary friend named Charlie. (For all of you who worry about what Caity and Charlie might possibly be up to: Charlie is a she, not a he.) Charlie quite unexpectedly came to stay with us on Feb 1. So far, the visit has been peaceful - Charlie doesn't do much to make her presence known and Caity will only occasionally ask us to accommodate her (make room on the stroller for her, set a place at the table for her, etc). Perhaps not so coincidentally, Charlie is also 3 and has a younger brother who is 1...