El's Words, Etc.

 "Hi!"

"Up"

"Mahhhmmmmeeeeeeeee..."

"Uh oh"

"Ush" (Brush)

"Hot"

"Hat"

"Aaaaaaaaapee" (Happy - her new one)

"Aieee" (Avery)

"Dad-dad"

And of course, the old standby:  "BweeeeeeeeeeeeeedabwapaghakgahkgahkdahgheEEEEEEEEahhhhgh"

Please pardon my excitement over the spewing of nonsense syllables.  I never had this with the first one, who was clear and articulate like Dame Peggy Ashcroft since age 10 months.

And then there's the dancing.  We hear music and we spin around in a drunken circle, la-la-ing along.

We look a tad like Uncle Mike in this pic

Oh, hi.

Hanging out with cousin L. in the pool

I hate this.  Obviously.

Beach.  It's hard work, Brah.

The Graduate, and Summer Kick-off

Av graduated from preschool recently, on May 27th.  Her uncle M., aunt J., and cousin L. were visiting from Seattle, so we all turned out for the big day.  There was a concert, in which the children sang the old girl scouts song "Make new friends, but keep the old....."   I tried not to cry.  Avery bowed during the applause after each song, which has become her signature move at school and she's influenced a couple of her little girlfriends to do the same. The kids went up one by one to receive their "diploma" from their teachers. I can't believe it.  Kindergarten in a few months.  Big, big, big.

So graduation ends and summer begins with our visit from my brother and family. Their toddler is growing by leaps and bounds, talking up a blue storm, and they are expecting their second baby close to L.'s second birthday.  I'd put up pics, because L. is one of the cutest babies ever to walk to planet, but she's not mine to publish.  So the millions of people who read my blog will have to eat their hearts out.  Sorry. 

The main point is that Av and El are freaking awesome, and I'm super-proud of my beautiful 5-year-old girl who is moving swiftly into a new phase of life, ready to take on the world.  I am absolutely the luckiest mom in the world.  I'd qualify that statement by saying that everybody says that, but the truth is that everybody doesn't. 

Polymath, anyone? I'm biased....a tad....

Chalkboard Easel Art, and Fashion (below), by Av

She can also solve just about any addition or subtraction problem using poker chips.  And she knows and uses the word "charcuterie."  Her new superhero name is Ainu.

I know I'm bragging on her big time, but I can't help it, okay?  It's not my fault my kids are smarter than I am.

More Fun Than A Pack Of Hairballs

Av's preschool held it's bazzillianth annual "Spring Fling,"  a huge fundraiser and super-fun event for the kids, this past weekend.  As all of us parents organize, design, plan, create, and run the entire day, she had plenty of time to anticipate it and knew a whole lot about what it was going to look like and what activities were on the docket.  The day before, by way of describing exactly how much she was looking forward to it, she declared to me that she knew it was going to be "more fun than playing with a pack of hairballs."  I replied that I certainly hoped so.

This is Av at a recent beach play date with friends. She looks cold, you say?  Yeah, that's because the water was approximately one degree fahrenheit. Five-year-olds "don't care about being cold," as she is often telling me in order to justify, say, wearing a pretty sundress to school in February, or plunging full-body into the chilly surf in late April.  I feel a moral obligation to point out that this photo wasn't taken by me, but rather by my talented friend E.J.

Ostensibly the beach is more fun than hairballs, as well.

Have Curls, Will Climb Into Baskets Meant For DVD's and Magazines

Today

Today the older one learned to zip her sweatshirt by herself.  And then she spent most of the morning up in a tree, and has the scrapes and bruises to prove it.

The little one got her first bandaid today.  It was pink.  Knee-scrape. 

These two, they're a couple of swashbucklers, I say.

There's Gotta Be A Better Word For This....

...than "cute."  Because it's beyond cute.  So cute it's almost painful.  Like when GW walks in the door from work, and El holds up a hand to him and shouts, "Eye!" (Hi).  Like when she burps, and if I say, "burp!" she'll laugh (how does she know that's funny?).  Like when she plays peek-a-boo with herself in a mirror.

She now says "Mama, up," when she wants me to pick her up.  She's practicing her walking all the time.  She's recently refined her kissing technique - instead of opening her mouth and diving for your face, she opens and closes her lips against your cheek.  She still likes the game where she tries to bite your nose and you try not to let her and you squeal in a really high voice.  She's a ham, like her sister.  She calls Av "Ah-ee."  Neat.

Let's see...finished unloading the shoe bench, what's next?

Grinning at Dad

Big Sis helps her walk

Hiey!

She clawed her way into the fridge and helped herself to a bloody corpse...I mean plum.

Her favorite ride.