Chatty Cathy

Maggie loves to talk. She literally talks all day long. But when she really gets on a roll, she'll begin to stumble on her words and say, "I can't say the right words!" If she's talking to me, and I nod my head instead of speaking, she'll say, "Why you not talking?" Now I know what my mom was talking about! She said that I was quite the chatterbox as a child.

Tater Tots

When Jon gets home in the evening, he likes to change into clothes that are a little more comfortable to play with the kids. Ty went looking for him and found him in the closet. Ty said, "Pee ew! Your closet smells terrible! Something in your closet smells terrible!" Jon had just removed his shoes and lifted one of his feet close to Ty's nose. Ty shouted, "Pee ew! Your feet smell like tater tots!"

Growing Up

We were eating dinner one evening when my parents were here. Ty went to the bathroom off the kitchen and closed the door. We heard him shout, "I'm growing up! My pee is yellow!" This all goes back to the time he was in the bathroom with his dad. In his mind this is a sign of growing old, rather than a sign that he didn't drink enough fluids for the day!

Mommy's Little Helper

Ty has always loved to help me. He loves to vacuum, dust, clean windows and tables and above all laundry. He can do an entire load from start to finish, including the folding. Well, I help him with the folding, but he puts it all away in his dresser.

Lately, he has been helping out with Maggie. It was just about nap time, when Ty came down the stairs and told me that he had put Maggie down. I wanted to laugh out loud, but I knew he was serious. When I went up there, she was in bed with her shoes on. As I was taking them off and explaining to Ty that we don't sleep in our shoes, I could smell an unpleasant odor. I told him that Maggie needed to be changed before her nap, too. He said he thought he smelled something!

He loves his little sister so much. He always comes and tells me when she is hungry for a snack or when she has hurt herself. I am so happy that I have two children so close in age that love each other as much as they do. They are the best of friends.

Hidden Message on Money

"Mommy, I love you so much. Thank you, God." - Maggie reading a dollar bill

Sleeping Beauties

Maggie has been sleeping in her big girl bed for over 2 weeks. The transition was a breeze! I read her a few books, sing her a few songs and say good night. She doesn't make a peep until she wakes up in the morning, then she calls for me to come and get her out of bed. Several nights ago, she wanted to take her soccer ball to bed with her. I figured there wasn't anything wrong with that, so I let her. Sunday night, she wanted to sleep with her new package of Dora Pull Ups. So, she climbed into bed and cuddled the package like it was a baby doll. I guess I pick my battles!

Ty has always been our difficult sleeper. He stopped napping when he turned 2 and has never required much sleep at night. Jon has always laid with him until he fell asleep, even though our pediatrician told us not to do this. When he wakes up during the night, he comes into our room. As I recall, our pediatrician warned us that would happen if we laid with him at night. Well, Monday night, Jon showed him how easily Maggie went to sleep and told him that he wanted him to go to sleep on his own. He read to him , told him good night and left the room. It was so easy! Last night, when Jon went in to check on him, he couldn't find him anywhere! He finally checked the top bunk, and there Ty was. He has never slept on the top bunk, so we were shocked. It's amazing how the accomplishments of his little sister can help him to grow up, too!

Honesty is the Best Policy

Jon was sleeping peacefully the other morning, when Ty crawled into the bed and laid on top of him. After a few minutes Ty said, "Daddy, you snell. You snell like a dirty, fuzzy kitchen." Classic. This actually makes me laugh out loud whenever I think about it.

I asked him a few days later what I smelled like. He smelled me all over and said, "You snell like fresh air." That's my boy!