We're back in the blogosphere...

After two months of silence, we're back. I have lots of notes of things to post... here are some in random order:

From Matthew:

+ At the breakfast table eating pancakes, Matthew says, "Pretty good, Mommy, pretty good!"

+ As I was getting ready to leave for Leah's 30th bday, wearing a blouse that requires ironing no less, Matthew said, "Nice shirt, Mommy. Nice shirt!" He said the same to Shae the next morning when he came down ready for church. :)

+ Our dear sister-in-law Glad made the coolest "Memory" game for us last Christmas with the family's pictures on top. Matthew found that game in our puzzle bin, and ran into the kitchen shouting, "2 Lijahs, Mommy, 2 Lijahs!!!" (He found the pair of tiles with his cousin Elijah.)

And just in case you're wondering, yes, most of his exclamatory statements (and declaratives, too, for that matter) do follow the endearing XXX-Mommy-XXX pattern.

+ Riding in the car with the window down, Matthew begged Daddy to go faster. When his request was granted, he said, "Oh, awesome, awesome!" First time I heard that word from him!

+ Again in the car, heading west on 65th Street, Matthew quickly identified the route he takes with Daddy on some Saturday mornings, "Donee shop, donee shop?" (The Donut Connection). Sadly, we weren't headed there at that moment.

+ Several weeks ago, I tried to drink tea and inhale at the same time, resulting in an episode of choking/coughing. The kids watched from the table... amused! When I recovered, Matthew asked, "Again?"

+ In Colorado, we offered the kids fudgesicles for a treat one afternoon after naps. The next day when Matthew awoke, he said, "So hungry, Mommy, so hungry," and then looking at me hopefully, "Lollipop? Chocolate?" This happened the next two days, as well!

+ Matthew's been showing some interest in pottying. He reports all his BMs ("stinky poopy, Mommy, stinky poopy"). We were reading a story about Jesus' birth last week and the illustration showed a baby on his back, on a cloth, w/o clothes. Knowing that there's only one time Matthew finds himself in such a position, he said, "Baby Jesus stinky poopy." I'm sure He did at times!

+ Favorite Matthew-isms: strawberry = "strawbuddy", dinosaurs = "NOsaurs"

From Hannah:

+ I laughed when Hannah got out of the bath because the rubber mat's pattern was imprinted on her bottom. She strained to see it and said, "My head's not long enough like a giraffe head. I need a giraffe head to see my bottom."

+ Hannah said she was still hungry after not eating much for lunch, so I offered her what she hadn't finished: broccoli or pita. "What else is available, Mom?" she asked. Clever. Answer: nothing until these are gone. :)

+ Another pancake breakfast (I have a great recipe w/all whole wheat flour and I add a bunch of ground flax seed--let me know if you're interested :)), and I ask if Hannah would like some more. "Yeah, it sure tastes good! Thank you, Mom." Sweet, unprompted words. Rare.

+ When Matthew was playing with his "NOsaurs", Hannah quipped, "There's no 'saurs around because they all stink!" (extinct) :)

+ Listening to U2's "Miss Sarajevo" song with the glorious Pavarotti solo, Hannah exclaimed, "He's just like Scotty!" A shout out to my dear brother who loooooooves to sing like an opera star.

+ Thanks, Auntie Shawna for sharing this gem:
At a recent family gathering with the McCowens, Hannah was on the swing with her cousin Becky (4 months older). Becky said, "I love you, Hannah." Hannah's reply? "I love me, too." Seriously. Apparently, Hannah returned the love only after lots of prompting and said, "I love you, Becky, and I love me, too." Charming.

+ Hannah asked to look at the world atlas we have instead of reading stories before her nap the other day--(good sign, Dad? :)). She wanted to talk about her pretend friends and where they lived, an activity we do with her US Map puzzles and our real friends and family. She asked me to read the names of the towns/cities that she pointed to. "My friend Beebee lives in...." "Amarillo." I said. Hannah asked, "Where's rojo?" I love my girl!! She does not miss a beat.

+ At a recent tea party in Hannah's room, I brought her a piece of gum as a "hostess gift". She loved the idea of hostess gifts and since we take turns hosting these parties and bringing friends, she was ready with a gift when I was hosting. It was her "Bug Bungalow", a little mesh box for catching bugs. It had her name on a piece of masking tape since she recently took it to school. She held it out to me and said, "Here you go! It's from a garage sale." Laughing, I took it, explained that she didn't have to tell me where she got it (a bad habit of mine)... and then realized she was referring to the homemade "price tag" (masking tape, garage sale style, indeed!). Too funny. :)

My day

There were also pictures of both kids with pens up their noses but those photos wouldn't load for some reason... obscene?

They are both getting over flu bugs/fevers.

July greetings

Puppets: a play in two parts

I'm very proud of myself for scoring this puppet theater w/ puppets for $2 at a garage sale. :) I know it was really just a gift.

Kiddos at Lake Nokomis

Updates from the last month

I've been terrible about keeping up with this blog, but I'm doing what I can, so here it is. I know I've missed sharing lots of bloggable moments, but these are the ones I jotted down...

+ After helping me whip cream for Grandpa's strawberry shortcake birthday cake, Hannah turned to me and said, "Thanks for letting me be your taster. I preciate that."

+ My dear husband was grocery shopping for us and grabbed a box of Target-brand cheerios, just like the list said. He accidentally grabbed the "honey nut" kind, though they're virtually identical in the store brand packaging. I only realized what they were as I was serving them to the kids... too late.
H: Are these the honey ones!!??!??
Me: They are. (nonchalant)
H: WHERE did you get them? At Grandma's house?

+ Matthew increasingly wants to be just like his big sis. She prefers to drink out of a normal cup, not a sippy cup. We still use sippy cups when dining in small spaces (on the tray of the booster chair, etc.) because of constant spills there. We let her drink most of her drink and then take the top off so she can finish it "like a big girl".

Matthew held his cup up to me the other day and demanded, "Big girl! Big girl!" He wanted me to take that top off so he could do it, too. :)

Matthew awakes... more later.

From Matthew's Mouth

Our little man is talking a ton. He's a delight... when he's not whining.

The other day Matthew brought a box of ABC books to the couch where I was sitting. He handed it to me and said, "Share. Nice!" Just like I praise him when he shares with others.

Matt-Man, as dubbed by our friend Sarah Brown, is quite a flirt. He bats his eyes, tucks his chin, tilts his head and smiles. He was doing this number at breakfast the other day and Hannah said, "He just flirted at me!"

Hannah and Matthew were eager to go downstairs after breakfast but I was still cleaning up and asked them to wait. "We can go downstairs and be nice to each other," Hannah promised. I agreed to let them try it since I was almost done and she started to show Matthew how to go down the stairs on his belly, knowing he's not totally safe in socks on the wooden stairs forward. He exclaimed happily, "Idea! Idea!" Just like I tell him, "That's a good idea." Too sweet.

His most common mealtime chant: Meat!! More meat.
The boy ate 3 turkey franks on Memorial Day. 2 pieces of deer sausage (thanks, Martins!) for breakfast the other day. He is a hardcore carnivore!