Wednesday, July 13, 2011

No way, Jose!

I love summer. Heat, long days, fresh produce, and chlorine-soaked toddlers. I think you girls love it, too. The other night we went to the Fairway pool. It was your first visit to the public pool and my first visit in about a hundred years. And it was great fun. You were both in your swim diapers and little rashguard swimsuits. We started out in the toddler pool and you were both a little nervous. Didn't even want to walk around on your own at first. You were more comfortable when we moved to the big pool and you swam with us. It's fun to watch you kick those little legs. And Luce, you insisted that you wanted to go down the slide the entire time. Or, at least until we distracted you with drinking out of the water fountain. Don't worry - we did not let you go down the slide. Janey, you put your face in the water several times, and although you'd always look surprised when you came back up, you didn't fuss at all.

We've been having people over for dinner occasionally the past couple of weeks. It has been nice to be sociable and normal, but I've also been inviting people because I want it to be normal for you ladies for us to have company. After warming up, you've enjoyed playing with everyone so far. You like to run around in the backyard and take flowers to our guests, and if they're lucky, you show them the broccoli. Ah, you love that broccoli. You've been watching it grow for weeks, and now, when we're playing outside and you decide you need a little snack, you go over and pick off a piece and pop it in your mouth. I'm not even making this up. You girls love to eat fresh, raw broccoli grown in our very own backyard. What more could a mama ask?



Luce, apparently I've taught you to say "No way, Jose!" And now you say it ALL THE TIME. In response to everything. Before it was just a simple No. Now it's NO WAY, JOSE! Your other favorite thing to say right now is "Move it!". To me, to your sister, to the cat... You also like to request very specific foods that you'd like to eat. Pizza! Roll-up! Mac 'n cheese! Ganola! When I tell you that you already had a fruit roll up today, would you like something else, you say, Something else!



Jane, your favorite thing to talk about right now is TALL PUPPET MAN. That's right. We took you ladies to a kid's film Friday or something like that (we only made it through the concert and puppet time - the movie didn't start until after 9:00, and if I know anything about my ladies, it's that you like to be in bed well before 9). Anywho, there were lots of puppet-like things on long sticks that kids were playing with, and at first you were both absolutely terrified of TALL PUPPET MAN. In hindsight, it was probably a bit much for me to think we could just walk up to something over 6 feet tall with a billowing dress, all these kids dancing around it while it bobbed around. But after burying your face in my neck and recovering, you were curious, and eventually we made it over to TALL PUPPET MAN, and you started waving at him and even touched his tall puppet man hand. Now it's all you want to talk about. TALL PUPPET MAN this and TALL PUPPET MAN that.

I can hardly believe how grown you two seem at only 20 months. I love you two meatballs so much.

Mama