kelsi is turning two...

As Kelsi's party and actual birthday approaches this weekend, we are talking a lot about it! When you ask her who's birthday it is, she says, "Me!"...When you ask her how old she will be, she says, "Two!", and when you ask her who is coming to the party, her first response is, "Trevor". I think that she has her first little crush on her brother's friend!! Trevor has always paid a lot of attention to Kelsi, giving her hugs and talking to her...She apparently remembers and is now repaying the favor! She loves her Trevor!!

(Picture taken in June after getting a braid done at Snip-Its after Tyler's hair cut)

let's split up...

Tonight, Douglas told Tyler to get his baba (sippy cup...we HAVE to stop calling it a baba!)....He didn't know where it was....He looked up at Douglas and he said, "Let's split up Dada...you go that way and I'll go this way." We looked at him and said, "Where did you learn that?" He goes, "When we were at McDonalds two kids were looking for something and they said, Let's split up."

He apparently listens very well, and used it in the correct way with us!!

Tyler is reading...almost...

Tyler can "read" his first book!! He has a book "Olivia's Opposites" (the character that has now turned into a show), and each page is a picture of Olivia depicting one set of opposites (up/down, long/short, quiet/loud, plain/fancy). He "reads" it to me and Kelsi at naptime, but tonight he read it to me before bed. He has each page memorized based on the pictures, and he even uses my sound effects for quiet/loud. He looks at me after he says each word, and I nod my head when he is correct. When he gets to the page for coming/going, he always says "coming" first. I then whisper "going". He shakes his head with a little giggle and HAS to close the book halfway (his finger holds his page) and then re-opens it before he can "read" it correctly! It cracks me up that he wants to start fresh before he can say the "right" word!

As Tyler climbed into bed tonight he was looking for his "Bainy"...the new little bear that he picked at a yard sale this weekend and paid for with his OWN money. He even asked the woman, "Excuse me, how much is this?". She said 25 cents and he responded, "Okay, I have that." He had two dollars. He named the bear Bainy (don't know why!)...So after we found Bainy he says, "Mama, I play caveman in my bed....I use my blankets as the cave but Bainy isn't allowed in because he is only 1 years old and he is a baby." I love when he shares his imaginative world with me...He does so much imaginative play during his quiet time/nap time...He has separated all of his animals into categories of water animals and not water animals, and then creates an "ocean" out of one of his blankets...Very creative and getting bigger and bigger by the day, mentally and physically!!

i had a dream....

I have to document Tyler's obsession with his dreams...Every time he wakes up (morning & naps), he tells us whether or not he had any dreams. Most often he will say in a surprised voice, "I didn't have any dreams!", and other times he will say that he had some, but can't remember them.

Today, when I went up to get him from his nap he was standing in his bed and he said, "I have two things...I really need to go potty and I just had a really funny dream!". He then went on to tell his dream....We were in Florida splashing in the ocean and we went under the water and there was a Dora place. We got stuck in the Dora place and couldn't get out. We had to climb a fence, but we were able to get out! He was TOTALLY into every detail of his dream, excitedly reliving it! I asked him who was with him and he said, "Me and You!".

The funny thing is that we can trace his dreams back to what has occurred that day...We had just called Noni and Nono and left them a message at lunchtime, and we also pulled out the basket of Dora toys today (and he read some Dora books before nap)....

He cracks me up!

take my picture...

"Take my picture, Mama"....This is another thing that I am hearing often these days! Tyler is becoming picture obsessed like his Mama! In this photo he was standing on a stool and doing a happy dance, but it could be ANYTHING or anytime when he all of a sudden wants his photo taken! We had an unplanned stop at McDonalds for lunch yesterday, and he was a bit sad because I didn't bring my camera. The last couple times he has requested that I take his picture on the play structure, but I haven't had my camera...I did promise him that I would bring it next time, but once again I disappointed because I didn't know we were going there!

Although he asks for a picture, that doesn't mean he will look or smile...he definitely likes action shots, and then he wants to see the pic on the camera screen. The other morning when I was taking pictures (and a lot happened to be of Kelsi), he started pretending to cook in the kitchen. I wasn't paying much attention and then he actually said, "I didn't hear the click, Mama." I was laughing but I of course clicked a pic!

love, love, love....

Tyler has been CRACKING us up lately...His new thing is to say, "I love, LOVE, LOOVE it!" Each LOVE he says gets louder and more drawn out, and he makes this adorable face while tilting his head to the side. He can LOVE, LOVE, LOVE just about anything. It can be a the toy he is playing with, something he sees on TV, or it can be something that we are talking about that he likes. Many times it comes out when we are eating and he takes his first bite. Although he says it, he doesn't always mean it when it comes to his food. I think it is just his way of trying to compliment you on your cooking and be excited to eat, but the LOVE often dwindles after a couple of bites! In these photos, he is LOVE, LOVE, LOVING my new office and my drawer of punches. He likes to get out a sheet of paper, open the drawer himself, and then use the punches one by one.

The good thing is that he puts them back after he uses each one...He is a better "picker-upper" than me!

calling great nono & noni

About a week ago, Tyler was playing and he picked up a pretend phone. He turned to me and said..."I am going to call Great Noni & Great Nono. I haven't seen them in a while and I want to see how they are doing." I was touched that he thought of them because it has been almost a year since Great Nono passed, and about four months since we lost Great Noni. After a minute of pretending he turned back to me and said, "They are good". He tossed the phone down and went back to playing. All I could think was...I hope he is right.