I have wanted to post something, but just can't seem to come up with what to say. Tonight, I'm going to give you an update on each baby and skip the pictures. Hope you will forgive a post without pictures.
Kendall: Chatterbox. We are thinking that she might be a public speaker and maybe even do stand-up comedy. She is always trying to get a laugh out of her siblings. She likes to imitate how we tickle the other two. Kendall is also the one who loves to pop out from behind things and make Clark and Emma squeal in delight. She was the first to say "no", although honestly, it doesn't appear that she really understands the meaning behind the word, but it does sound cute (for now). She continues to love to dance and has learned a couple of songs ("Twinkle, Twinkle", "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and even part of the Elmo theme song). She doesn't necessarily know all of the words, but she tries and often knows when to place emphasis on a certain sound. VERY cute. She is SO good at blocks and seems to really understand the process of stacking them while also being happy with knocking them down.
Emma: Tiny dancer. She loves to twirl to the music and do the actions for "Twinkle, Twinkle" especially. Emma is a great climber and has learned to be cautious about getting down so she doesn't land on her head. The slide is a great source of entertainment and she would love it if it were always her turn. Ems loves "boo-ahh" - her word for a movie. And she is a big fan of singing "Row, Row" (doesn't know the rest of the words yet). She too likes to sing other songs, though not quite getting the words right, she might get the sound at just the right time. Emma is our puzzle-girl and always likes to spend time working new puzzles, though she does express frustration when the pieces don't fit like they should. She is a fan of Elmo, but also any sort of music and stuffed animals. Another favorite word is "book" because she LOVES to sit and pour over books (and chew on them, unfortunately). One other cute thing to note is her tendency to say "hieeee" (hi) whenever she has just done something to warrent a stern "no" from a parent or sitter. Suddenly she turns on the charm and a big "hi" and her cheesy grin. Who says that 20 month olds can't manipulate their parents???
Clark: Cuddle bug. More accurately, WHINY cuddle bug. He has been exceptionally whiny, but the only thing that makes this even REMOTELY tolerable is his ability to snuggle up to you and hold on tight. Clark is a slide-guy. He LOVES to slide and would gladly push his sisters out of the way so that he can slide often. He learned how to confidently climb and maneuver around when he was attending preschool in Oak Ridge. He is vocalizing more and more everyday with sounds like "mama", "ba ba", "dada". He can also scream like nobody's business. It's frightening actually, but funny. He loves to run laps in the playroom, especially at night. Speaking of which, he has also learned that it is smart to run and dive into the kiddie tent (also in the playroom) when we come to get him for bed. That way he seems to think he is "safe" and won't have to go to bed just yet. Once he gets there, though, he gets under the pillow and grabs a blankie and he is OUT. Aaaah. Clark is a really good sleeper these days and a champ at eating.
All three seem to really be learning so much each week. They love to try new projects such as the felt board, magnet boards (one for each), puzzles, blocks, music and dancing. The girls seem to like "craft time" more than Clark. He would definitely prefer to run around outside and scream rather than draw on paper. Who can blame him?
We've also been spending some time visiting Nana's garage. She has a great open garage that has a courtyard area attached. They love to dig in the pea gravel and run around with a kid-sized broom and sweep things up. We brought some riding toys and the turtle pool (without water) and a kiddie basketball-type thing, so we have things they don't normally see on a regular basis. It's good for us because it makes us feel a little closer to Nana right now and the kids get some fresh air and lots of exercise (the fact that they sleep like ROCKS afterwards is a bonus!).
I will work on getting pictures and/or video posted soon. I know that I have some downstairs, but that would require that I risk waking the kids up when I tromp up and down the stairs, so I'd rather wait until later. I'll get that posted soon and just leave off the updates.
Happy Fall!
