In Direct Response to Ang's Blog which made me cry - this will make you laugh.

Fair

We went to the fair and had a lot of fun. Aubrey didn't scream this time. She even rode a couple of rides. Well, 1 ride and the carousel. Funnel cake and cotton candy and corn dogs. Charlotte didn't care about dancing dogs so we let her crawl all over the nasty floors. We watched the swan boats float around. Was a nice afternoon.

Here is Aubrey walking off on her own to tap dance class. Those that know her know how happy this makes us to see such independence. She loves her class. Sometimes she'll show us some moves she has learned, like "the boogie".

Charlotte still won't walk. She'll stand up, with no support, in the middle of the room. She can stand all day if she wants. She'll push chairs around the room. She'll push her walker around. Then she'll sit down and crawl to where she wants to go.

Birthday and such

Aubrey's 3rd birthday party featured the Creature Teacher who brought a rabbit, chinchilla, hedgehog, Guini pig, turtle and parrot. I can't remember the last time I've seen so many 2-4 year olds sit so still and attentive. After the creatures we opened up a bag of 4500 live ladybugs and let the kids go nuts. Some did go nuts once the bugs got up their shirts. Fun, fun!

Aubrey got a Tinkerbell costume from grandma and grandpa!

Tracy spent all night making these cupcakes! Black icing = lots of little smeared black faces.

Grandpa tried to show how strong his knees still are. Showoff!

Now some Charlotte news. Charlotte has been standing up for so long we figured she'd be walking early. Turns out she likes crawling. A lot. Aubrey never did. A couple weeks ago Charlotte started standing up with no support. Middle of the rooms stands. Up and down. Up and down. On Aubrey's birthday Friday she took her first tiny little step. Then she sat down and hasn't done it since. Still...first step is a first step. She's also a climber. Again - very different from Aubrey who, at age 3, still sleeps in her crib (her choice...we've REALLY tried to get her out) and has never tried to climb out. Charlotte, OTOH, climbs everything. She can almost climb out of the bathtub. Below we see how she opened up a dresser drawer and climbed in. Fun.

She also loves to get her hands messy. Loves to eat. Squishes it up in her paws and crams it in. Aubrey took one look at her piece of cake her first birthday and started screaming in fright. I don't think we'll have that problem with Charlotte.

Some Pics.......

gog?

Charlotte has a new word. "Gog". She says it whenever the dogs are around. Momma. Dadda. Uh-oh! And....gog.

Words are hard to say

for an almost 3 year old. We think she speaks wonderfully. The sentences that roll off her toungue never cease to amaze. But to her - she just doesn't know enough words for the thoughts that are in her head. It's almost daily she'll try to explain something to me, get locked up and say, "I don't know the words!!". This morning she went one step further - "I don't know what I'm talking about." Yes, that exact sentence.

To me, it's proof that she actually does know what she's talking about. But for her, just more frustration.

Zoooooooom

2 weeks. No real accidents = new bike we promised her. Maybe we jumped the gun. But I don't think so. She's a pro.

New favorite quote. I asked her to pick up her toys last night before bed. Reply (with a melodramatic sag of the shoulders): " I don't want to have to...but I do have to."