Updates on the Kids

It's been awhile since I've updated on the little things my kids are doing lately, so here we go. I've got the most material on Elizabeth this time...

Elizabeth:

-She has continued her use of big or uncommon words. Example 1: We were walking into a store the other day and she yells back to Natalie, "Stop lagging behind!" Example 2: She was wearing her Sunday dress which has an empire waist and a full skirt, the kind of dress she used to love since it "foofs" out but this time she was upset. She was pushing down on the top of the skirt part saying, "I don't like this! It's so... plump!" I really don't use either of those words in normal conversation. Promise. I have no idea where she learns these.

-She has started her second year of soccer. She said she wanted to play again. So far, she seems excited to go to practice but we'll see how long it lasts. Natalie is very upset that she missed the cut-off and can't play this year. After the first practice, Natalie was talking about how she can't wait to play when she's 4 and Elizabeth said, kind of to herself, "I don't know what's so fun about soccer. It's just running to faraway trees." I guess the runs in practice are not her favorite part.

-The other day, I overheard Elizabeth singing during her quiet time. As I listened more closely, I discovered that she was setting the words of the book she was reading (The Berenstain Bear's and Too Much Junk Food) to music. It was quite hilarious and I snuck up to the door with the camera in an attempt to get it on video but sadly you can't hear her very well. I really am sad about that because I didn't even get a chance to properly laugh while it was happening since I had to be stealthy so she would keep doing it. Anyway, she is definitely her father's daughter. :)

-The other night I went in to her room after they had fallen asleep and I discovered her asleep like this:

Pretty impressive...

Natalie:

-She was eating a good ol' Costco hot dog when she said to me, "I love mustard more than anything else in the whole world... Except, my family." Then she gives me this smile like she's so proud of herself for saying such a sweet thing about her family. Wow, talk about real love. We even rank above mustard... :)

-Did I mention that she really wants to play soccer? At Elizabeth's practice the other night, Natalie, Nate and I were playing a little bit ourselves. Then she would say, "Tell me it's time for a water break, Mom" and I would actually have to say "Water break!" and then she would run over and sit and take a drink.

-She LOVES skirts and dresses right now and wears one as often as she can. Both of the girls were in heaven when they saw what Daddy brought them back from Africa:

Day dresses!
(that's what we call dresses that are OK to wear on days other than Sunday)

They wear them all of the time. When Natalie saw hers, she said that it was "fashionable" and "elegant". We have Fancy Nancy to thank for teaching her those words.

Nathaniel:

-He has become quite the ham when the camera comes out and gives me these cheesy grins:

-He LOVES to brush his teeth. He will scream if you take his toothbrush away from him.

-He also loves to drum/bang on anything. He loves when Daddy lets him drum on the little djembe we have:...and shake the aslatua:

Look at that huge mouth!
(If you are wondering what an aslatua is, go here)

I forgot that I haven't finished blogging about the summer until I finish Joe's trip to Ghana! So that will be my next post, as soon as I can get my hands on his laptop for long enough to finish uploading his pictures from there.