Winter Update

I thought I'd take a few minutes to update you on the boys and what they've been up to this winter:

Nicholas: Loves, loves, LOVES "roughhouse time" after dinner. This is when all four of us get on the carpet and wrestle around. Fortunately for me, I'm usually the princess, Wonder Woman, or a cheerleader, so I don't get banged up as much as Chris. Even Daniel gets in on the fun by roaring and jumping on his dad. Yes, much to my dismay, we are in full testosterone mode already around here. A favorite activity is to have everyone show off biceps. Nicholas will say, "Wow, Dad, you have muscles like a rhino!" (I have no idea where he got the rhino simile, but it's pretty funny.) Then Daniel will show his muscles and roar. Yep, we are definitely absorbed in all things "boy". Whoever said that gender differences are just the result of how we treat our kids-and not how they're wired- didn't have children because I can guarantee you that I never taught them any of this!

Nicholas also is learning his letters. He can identify almost all of them now, but doesn't have any interest in writing them. (This will be a goal for next year, I suppose.) He also knows the numbers 1-10, and can count to about 14 or 15. Arts and crafts still aren't his favorite thing, but he does seem to be a bit more interested in painting and gluing than he was a few months ago. His favorite craft activity? Cutting! He loves using scissors, and is happy to sit and cut for 20-30 minutes at a time. We got a play-doh set for Christmas, and he also enjoys that quite a bit, so hopefully the coloring and drawing will come later.

Daniel: Daniel is talking "up a storm." He loves animals of all kinds, and wants me to read "an-mal" books to him constantly. (Of course, I'm delighted that he enjoys books.) He can say the name of about 15 differentcreatures! He's also speaking in short sentences such as "I want milk," "I wanna cracker," etc. (You see the pattern here.)

We had a brief stint with potty training recently, but after a few hours, it was apparent that he isn't ready yet. Still, he has a little potty in the bathroom, and will use it a couple of times a day.

We are all pretty glad that winter is almost over so that we can get back outside and burn off some energy more often. Bath time has been a good afternoon filler on the days when it's cold out. Above are some recent photos.