Almost October!

We had a crazy week of rain this week and finally, it's gone. It left behind some beautiful fall weather which we plan to enjoy this weekend.

Just to practice enjoying the weather, though, we spend a lot of time outside after dinner every night.

Caped Crusader

This is a very common site around our house and yard. Batman is our oldest child. Will, it seems, does not live here anymore. Only Batman.

He dashes around saving people from bad guys and defending little sisters.

He has a super-hero dog who watches his every move from the clubhouse.

And sometimes, he has to ride off on his Batmobile. Which is covered by AAA. You can never be too safe.

It stopped raining...

So we went frog, lizard and leaf hunting.

We actually found all three things, but the lizard was much to quick for our little hands and net to catch. The frog, though, he wasn't so fast.

This is Will's 'frog face' :

Kylie added two new items to her wish list yesterday as she desperately wants Will's rain coat and rain boots. Her sneakers are spending time drying out today after some serious puddle stomping yesterday.

No frogs or leaves or lizards were harmed in the photographing of this blog post.

Double Trouble

Either they're looking at each other...

Or one is smiling and one is not...

Or one is actually smiling while the other is forcing his cheer...

Or this is the best it gets. We better start that Christmas card photo now.

Miss Kylie

Oh Kylie. Kylie is 17 months going on 17. She is frighteningly independent, often purposely running in the opposite direction of Mom or Dad. She hides and giggles (which gives her away) when Mom is trying to get her to cooperate and leave somewhere or go somewhere. She climbs everything and tumbles off of things much too high for her with nary a sound. In fact, she cut her hand open last weekend in the garage and didn't seem to notice or care that it was bleeding.

She's adding at least 1-2 words a day to her vocabulary and she uses signs for some words, too. She drinks a gallon of milk by herself each week. She insists on having her hair done everyday, but we're lucky if it lasts through breakfast. She LOVES her new shoes and every other pair of shoes ever made.

She still worships her brother and never seems to notice the abuse or annoyance level he applies to her, she just keeps going back for more. She recently learned to hit/punch, and will dole out a punch and then promptly throw her arms around her victim and plant a big, noisy kiss on their cheek.

Kylie LOVES her Da-da. She follows him around from the very moment he gets home until she insists that he put her to bed.

Kylie has a best friend, too. In fact, one of her first words was Izzy, who happens to be Alex's sister. That works out pretty perfect for us Moms.

Kylie loves to dance and listen to music and has begun to sing the "e-i-e-i-ooo" part of Old MacDonald.

As if we needed further proof that she thinks she's older than she really is, here is what she figured out tonight:

Watch out Mom and Dad, watch out world!

Mr. Will

The kids are both so full of personality lately that I figured it's time for a little recap on what they're up to. Mr. Will, oh Mr. Will. He's equally entertaining and exasperating. He has an answer for EVERYTHING. For example, the other day when Mommy said, "Your fingers don't belong in your nose." He responded with, "Yes they DO! They fit JUST PERFECT!" These witty comebacks make disciplining him a challenge and yet, they remind us to keep our sense of humor in everything. After a particularly challenging bedtime the other night, Will dashed into Kylie's room shouting, "SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR PATIENCE!" Mommy's chin must have hit the floor on that one.



Will's favorite number is 4, his favorite color is (still) green. In fact, the pattern sheet he brought home from school had a little note on the bottom that said he had no trouble creating patterns but became frustrated when coloring them. Daddy noticed all the "corrections" were places he had to color over green. He said he knows patterns but wanted all green apples.



Speaking of school, Will is rocking 4 year old preschool. Last year he had some trouble listening and following directions but so far this year, his teacher reports he's a great listener and even a leader sometimes. Way to go, Will!



He still finds time for swimming and soccer and playing with his best buddy, Alex as well as other friends. He has trouble remembering that his sister is younger and smaller than him, but, then again, she seems to have trouble remembering that too.


Will still loves being outside and would much rather go outside than watch TV or stay in for any reason. We spend loads of time in our yard and driveway, where Will has began writing letters and spelling things. He knows all his letters and numbers by sight and all the sounds of each letter and now he's beginning to sound out words and recognize many words and names, too.

He has an amazing memory and often recalls things from years ago, including tiny details. Nothing goes unnoticed, as he often points out road sign changes or new bumper stickers on cars we see everyday. In fact, the other day, he asked why every car has a different shape on the front of it but some cars have the same shapes. Mommy couldn't even tell you the make or model of a car that ran her over but Will is already noticing the models of cars.

We love this kid and he keeps us on our toes with a smile on our face.