New Obsessions

My "popped" pretzel dough and
the boy wanting to inflate it.

Ted and I continue to be amazed (and a little jealous) at how fast our boys can speak the national language and how comfortable they are in talking to just about anyone. Recently Lucas has been saying a lot more in the national language and has learned "kid talk" since he spends all day outside. His recent obsession is saying the national word for popped (i.e. the ball is popped) as well as the word they use for inflating something. He will go around squeezing bike tires and saying they are popped. At a recent trip to a hotel they had a cushioned toiled seat which he informed me was popped. Last week I was making pretzel dough and had placed in it a bowl to rise. Lucas came to me a little later and told me that someone had inflated it (using the national word) and that he had popped it. He wanted to know if he could inflate it again. It is so funny to hear him insert these national words into an English sentence. In passing I will say that he once grabbed my arm and told me that it was popped - but that is not nearly as funny as the other times he has used the word!

Back to School

Excited about learning to write in cursive!

Caleb (always wanting to look the part)
chooses a collared shirt for the first day of class.

The boys started school again a couple of weeks ago. Josiah's started first grade and Caleb started third. Maybe you are like me and cannot believe that they are that old, but they are. The boys use a DVD program and as I watched Caleb's first day I was struck by how big the kids looked. "These kids must be big for their age" I thought "because Caleb isn't that big yet". BUT, he is! At a recent doctors appointment he was in the 75th percentile for his height. You don't really notice how fast they are growing even when it is happening before your eyes. They are plugging away and (for the most part) working hard. Interestingly enough the boys have the same favorite subject - penmanship!