brains!

We went to the farm tours this weekend, and this is one of Cole's phots from Wollam Gardens. It's a shot of cockscomb (the little brain variety) and Joy's giant hand reaching in to touch it.
Cole uses my old digital camera and it's fun to see things from his point of view. Sure there are lots of shots of his toys and his feet and the carpet, but that doesn't make them any less meaningful to him. I'd be broke if he were shooting with film!

good apples

Joy turned 2 this week, and Cole will soon be 5. If I could've picked them off a tree, I don't think I could've chosen better kids.

Joy adores her big brother and parrots everything he says, but 3 octaves higher and 100 decibels louder. She has a big laugh and a smile that transforms her whole face. She will not give you a hug or a kiss if you ask for one, but when she does grace you with that kind of affection, it melts your heart. Joy loves Kittenhead, my hair, Elmo & Zoe, Ni Hao Kailan, babydolls, dollhouses, trains, soccer, SpongeBob, Wii, breakfast sausage, noodles, "Donalds" nuggets, fries, and apple dippers.

Cole is just as in love with his little sister. He's confident at school and I wish I could fit playdates into our bizzare schedule so he could have more time with friends. He started playing soccer, and he's having a great time. Soccer's turned out to be a great way for Cole and Tony to bond more as they practice together and it gives Cole more time with kids which makes me feel a little better too. He's a generous, kind-hearted, and intelligent kid. Cole loves trains, soccer, art night, cooking with me, SpongeBob, Wii bowling, Legos, pancakes, grapefruit, and chocolate.

growing

Cole is now 4 1/2 and Joy is 1 1/2 years old. How did that happen? Despite my best attempts to savor every moment while meeting every deadline, time marches on and they just keep growing. Without them, I doubt I'd notice how much time was passing by.

Joy remains petite, but with a much larger presence. She is bold, confident and funny. With an empty bowl or a piece of paper, she's the world's youngest prop comic. She tells knock-knock jokes without punch lines and bursts into big belly laughs for her big brother. Joy sings to herself sometimes and her vocabulary expands daily. Today's word was "look" which puts her at about 4 dozen words. She loves all kinds of food and today she consumed 4 bowls of noodles (nu-nus). Joy's definitely a carnivore while Cole doesn't really like meat at all. Between the 2 of them they can finish 1 full meal.

Cole's doing well at school and still loves to draw and paint and make stuff. He drew business cards for himself the other day so I scanned them, added the phone number and printed them for him. I thought it might help him learn his phone number, but he's more interested in the design right now. He's becoming sneaky which is a difficult issue to manage. I found part of a sandwich under the toy box the other day, and after many meal time battles, I'm changing the approach again. We choose 2 meals a day , and he picks 1. The strategy has helped Cole to try a few new things, and last night he ate noodles willingly for the first time. He also likes my homemade macaroni and cheese, but he won't touch the stuff in the blue box...which would be a lot easier!