Major Updates

From the kids themselves...

Autum:

"Well, that little pesky kid is walking now.  Walking everywhere!  He raises his arms up in the air, stiffens up his legs, and plods around the house, the yard, up and down the stairs, right up into my space.  He thinks it is so funny to walk up behind me, put his hands on my shoulders and use me for balance...or for a stopping tool, because he quite honestly hasn't figured out how to put on the brakes!  I, of course, in my normal fashion, begin to scream for mommy to come save me from his sticky little fingers.  He always messes up my hair and it is really starting to annoy me.  I've found ways to get away from him, now, though.  Like climbing up onto the dining room table. I perch myself smack dab in the middle so he can't reach me!  I will throw a napkin at him every so often, just to make him madder.  It's quite a hoot!  Sometimes I'll get through the entire stack of napkins before mommy comes in yelling at us all.  Oops! 

His signature walk.  Arms up, toes out, legs straight...and GO!

As long as I can stay one step ahead of him, we are good.  We always fight over who gets to sit in mommy's lap when she is sitting on the floor. It doesn't matter what she is doing...folding clothes, stretching, reading a book, talking with daddy, removing another stain from the carpet, changing a diaper...she hits the floor--we are on the move to get to her lap first.  Sometimes this involves dirty moves...but hey, I gotta do what I gotta do.  I have resorted to pulling his legs out from under him, pulling his shirt or shorts, pushing him over, slapping him on the face or head, head-butting him in the back, throwing a toy in the way...but sometimes he just gets there first.  So I enact PLAN B...I go find a toy he particularly enjoys and I pretend to really be enjoying myself playing with it...just in his view.  He just can't resist...he will stand up, run over to take it from me and that's when I spring into action.  I jump to my feet and run as fast as my chubby, short legs will carry me, diving into mommy's lap before he realizes what has happened.  Heeheehee.  Someday he'll learn, though, and I'll have to come up with a new plan of action."

This is how they'll get to high school someday! :)

Blake:

"That silly chubby, crazy girl isn't such hot stuff. Thinking she can out run me to everything, well, I can almost stay up with her now.  And that just gets under her skin.  She'll start screaming and carrying on and I'll slap that stupid pacifier right out of her lips...whoooweeee!  That sets her off.  She gets this look in her eye..she'll tilt her chin down and look up at me with her eyes, then she'll rear her head back and head butt me with the top of her head.  What in the world??!  Where does she learn this?  And mommy thinks it's bad I resorted to biting.  That big red-headed girl learned about my new trick the other day...she just thought she was going to pick me up off of the top of the couch...she reached for me and I bit her right on the chest!  Hahahaha.  She still has the teeth marks to prove it, and seems to want to show everyone.  Personally, I think she just wanted another excuse to wear a Band-Aid...she flies through boxes of those, looking for every excuse to wear one.  Not sure what's the point? 

New haircut.  New ride.

I also had the opportunity to get my first summer haircut.  Daddy hooked me in my chair, mommy unloaded a can of peaches on the tray, and he sheared off every inch of my hair.  He called it something like a "Brrr" cut.  I don't know if I like it or not yet, though, it doesn't hold the food quite as well.  I can't quite get the same style I was before out of the spaghetti sauce at dinner time.  I'll keep trying, though.  I think they need to give that chubby, screechy girl the same haircut.  Mommy is always getting on her for pulling out her pigtails and hair bows, that girl's hair is always in her face!  She can really get the food to stick in that mess...that's why I have resorted to throwing my food at her now.  I get this belly laugh going, because it just tickles me, when that food slaps the side of her face.  Mommy calls it my naughty laugh. I've only recently discovered it.  I pull it out when I knock over the trash can multiple times a day and empty its contents.  Or when pull all the cords out from behind the TV.  Or when I dump a full glass of tea all over the carpet.  Or when I throw rocks at the side of Daddy's red truck, or at the house, or at that chubby girl.  Or when I fill my diaper up with rocks from the front flower bed.  Or when I put all the toilet paper in the toilet.  Or when I get in the bathtub with that big red-headed girl fully clothed.  Or when I pull chubby girl's pink chair up to the TV stand and use it to climb up next to the TV.  Or when I empty the dishwasher of dirty dishes and throw them all over the kitchen floor. Or when I empty all of my clothes drawers out in my bedroom...this laugh is always followed by a 'no' and time-out in a chair.  I DO NOT like that.

This is ornery grin that goes along with my orneriness! * Note the magazine he is reading...

I got to go swimming for the first time the other day.  I LOVED IT.  I hung onto mommy for dear-life with my fingers, she has scratch marks all over her shoulder from it.  But I used my other hand to splash and splash and splash. I liked to stick my tongue out and try to drink the water, but mommy kept telling me "No, yucky."  I only liked the water going up to my tummy, though. If mommy went any deeper, I would attempt to crawl up her face and on to her head to get away from that cold sensation on my chest and neck.  I hope we go again soon.  Chubby girl just laid back in Mimi's arms and relaxed.  She didn't seem to understand how cool it was when my hand hit the water, the water would spray up and splash my face and mommy's.  So cool! I think she was just relaxing and peeing in the pool.  Probably why mommy kept saying I couldn't drink it.  Not sure what the big deal is, I pee in the bathtub all the time and chubby girl drinks it.  Paybacks, I guess..."

 :)

We also recently had Karaoke night at our house.  The big red-headed girl wanted to make a music video, so I thought I'd get in on the action.  I'm really starting to learn new words and yell them all the time.  Practice makes perfect, ya know?  GA GA GA, GAA, GAA, GAAAAAA!!  AYAYAYAYAY!!  MAMAMAMAMAMAMMA!!"