Santa Claus is coming to town

Back by popular demand (seriously - lots of folks have asked for it) is the boys' blog Christmas list. Each item is linked to a picture/description of it on the Internet. Most of things are also available in local stores I just wanted you to be able to see them easily. I'm starting my shopping this week so I thought it was time to post this too. I'll try to add to it as I think of things and if you email me I'll take things off as well.

Pictures from the boys' birthday party

Here are some pictures from the boys' second birthday party. They got a huge new swing set from us and some of the grandparents. Chip put it together almost entirely by himself. The idea was to play outside all afternoon but it rained. Oh well. The Elmo balloon didn't hold up too well in the rain but the cake Aunt Phyllis made was great.

Check-up

We went for the two-year check-up yesterday. The computers were down so they couldn't give me any percentages but here are the raw numbers:

Jack weighs 32 lbs 10 oz and is 35.75 inches
Charlie weighs 29 lbs 13.5 oz and is 37.125 inches

They had to get two shots. One was a flu shot but we are now done with vaccines until Kindergarten. Overall they were real troopers and looked great all around.

2-years-old!

Wow! I can't believe it. The boys are already enjoying their big day. I sang to them first thing and Jack has been singing "Happy Birthday" to himself ever since. Here is a recent picture of them in their new Superman swimsuits. They just finished their second set of swim lessons and they are becoming real swimmers.

Charlie is very into blocks and will really amaze you with his towers. He also loves coloring and finger painting. We are going through a second crayon-eating phase though.

Jack is really into playing with cars and singing anything. He likes to color but wasn't too keen on the finger paints. He takes a good picture though as he has learned to say "1-2-3 cheese" and smile. Both have pretty much mastered ABC and 1 to 10 we are now very into colors and shapes. Blue seems to be their favorite color and they really like octagons.

We're soaked

The boys love water. This past Saturday we went to the duck race and found that there is a water play park down by the river. They loved it. Their outfits (and diapers) grew to at least twice their normal size. As you might predict Charlie went right for it, while Jack stood as far back as possible and took his time getting used to it before really getting in. The water was pretty cool and there was a breeze so I finally had to make them get out when Charlie went from just shivering to actually looking a little bluish. On Sunday we swam at Grandmomma's house. They are really turning into actual swimmers. We start our second round of swim classes this week.

In other update type news...Charlie can now count to 10 and identify at least 75% of the letters. Jack has an unbelievable memory and can "read" himself almost every book we own, even ones we rarely read to him. They both know most of their shapes and several colors. Charlie can do all of the puzzles picking out the right pieces for each one. Jack can sing along with just about any song he has heard before. His current favorite sentence is "As you wish!" which is really cute to hear him say.

A late night, well worth it

I was out until 2:30 this morning. Very unusual for me as I'm generally asleep around 10. But it was well worth it as we welcomed COEN early this morning after a long period of anticipation. His mom (my cousin Maria, who is more like a sister than a cousin) and dad are doing great and are thrilled to see him. He is just perfect weighing 7 lbs 5 oz and 19 inches long.

Where does the time go?

I can't believe July is almost over and I have not posted anything. Things here are just rolling along. There is a lot of dancing and a lot of talking (not all understood yet.) The boys are very into "farm" themed things right now. Last weekend they got to go to Grandaddy's real farm and sit on the tractor (Chip and I were gone to a wedding in NC) which was a big hit. They have also been taking swimming classes and doing really well. In fact they love it so much they try to rip off their car seat straps as soon as we pull into the parking lot. I have no pictures of this though as it is a Parent/Tot class. Meredith, our good friend and beloved babysitter, helps with the lessons too.