The Pitter- Patter of Growing Feet

Daddy and I both woke up at 6:30 this morning to a shockingly quiet house. Our two trusty little alarm clocks had apparently decided to hit the snooze button. Instead of rushing into their rooms to make sure they had not escaped through their windows, logic strongly suggested that we enjoy the silence. No more than five quick minutes later, we heard the pitter-patter of Osten's not-so-little feet as he burst into our room with an enthusiasic "good morning!" He climbed into our bed for a minute and then he was off to the kitchen to get his milk from the fridge. Next came the pitter-patter of Marci's no-longer-baby feet as she appeared in our room for her first surprise visit. We have been working hard to teach her to stay in her bed, and we could only assume that she thought she was in trouble when she burst into tears immediatley upon arriving at the edge of our bed. We burst into laughter and pulled her onto the bed for a snuggle. Osten returned from the kitchen with both his and Marci's sippy cups in tow along with a self-sufficient grin. I nearly choked on the lump in my throat as the stark reality of undeniable toddlerhood jumped and rolled around on our bed. Where did our babies go?!!

Sampling the Merchandise

As it turns out, Marci is as big of a fan of shucking corn as her big brother.

And I love the extra "help" getting dinner on the table.

After all of their hard work, I couldn't deny them a little early sampling of the merchandise.

I'm not sure that Marci is a big fan of raw corn.

Ready, Set . . .

Dinner (and most importantly, the corn) is ready, and the table is set. Just waiting on Daddy to get home . . .

so we can dig into that freshly shucked CORN!! (It's even better when it's cooked!)

Check out that one-handed hold!

Where's Osten?

He was just here a second ago . . . !!

Aaargh!

Gramma Sue brought some more dress-up gear from Atlanta . . . What a pretty pirate (in her bathing suit, of course)!

Swingers

Both kids are big fans of the big swings.

No more baby swings for us!

No ma'am!! (Because if Osten's doing it, Marci's right there with him!)

Pint-Sized Entertainment

I've recenly discovered a new favorite pasttime courtesty of our two pint-sized entertainers. Now that they are starting to have (mostly one-sided) conversations, it's priceless to listen to them chat with each other. Here's what went down in the kitchen this afternoon:

Osten: "Marci, do you want to go in my room?

Marci: "No."

Osten: "Marci, do you want to go in my room? It's a really good room."

Marci: "No."

Osten: "Marci, do you want to go in my room? You can bring your new shoes in there."

Marci: "No."

Osten: "Mommy! Marci doesn't like me!"

Priceless!!