My kiddos

I've done a terrible job this year about documenting the little phases and quirks my sweet kids are going through. This is not good, since I have a terrible memory and am sure to forget all of their stages unless they're written down. Here's a quick recap of everything I can remember at this early hour before I head off to work:

Huston has been in a "why?" phase for months now. He can ask a string of questions like you would not believe. I keep thinking that I need to record some of them, but they're so frequent and so rapid-fire that I never can seem to remember exactly how they go. However, the other day on the way home from the store, it went something like this: "Hey. Hey. Hey, mommy. Hey, mommy, why did those people take their blue lights down? Why is Christmas over? When is it going to be Christmas again? When is it going to be Halloween? Why do we just wear costumes for Halloween? Hey, mommy, are we going to take our Christmas tree down?"

That doesn't even do it justice, but you get the idea.

Huston watches his favorite episode of Thomas (Creaky Cranky) almost daily and can recite it from memory. You'll hear him muttering around the house as he acts out the episode little snippets of the dialogue. He went back to preschool yesterday for the first time after Christmas break and came home singing "skid-a-ma-rink-a-doooo.... I loooove you." So adorable! I love when he comes home singing new songs.

He loves Arden and always really likes when she's around - he doesn't like me to put her to sleep for naps or bedtime, and is always anxious for her to wake up. When they run around and squeal and laugh together, nothing makes my heart happier. But he can also be such a brother to her. It seems like everyday there is some set of toys he has decided to protect for the day, that he doesn't want her anywhere near. And of course those are the toys that Arden will most want to have for the day. How do they start this sibling fighting so young? Arden kicks up the screaming if she thinks you're looking and that she might get her way. She knows how to use the drama to her advantage. I have to keep an eye on her because something I'll think Huston's done something to her, but she's really just screaming because she wants something.

His vocabulary continues to impress us, and I love how he'll say the same things back to us that we say to him.

Arden is a hilarious little ball of energy. She loves accessories, as I think I mentioned in the last post, and will wear necklaces all day long. She also likes putting her little backpack on her back and walking around the house with that on while carrying her lunch box. She loves climbing up and sitting in chairs that are her size, gets thrilled when she gets to bounce around and fall down on the couch or on our bed, and still loves stuffed animals.

Although she's not really talking yet, she understands almost everything and certainly has her own way of communicating. Over the Christmas break, she learned how to put her hands up (like the picture below) to ask "Where'd it go?" She loves to drop things and then whip those hands into position and look at you. Sometimes she says something like "d' go?" when she does this. She says "woof woof" when you ask her what a dog says, and can smack her lips together when you ask her what a fish says. I'm almost positive she says "liiiiiii" for light and some version of the word diaper. And "da da" is a frequent word with her, too. The other day we were outside and some birds flew across the sky and she yelled "buh - deeeeeeee." But she never would repeat it. She been like that for months now - we'll be sure that she's said a word so clearly, but she never will repeat it. She signs "please," waves bye-bye when she feels like it, and has an adorable exaggerated head nod for "yes."

*Edited to add* How could I forget to write that one of Arden's favorite things to do is read books? Every time she sees a book, she brings it right up to you, ready to sit in your lap and be read to. She never seems to tire of reading stories. Lately she has started to look through the books on her own and babble through them like she's reading them to herself. It's so adorable!

And now, I must leave these crazy, sweet kids sleeping in their beds, while I go to work. *sigh*