Pics from the Southwest

I don't have time to post any "deep thoughts" on our recent trip to New Mexico and Texas, but here are some photos for you junkies out there.

"Carry!!!"

We're back from a trip to New Mexico and Texas. While I'll write more about the trip soon, I wanted to post a photo of Margaret at White Sands, NM that, I think, captures her mindset at this point.

"Make another choice"

As Margaret's vocabulary has expanded, she's also become more opinionated. "No!" is, of course, a key word, used in an infinite variety of settings. "I want more" is another key phrase (note the appropriate use of the first person pronoun, something that's become more common.) And "Give it back!" is common. More advanced statements involve requests for a particular route on the way home ("I want to see a firetruck" involves walking by a fire station, while "I want fountains" takes us to the fountains outside the World Bank.) Or "I want a special treat" when she finishes her dinner and wants ice cream.

Yesterday morning, Abby and the kids were lying in bed. I came to join them, but had to scoot over Margaret to make room. "Make another choice, Papa, make another choice," she said. Then "Walk away, Papa, walk away. Go to another room, Papa." Having never heard (or said) these phrases before, Abby and I quizzically looked at one another (before laughing.) As Margaret later "told" us, it turns out that Ms. Mary at daycare uses these phrases when trying to defuse the various conflicts that arise among the kids under her care ("Ms. Mary says make another choice!".) While we may be diluting the meaning of the phrases because the need to use them arises so often, "make another choice" and "walk away" have become favorites in our household over the last two days. Given Margaret's recent attempts to exert her independence, it's fitting that her aunt was in town for the annual NOW convention, where she picked up the t-shirts pictured in the photos below.

As for Teddy, the boy is increasingly mobile and continues to display a real death wish. Why do you insist on sticking your fingers in the fan? Why are you climbing the stairs and sticking your head through the railing? Do you really need to chew on that power cord? Alas, these type of questions go unanswered. I suppose we simply have to wait until Teddy can voice independent opinions of his own.

Soooooo big!!!

Teddy has crushed another developmental milestone for infants: For the first time, he responded to "How big is Teddy?" with the appropriate "Soooo big!!" arms in the air. When you combine that with his uncanny ability to clap his hands, it's obvious that we have another exceptional child on our hands. Now, if only he could figure out how to sleep through the night. (Note that the Tedster also has two new top teeth to accompany the two bottom teeth.)

As for Margaret, she's working on her numbers and her ABCs. She can count to ten and can almost tie the act of counting to actual things. However, when we stop on the way home to count "tractors" in a big construction site and I ask Margaret how many she sees, she'll correctly count out and point to six of them, but will then proceed to find four imaginary ones. As for the ABCs, her standard rendition goes "A, B, C, D, H, I, K..." So we're lacking a bit there as well, although she always gives a rousing close with "Now I know my ABCs, next time won't you sing with me." She's also working on her "reading" as can be seen in the following video: