Vivi Cleans Up

I get it of the shower and Vivian tells me, "Mama, mess.  Vivi cleans."  

... with the entire roll of paper towels apparently.  There was one small damp spot on one piece of paper towel.  

Driving

At a friend's house:

Dancing

Memorial Day Weekend

Dancers

Vivian's caregiver has a friend who taught ballet in Columbia and comes to house to dance with the girls.  Here they are ready for "class." 

Sleeping Arrangements Part II

This is how the night typically begins.

We can't quite seem to get it right around here.  My father took the crib down for us and we put Sam back in his toddler bed as he and Vivian were trying to sleep on one toddler mattress and would squish each other.  She would wake up crying and end up in our bed.  Now, Vivian is on the floor on a mattress and Sam is in his bed.  Until he falls out and lands on top of her, night after night.  And she rightfully wakes up and yells for me or Chris, and "no Sammy! Owie!!!" as he continues to sleep through it all.  He doesn't even seem to wonder how he goes to sleep in his bed and wakes ip on the floor each night.  She ends up in our bed.  The one night he didn't fall out of his bed, they both slept until 5:30   am in the nursery, possibly a first.

This is what I found last night.  Vivian is regarding Sam while crying.
His head is where she had been laying, his butt on her pillow and his feet
are still on his bed.

Basketball

Vivian's stance and Sam's attempt at scoring on the regulation height net at the park.  It's great to watch.

5 Years Ago

About 4 weeks old Sam and his cousin met, Sam is on the right.

 

This past month, Sam is on the left.

Soccer

Soccer is prefaced by a song about not using hands- apparently it takes a while for the kids to remember. 

Vivian today.

Sam over the summer when he asked hands could be used near the goal (or something along those lines).

Rusty Chains

Sam found a very cool piece of very rusty chain the other day in his grandparents backyard that was wonderful to play with.  At least it was great to play with until the adults explained that rust can cause children to have to get tetanus shots (with very long needles).  Sam proceeded to get pretty nervous about this and decided to not only wash his hands, but also agree to have a bath.

I thought all was said and done, but then a couple of days he brought it up again.
"So, if you get rusty, what happens?"he asked.
"What do you mean?  Rust is caused by the oxidizing of metal, like when it's been in the air or moisture too long."
"So oxidizing is the sickness?  What happens to you?"
"No, oxidizing is the process of the metal…  wait, you mean if you get rust in a cut what happens?"
"Yes, what's the sickness?  Ebola?" (damn Ebola, he has apparently not stopped thinking about that).
"No, you don't get Ebola."  (Come to think of it, I have no clue what happens if you get rust in a cut), "you get a shot and nothing happens, you're all better."
He shoook his head, "that was silly, of course you wouldn't get Ebola from rust.  You get Ebola from a bug and Africa is too far away.  The bug could never fly across the ocean.  It would die.  That's why we don't have Ebola."
"Um..." (trying to decide if I correct this line of thinking).
"Bugs are very small and oceans are very big."
"Yes," I agreed.
"So the bug would die.  And fall into the ocean." Pause.  "Oh."
"What, Sam?"
"I hope the fish don't get Ebola."
"Yes, me too."

Mailbox

I found a series of small scraps of paper around today, even in Sam's lunch bag.  Eventually they led to a stapled paper pouch, his mailbox.

Apparently full of important information.  I'll have to ask him what it all says. 

Sandbox

The kids were outside today while I was making dinner when Sam called, "mom, I think someone or something pooped in my sandbox."
"Okay, was it you or Vivian?" I asked through the window trying to quickly narrow it down.
Silence while Sam examined the evidence and thought about this, "no.  It wasn't me and Vivian still has  her shorts and diaper on.  It must have been an animal.  It's very little."
"Did you touch it?" I asked.
"No, I smelled it and now I see it.  Can you change the sand in the sandbox?"
"Not right now, we'll talk to Daddy when he gets home.  Scoop it in the bushes with a shovel and come up and wash your hands."
I heard the sound of the sand hitting the bushes and shortly afterwards Sam appeared in the kitchen."Go and scrub your hands," I instructed him and then realized there was no little patter of feet behind him.
"Sam, where is Vivian?" I asked.
"Oh, she's outside still," he told me, as he headed for the bathroom.
"What's she doing?" I asked.
"Eating sand."

A headless shot that Sam took last summer of Vivian and I.  The sandbox is behind us with
the brown cover that can be lowered or raised, for exactly this reason,
but the cord on it is now broken, so it
often remains open.  

Mother's Day

Before dinner at my parents' house with my sister.  Two very serious bike riders on the hottest day (so far) of 2015. 

Pepe y Pepo

Vivian goes to Spanish class on Friday mornings and has for a long time.  When she first learned to walk, her caretaker told me she used to run up and try to take Pepe and Pepo the puppets from the teacher.  I thought she'd grown out of it, but apparently things haven't changed.

The teacher uses the puppets to teach the children.

Vivian decides to take the puppets.

And she teaches the class.

Vivian's Fashion

This is how we roll.  It's slated to be an 80 degree F day.  She had a purple purse with a sippy cup in it also, but left it in the car.

Sam is Learning to Spell

Feliz Cinco de Mayo

Vivian's caretaker is Mexican and she dressed the girls up in traditional Mexican clothing for Cinco de Mayo.

The Hundred Acre Wood

We passed by a small stretch of a wooded area in the car yesterday and Sam asked, "mom, is that the Hundred Acre Woods?" (we have been reading Winnie the Pooh lately).

"No, it's not the Hundred Acre Woods." I told him. 

"But if it was," he continued, "would Tigger get ticks?"

"Um..."

"Because he really should protect himself.  He should wear long sleeves, and socks, pants, maybe even a hat and mittens... bouncing all around like that... all through the tick areas.  He should probably even wear sneakers.  And he should be a lot more careful."  

Prepared for the Day

Wearing mittens for this 70 degree day and homemade pirate gear.