Some funny things...

We are quickly approaching the boys' second birthday, so I thought I would note some of the fun stuff that we've been observing at this stage.

They like to add emphasis to certain words by changing their voices. For instance, Ethan likes to say "BIG" while dropping his voice as low as he can and speaking as slow as he can. This usually also includes spreading his arms out wide, and dropping his head back. So as to keep the universe balanced, Lucas loves to say "small" in a register most often only audible to dogs, while scrunching up his face and closing his eyes. Other words that receive similar dramatic treatment are "fast", "slow", "sad", "mad", and "surprise".

They know tons of words now, and are so different in the way that they use language. Lucas works very hard to find the right word. You can ask him a question and he will look up to the side, thinking so hard, sometimes moving his lips as he searches for the right word. He is incredibly accurate and very proud when he finds the right word. Ethan, on the other hand, will speak immediately and say anything rather than leave a moment of silence. He cracks himself up (and usually us too). I'll ask him, "Puff is a magic what?" and I will often get "Mommy!" or "racecar" or "doctor." He knows the right answer, but what fun would it be to answer correctly?

At the moment, Lucas says "No" to just about everything while Ethan says "Yes". Fun. They both know the kind of car every member of our family, and extended family drives. Today I opened the door to their room after nap and was greeted with "Aunt Jen drives Hyundai." Lucas can also recognize any VW, Mercedes, Jeep or Volvo out on the street.

Ethan loves hugs and will just run up to us and grab us in the biggest bear hug a 27 pound human can muster. He will hug us around the neck, from the back, around the legs, you name it. Lucas likes kisses a lot, but seems to want them justified. He will tell us just about anything got bumped, smashed, or generally is an "owie" just so we will kiss it. We tell him that he can just ask for a kiss, but that isn't quite logical enough for our little thinker. What he does love to ask for, however, is backrubs and tummyrubs, and we love to comply.

Lucas is still wild about cars and trucks, and after breakfast each day he asks me to play cars with him. He thoughtfully chooses two out of the billion cars we have and hands one to me. If he chooses two for each of us, he will tell me which hand must specifically hold each car. We play on the three bottom stairs, moving the cars from the "top" step to the "middo" and then to the "boppom". I LOVE that he wants to play with me each morning.

Ethan has shown some interest in a few things other than cars recently. Most notably is an interest in animals. He has always loved to pet Lucy and give her hugs. While at Sean and Karen's house, he wanted to do the same with their cat. He now wants me to carry him through the zoo rather than walk by himself, just so he can see the animals better. He loves seeing the monkeys at the zoo, and especially gets excited when the free-roaming peacock comes by. Luckily he has finally added the "Pea" to it's name when he is yelling to it at the top of his lungs. Ethan also loves music and will break into some pretty awesome dance moves whenever and wherever he hears it.

Today they did a couple of super-cute things. At the zoo, we were watching the tiger and decided that he looked hungry for lunch. I asked them what they thought a tiger ate for lunch, and they immediately answered in unison "Oatmeal." Duh.

Lucas was cranky today and shed a good number of tears, so late in the day, Ethan decided he was done with the bad mood. He walked up to Lucas, as he revved up for a good meltdown, pointed at him and loudly declared "NO CRYING!" and walked away. That made Lucas cry.