To Remember

Maybe it's the nostalgia brought on by the fact that my oldest entered double-digits last week and my youngest will turn a year old in a few days. I don't know. 

I just know that I don't want to forget these days and who they each are right now. 

HE:

• Enjoys baseball, but not enough to want to work hard at it. He likes to keep up with the MLB standings, too...probably so he can talk sports with Dad.
• Loves a good book, especially Redwall, Narnia, and Lord of the Rings! And audio books are almost as good.
• Is really good with his baby sister.
• Has become the grass-mower around here this summer...not terribly thrilled about it, mind you. But he's doing it nonetheless.
• Is a fast runner though he hardly has to try.
• Would love to travel and see the world...and long as Mom is going along.
• Likes lists. Lists of his favorite book characters, movies he wants to watch, weapons used by ancient peoples, etc. When in doubt, he makes a list. 

HE:

• Can't get enough of building with Legos or Star Wars. Ever.
• Is still my snuggly bug, and he loves to snuggle his baby sister too.
• Loves to be funny. Silly. Just plain goofy.
• Thinks Caroline is "the cutest, sweetest girl in the world."
• Has no front teeth at the moment. 
• Loves to draw, but he primarily draws battle scenes of one sort or another. 
• Inherited the Smith gene for loving ice cream!
• Is king of the sound effects around here! 

SHE:

• Listens to Bible story CDs repeatedly and therefore knows many of the stories by heart. 
• Loves (LOVES!!!!!) her stuffed turtles Squirt and Squeaky as well as her kitty Marie.
• Squishes bugs with the best of them. Spiders, mosquitoes, cicadas, you name it. She'll squish it. She likes to play with worms, though.
• Loves to dig in the dirt and comes home from baseball games dirtier than both of her brothers put together.
• Is learning to read. And she loves to cut and paste and use markers and paint or anything else that might make a mess.

  

SHE:

• Is walking now. Everywhere. And she has definite ideas about where she wants to go. She also likes--no, loves--climbing the stairs, and I find myself chasing her off of them multiple times an hour.
• loves cheese and yogurt. Unfortunately, we're not sure if she's sensitive to dairy products, so she hasn't had any cheese or yogurt for a bit now while we figure things out. 
• Can say Da-da, Mama, ba (bath and bed), puh (nap), she (tree) and a couple other nearly intelligible words. 
• Still puts everything in her mouth. 
• Loves the cat! She hasn't gotten scratched yet; thankfully, the kitty has grown more tolerant over the years.
• Is always very excited to see Daddy at the end of the day.
• Likes zippers, especially the zipper on her Halo sleep-sack. She has to have hold of that zipper to fall asleep. So sweet!