weeks after vaca

rub a dub dub five kids on a whale

Tucker sitting in baby's lap

Whitney with baby

I'm Thing 2!  Whitney is Thing 1!

Whitney's leaf

Making cookies and feeding them to ponies.  They put the beads in the drawers and mixed it with spoons.  Made a lot of noise.

In between clouds.  The sun came out for an hour and it was glorious.  We stopped at the park on the way home and they pushed Candycorn on the swing.

They were jumping up and down in the recyle bin.  They put the stools up so they could climb in and out on their own

Whitney and Tucker were both very excited to get home.  Tucker fell asleep in the car on the way home from the airport and wasn't awake for the homecoming but he slept 12 hours straight, something he only does when he's sick, or apparently back in his bed for the first time in 2 weeks.

Whitney was still awake.  When we got home she exclaimed "Oh!  My blanket!  Oh! My pillow!"  She also remarked to me as I was unlocking the door that "Sammy and Rocky don't jump."  She wasn't a fan of Oliver's jumping.

Earlier in the day we were playing in Grandma An's side yard and they found some worms.  They were talking about eating them and I said, we don't eat worms, just pretend eat them.  Whitney paused and said.  "No.  Papa brought me worms to eat".  She's right.  Jim did bring her gummy worms home to eat 2 weeks previous.  Got me there.

The next day at church was interesting.  I've never had this problem.  I had to take Tucker out in the hall for the rest of sacrament meeting because he was rolling on the floor, laughing hysterically and couldn't stop.  He didn't stop when we were out there, either.  It was making everyone else laugh.  Better than crying!

We've been trying to see if they will repeat prayers for a bit.  Hasn't worked, but Tucker kind of got the idea while we were in Ca.  So the other day, while they were playing Whitney said a full on prayer, in play of course, by herself.  They'll get it.  Melted my heart.

Each day this week they remembered different things from Grandma's house and incorporated it into play.  One of the things Whitney remembers are the trick or treat bags.  I hadn't unpacked them to let them play with them, but they found their own "bags" to fill and their own "chocolate".  Another thing they like to do is to make bunny or cat cages with their blocks.  Whitney spelled out to me how to walk up to Grandma's house from the car, including opening the bunny gate during play one day.  She made a garage for Kitty with her blocks.  Tucker informed me one time as I was pulling toilet paper off the roll "that's enough!  I don't want to break the toilet!"  Oh yeah.  That's something else that happened at my mom's.  Tucker often looks at Whitney and says "Bapple?" similar to the minion mini movie they watched with Aunt Hannah.  They also play "push the button" (push on their backs to keep them going) but with a new twist.  Sometimes I get "that button doesn't work" as a response. 

We went to the store to get some food for the house.  Tucker fell asleep in the car on the way there.  I usually take him out of his car seat and have him stand up until he fully wakes up.  He never likes it and always screams for snuggles so he can nestle in and go to sleep.  He was crying for snuggles in the parking lot so Whitney reached over and gave him a really soft hug to snuggle.  He knew what she was doing and offered her a snuggle back.  Another heart melter.

And of course most of the play are things that happen to them.  Whitney filled up her play cup with play dough and punched it down.  Then looked at me in all serious to say that I shouldn't punch it down.  It will be ready in 20 minutes to punch down.  Not sure where 20 minutes came from, but the rest happens every time we make bread.

They like to take their toys potty and have liked doing it for awhile, but this one made me laugh pretty hard.  Whitney jumped up from the floor with one of her My Little Ponies and ran to the bathroom saying "Pony had an accident.  Pony!  I don't like cleaning your pants."  That one has definitely happened a LOT over the past year.

I updated a picture of them in one of the frames.  My mom took me to the mall to get some more recent professional pics.  Tucker and Whitney were super cute getting them taken and we got lots of cute poses that turned out.  What was funny is when I put the picture up on the wall, Whitney said "Haha!  We went BONK!".  That's what they were playing when we took that particular picture.

In joy school we are learning about emotions and names for different ones.  Whitney and Tucker totally get frustrated.  As soon as they learned that one, they have started saying to each other or to me "Mommy is frustrated with Whitney and Tucker" or "Mommy are you frustrated with me?  No?  Oh.  With Tucker?"  I definitely must get frustrated too often in the day.  My little mirrors told me to stop it.

Tucker pronounces teapot as teapop.  Whitney corrects him.

Whitney wags her tail.  Her tail is when she sits on her foot.  She calls Rocky "my doggy".  The other night at dinner she said "my doggy wants to stay with me".  Rocky was sprawled on his side with his mouth closest to her chair.

Tucker really likes to play bump bump with anything with wheels.  His bike, his truck.  It's when something goes over the speedbump.  I about had a heart attack the other day, though.  I hadn't noticed a speed bump in a parking lot, but he did.  He was standing by me at the car door while I was unbuckling Whitney when he suddenly took off for the speed bump.  Lucky, lucky me that there were no cars.  I caught him only half way there.  That's it.  Whitney gets out first.

Tucker looked at me Wednesday morning in all seriousness and said "Christmas is coming".  I couldn't figure that out for awhile until I realized that they were watching the christmas cartoons in the nursery the night before.  I think I remember something somewhere in those movies about Christmas coming soon.

Tucker likes to announce things.  He is getting the concept of girl and boy.  He likes to say things like "I'm a hungry boy, Mom" after asking for a third bowl of cereal.  Or "I'm a naked boy!" when getting ready for bath.  It cracks me up because one day he said "Whitney is a hungry gwril". 

The other day the babies were helping me make meatloaf.  I had a carrot out on the counter with the grater.  Tucker was trying to grate the carrot and was having some success.  Whitney was helping me stir and put things in.  She looked over at Tucker and said "Is that a good trick for Tucker to be learning?"  Not sure where they picked up the word trick.

One day we tried to go to the Children's museum.  It was really crowded so we came home and splashed in puddles while going on a walk.  It was pouring rain and we all got soaked through our jackets.  Tucker and Whitney splashed a little too much and water got in their boots.  Whitney stopped when only her pants got wet, but Tucker kept at it.  When we got back, Whitney promptly went in to change.  I wanted to, too, but I had promised Tucker if he went on a walk, he could ride his bike when we got back.  I thought he was too cold and wet to play outside for long, but he was out there quite some time.  I wanted to go inside with Whitney, but not him.  He drove his bike over the "bump, bump" a bunch, then got out his dump truck....  Finally I told him he had to go in.  He must have agreed it was cold because he came quickly.  He wouldn't let me help him take his boots off.  He worked on them quite a bit until he let me pull them off.  He couldn't get them off because the socks were so soaked and full of water they filled up the extra space.  He really likes to be outside.  Just like me!

We went in and played playdough for awhile.  Whitney asked for turtles, so we made a Whitney, Tucker and Mommy turtle.  She tried to give Tucker his turtle, but the legs fell off.  That was sad.  Then Tucker asked to make a saxaphone.  To finish off the rainy day, we played pillows downstairs.

One day after I finished feeding them, Tucker said "I feel much better".  Now he pretends to feed his Thing 2 doll and then makes the Thing 2 doll say "I feel much better"

Another day Whitney was very concerned for Tucker.  He said his tummy hurt.  So she helped him to the potty by holding his hand.  Then she held his hand while he was on the toilet.  Then she asked if he went big poop and needed his bobbum wiped?

We were making lasana.  Whitney was in love with the amount of cheese that went into it.  She commented "I ate a lot of that at Grandma's house" pointing to the ricotta cheese.  Yep.  It does look like cottage cheese and she ate one container of it over the course of the week herself.

I've been trying to teach them to rinse their mouths and spit out the water after brushing their teeth.  Whitney totally doesn't get it.  She rinses, then swallows, then spits in the sink and says "I'm learning".  Tucker figured it out early november.  He is very impressed with his skills.  He likes brushing his teeth even more now.

Another boy skill he has aquired is smashing the trash down before taking it out with his foot.  Looks silly, because he's so small, but he is very good at it.

Auntie Jill was 2 years ahead of her time.  She gave them their Thing 1 and 2 dolls and their "aaagghh" dolls (those things that you push their stomachs and their mouths open and they sing.  Tucker calls them the "aaaggh" 's  He points to them and says Aaaaggh or asks where is aagghh?  It cracks me up because he copies the tone they first make when you wake them up to a tee.

It is an act of love for me to do the things Whitney likes to do.  She is very girly.  She loves to shop.  The other day I told her we didn't have any more pears when she was demanding more.  I told her she ate them all.  So then she asked for O's.  Same response.  So she said "we need to go to the store and get some more".

She also remembers gifts.  Another sign of a shopper.  Thank heavens I have my mom and sister in the family.  They'll all get along great.  She remembers that Daddy brings her cheese home from the store and that Grandma got her ornaments.

Whitney really likes art and is a bit of a perfectionist.  We sometimes draw on the white board.  Whitney asks me to draw her things first, then she'll try, but gets frustrated.  Tucker doesn't care.  He's really good at making big circles.  He draws his "rock piles" then erases like mad to make another one.  Sometimes he erases Whitney's side.  Never a good moment.

I finally got Whitney to eat a leafy green without it being ground up in a smoothie.  She really likes the "dip" on ceaser salad.  She ate about 5 bites of salad with that on it.  Tucker, no way, but he'll down a couple of smoothies no prob.

We were invited to some friends for dinner the other night.  They have a little girl, too.  Some of the toys they had out was a snorkel and mask and a balloon.  Tucker figured out how to "play" the snorkel like a trumpet.  It made us laugh pretty hard.  They took turns stuffing the balloon up each other's shirt.

Tucker came walking in the room once holding his Thing 2 and his "aagghh" doll.  He looked at me and said "two babies!"  He was snuggling them just like I hold them when I have my two babies.

A couple of people have said to me lately that they seem to be bigger all of a sudden.  I agree.  They suddenly grew out of shoes and pants.  I actually had to go buy pants.  I guess for some reason I have no 3T size pants for him.  I do now.  Another indicator is the increase in the quantity of food.  My dad commented on it once about how they can really "pack it down".  Tucker ate 5 kid bowls of cheeries one time.  He's going to have to get a part time job to support his food habits as a teenager if he's like this now.  He announced "I'm a hungry boy!"  Yep.

They are both getting more proficient in the kitchen.  They can usually stir and dump fairly well.  Tucker usually likes to dominate those activities.  One time Whitney beat him to it stirring chili.  Tucker spotted her and came over to take over.  She yelled quite a bit and said "No!  It's MY job!"

Whitney has placed ownership on the dogs.  Rocky is her dog and Sammy is Tucker's dog.  She will open the door to let in Rocky, but if it's just Sammy, she asks Tucker to let him in.  Tucker has fed the dogs pretty much every time since he learned to feed Oliver at my mom's.  Whitney put a new twist on it.  She gets her play dishes to dish out the food.  One time she gave the play dish directly to "her dog" full of food and sat there while he ate it.  But I don't let her do that any more.  I get grossed out and don't want to be washing play dishes all the time.

Whitney has gotten a bit more nervous lately about being away from me.  She will often say she wants me to go with her to joy school or nursery.  She ends up going anyway, but makes the comment.  One time she said "My brother wants me to stay and play with him" to get out of joy school.

I love those mini oranges.  The best part about them is Whitney knows how to peel them herself if I start it.  Heaven!!  She ate 5 or 6 the other day, I think just because she can peel them herself.

Tucker invented this game called "knock down the towers"  They stand on their beds and fall onto them, holding their bodies straight.  They also play "uh-oh pillows" with the cushions off the couch and the outdoor furniture that I brought in.

They had a really good day at joy school this one day.  It was really cute.  They talked about who their best friends were and Tucker and Whitney each picked each other while the other kids picked other friends of theirs.  They also made this elephant face with a hole where the nose is.  They stick their finger through the hole to make the trunk and sing a song about elephants they love.  Whitney drew a smile on her paper when instructed while the rest scribbled.

At the park they have figured out how to land from a high jump, with their hands out to the side and stick the landing.  Uncle Scotti, you should have them give pointers in  your crossfit classes

Grandma Kim's

This is going to be a really long post because we had a ton of fun at Grandma's.  It will also be very random as I remember stuff.  I didn't blog while I was there, so the memories are not as fresh.

We went to Tahoe one of the days.  Absolutely gorgeous.  Blue skies and yellow leaves everywhere.  There were a ton of (very stinky) half alive salmon running.  Pathetically small next to the ones coming out of the ocean, but much easier to see as we could get very close to the stream.  On this day trip we left Froggy at home, but that doesn't mean there aren't any potty stories to be had.  Maybe even more.

Tucker really hates toilets that flush by themselves and yucky port o potties.  Well, the one at the park was too yucky for him.  Probably too hot.  What port o potty is hot in WA?  None.  It's not natural.  Anyway.  He didn't want to go potty in the potty, so we went in the woods.  Once we got back, my mom called Tucker "mountain boy"  Whitney thought that was so funny and yelled it at the top of her lungs.  You know how sound carries in a quiet wooded place.  Scared the steller jay.

Then we went on the short hike.  Got half way around when Tucker decided he wanted to use the real potties, so Tucker and I went back while Whitney stayed with Grandma and Papa.  We visited the potty like three times in a row until he could actually relax and finish the job.  Meanwhile, Whitney was on her way back.  My mom said to Whitney: "Let's go find Tucker and Mommy" when it was time.  She responded "He's in the potty".  Really knows her brother.

Went to the school park a few times.  They laughed gleefully while chasing their shadows on the blacktop.  There are about 3 sets of playground equipment to play on.  2 of them have a bunch of stuff to climb and slide down.  But what did they do for about 45 minutes?  Stay on the free standing curly slide and go up and down either the stairs or the slide.  I think I'm going to miss this age of simple pleasures.

I was surprised they picked the slide of all things to play on.  It was cold for about three days.  45 degrees cold.  I had brought summer and fall clothes, but no winter stuff.  Too hopeful, I guess.  So we stayed inside until the storm passed.  Which it does at my mom's house.  While we were inside so much, one of the things they loved playing was "slug" on her carpeted, non-steep stairs.  My Papa thought that was funny.  He made the comment that "California children don't play slugs".  Very true.  I remember Whitney doing a face plant that didn't hurt.  She called herself a slug.  We've got big ones out here.

Another thing they did a bunch was play with play dough.   They learned all sorts of games playing with play dough.  They would bury stuff in their play dough and also made lots of gusanos (worms).  Whitney would smash her play dough down into a container and say "punch the bread down!"

Patrick got a lot of exercise during those rainy days.  We kept Oliver locked up in the bathroom while Mom was gone to work, but let Patrick out a bunch.  They really liked playing with Patrick.  I think Patrick liked it, but he was pretty active.  Running and jumping around more than I've seen him do in awhile.  I like to think it is because he had some good playmates.  Tucker and Whitney liked making tunnels for Patrick with the couch pillows and their body.  Whitney snuggled Patrick a bunch.  Lined up crayons for Patrick to jump over.  Patrick didn't quite get that.  Tucker crooned "So soft Whitney!" to Whitney while she petted him ever so gently.  He talked nicely "Oh, Patrick!" when Patrick jumped up to sniff him and his finger

Tucker learned that the cut out in the wall above the couch is great for throwing things onto the couch below.  I'm sure if my mom had been home, she would have died, but I decided throwing blankets was ok.  They got lots of energy out by climbing up the stairs to throw the blanket, then climbing down to retrieve the blanket and climbing back up again.  Every time Tucker would throw his blanket he would say "Uh-oh blanket!  Haha!"  Whitney didn't really want to play this malicious game with Blanket.  She followed Tucker around, but with her particular blanket, she held on tight and said to her blanket "Hold on.  I don't want you to fall!"

Her caring side really shone through on day that Tucker fell off his chair during lunch.  Those two weeks were the first weeks of me not strapping them down in booster chairs and they both would stand up on the chair often to get to their food.  Standing means you probably need to dance and Tucker took a misstep during one of his dances and totally fell on the floor.  He wasn't hurt, but pretty startled and scared, so it took him a bit to calm down.  Whitney held his hand and gave him a kiss while he cried to help calm him.

Fish didn't make it back home.  Oliver chewed his eye off and made a bunch of other holes in it.  Tucker left it on the floor.  Can't blame Oliver too much.  They had been playing Tucker and Whitney doggie and picking up the fish with their mouth just like Oliver does with his stuffed fish.  Oliver thought that it applied to him, too.

Tucker loves the spa.  Another Uncle Scotti trait that he somehow inherited through sideways genetics.  Grandpa loved taking Tucker in the spa.  Good thing.  I like being in the spa, but don't like getting out.  That shock of cold air just isn't worth all the warmth.  So my dad would take Tucker in the spa on the nights he got home from work before bed time.  One time Tucker was eating chocolate pudding and my dad asked him if he wanted to go in the spa.  Tucker paused, put his spoon down nicely and jumped down from the table saying "Yeah!".  Same thing happened the next night with spaghetti noodles.  The spa is so awesome, it's better than his favorite foods.  One of the nights he played in there for an hour and 20 minutes.  Mostly with dumping and pouring cups.  He didn't like the "loud water" only the "quiet spa".  Sometimes the spa motor would start up to cycle the filter and Tucker would say "It's pushing the buttons".

Whitney also liked the spa, but only if mommy was in it, so she didn't go in as long or as often.  She's a bit like me in that if she starts to feel cold, she's ready to get out.  She liked sliding on the seats, but kept dunking herself (and thus getting her head wet).  I was impressed.  Once Tucker slipped and dunked himself and it took a few times of no incidents before he went back to playing in the spa.  Not Whitney.  I showed her how to hold her breath or blow out when it happened so she didn't breathe in water, and she got it.  Then she got more brave. 

We played outside a ton while we were there.  Whitney and Tucker really liked playing hide and seek.  You know.  The version where you laugh really loud or tell the other person where you are.  And you skip a few numbers to finish counting.  Although Whitney is really good at counting to 14.

Going to the pumpkin patch was very exciting.  It was made an even better experience by watching the Charlie Brown movie of the Great Pumpkin.  Every pumpkin was a great pumpkin. Tucker picked up a pumpkin I was sure was too big for him.  And then he picked up another one that I was, again, was sure was too heavy for him, for Whitney.  One night Tucker got stuck under the bed (they slept on the floor) and he came out screaming "I want to watch the Great Pumpkin movie!"  Whitney and Tucker still laugh hysterically at each other if either one says "Bonk! Like Snoopy!"  One of the funniest parts of the movie for them was when Snoopy fell off his dog house and landed in his food dish.  A part I'm sure you all remember well.

We went to a U-pick farm to pick apples.  Tucker and Whitney filled their bags in no time.  They had already had lots of practice picking apples off Ieva's tree and could show Grandma how it's done.

Grandma and Hoppy came up for a few hours on Sunday.  Of course they had to come in the afternoon.  After church and before dinner.  I don't know about the rest of you, but that's usually not a favorite time during my week.  There was a lot of noise, noise, noise.  I think Tucker was delirious with sleep deprivation from all the excitement and treats the previous three days with traveling and settling in.  Hoppy and Grandma left after about 4 hours.  I think they were exhausted with all the noise.  I sure was and I'm used to having them around.  The highlight of the visit was Hoppy's magic trick.  The one with the frog in the handkerchief.  Tucker's face showed how dumbfounded he was about how that frog could have disappeared like that.  Classic family story.

Part of the Sunday afternoon was saved by Uncle Ryan.  He brought home this huge box from work.  Very, very smart thinking, Uncle Ryan.  Tucker's favorite request, in between crawling in and out and shutting the door was "push me please!"  And Uncle Ryan complied.  Much to Mommy's relief.

Grocery shopping with Grandma was very fun.  Whitney really likes to sing when she is in the cart, so it was easy for Grandma to find us.  Not as easy for us to find her.  We went looking for her and couldn't find her for a little bit.  When we spotted her, Tucker shrieked in delight.  Grandma bought fruit snacks and Frosted mini wheats.  Tucker was especially happy the next day at breakfast and said "oh yeah!!!! Frosted mini wheats".  Another shopping trip we were planning on going in and out, so since there were two of us, we let them hold a basket each and walk.  It was funny watching them carry them, even though it was awkward for them.  They got to put bananas in it.  Very good thing.

Of course, Whitney and Mom couldn't resist doing a little shopping for Whitney together.  They picked out a pink polka dot shirt and another that had a diamond (fake) on it.  Whitney pointed to the shirt and said "That's my diamond".

We did joy school a bit while we were there.  One of the games was "where does it come from?" and you say man made or nature.  I pulled out a bunch random things to ask them about.  Two items were a piece of tanbark and the other was turkey lunch meat.  When I asked where the tanbark came from, Tucker looked at it, paused and said "the playground!".  Very true.  He also calls pieces of tanbark in his shoe "playground".  His sentence goes something like this: "I have playground in my shoe!  Get it out!".  In response to the turkey meat, Whitney looked at it and said "gobble, gobble."  End of conversation.

We talked about emotions during joy school.  One of them was feeling frustrated.  They really know what that word is because I often get frustrated.  Whitney said to me several times "Mom, are you frustrated?"  while we were there.  They also had a small review on manners by Grandma, so Tucker started repeating what Mom says and would say to me, "What do you say, Mom" when I asked him for something.

Going to church was fun.  As soon as we walked into the church, Tucker noted the most important thing.  "Oh!  The basketball hoop is up".  Very important.  They also had play keys and cell phones in the nursery that were absolutely fascinating.  And Tucker couldn't stop opening and shutting the door on the car in there.

They came home with some phrases they learned at Grandma's.  Like "slinky apple" and "push the button".  Slinky apple is for the apple they ate everyday for snack because they could cut, peel and core it themselves, once I got it set up.  That was the best thing ever.  Push the button is what they say to me (or whoever is playing with them) if they want to "keep going".  Like going upstairs or sliding down the stairs like a slug.

We went to my Grandpa's house, or Papa's house.  We came back pretty late for them.  Left around 8 pm.  They laughed and giggled the whole way home.  No sleepy, sleepy.  But they also had a great toy to play with.  Grandma's flashlights!  So awesome!

Some other random things they did or started doing while they were there was to push the Whitney and Tucker balls up the ramp.  Or splash in the water beneath the Weber with the bucket handles they took off their bucket. 

Tucker liked to sing me his demands. Like "i want a banana" to the tune of one nursery rhymes. 

Whitney had fun seeing how a teapot works in real life.

But of course, being at Grandma's spoils you.  Toward the end of the trip, Whitney wouldn't allow for any water in her glass to be anything but "refrigerator water".   Thank heavens the refrigerator stays at Grandma's!

Tucker showing me fish

very happy to be on plane.  by the window that goes up and down

Here we go to grandma's house

jumping back into summer, but not in the spa.  Not the first time

Tucker and Papa in Tahoe

The girls

Helping each other out.  They take turns doing this. Benefits of twins

Feeding Fishy fish crackers

Singing and covering her ears

Making Patrick a bunny tunnel

More play OUTSIDE the spa

Slug beds

Tucky and Grandma picking apples in orchard

Tucker showing Grandma how it's done.  Had lots of practice in neighbor's yard this fall

Helping Grandma with yard work.  Pine cones are supervising

Uncle Ryan gave Tucky a wagon ride.  In the afternoon.

bucket head. She was singing a bunch with this on,too.

Whitney walking to car from store in the rain.  Didn't want her pants to get wet.

more bucketheads

Playing doggy, just like Oliver.  Oliver has a stuffed fish he chases, so they got their rubber ones and copied the behavior

Whitney's seat

picking  a pumpkin

Tucky hauling around his Great Pumpkin

At the park with Grandma

At the park with Grandma

on a "nature trail" with grandma looking at Tucker and Whitney trees

At costco with Grandpa Anderson.  He got his workout trying to hold them back and steer

Whitney snuggling Patrick

no explanation needed

On their way to trick or treating

Playing with veggie man Grandma made for Halloween snack.  Olive on finger

Tucker doggy

week before vaca

check out the size of these leaves.  Whitney likes to collect big and little leaves

Whitney admiring her collection

We made some treats for the neighbors and Tucker insisted on carrying the plates over to the houses.  It was a little stressful for me to watch, but he was very good at looking at the plate.  All I had to do was to direct him in the right direction.  Pretty cute!

Whitney and Tucker have both been role playing a bunch.  It's their new phase in life.  Whitney put her baby in a "seat" in the playroom and "went on a trip to find Papa".  I guess she is a little jealous of all Jim's travels.

Once I heard Tucker go in the bathroom and flip up the toilet lid.  I thought he was going potty, but I guess it was one of many times he was taking Fish potty.  I heard some genuinely sad cries of distress.  I went in there and fish had fallen in while going potty.  It was sad.  Thank heavens Tucker didn't flush.

Sammy sleeps on the floor next to Tucker's bed when Jim is gone.  I guess it's because when Tucker wakes up and sees Sammy, he says "Sammy wants you to pet him" (you=me) and he very gently gives Sammy lots of pets.

Tucker also gets up to feed Sammy his "O's"  He repeats "Sammy eats O's" over and over until they are fed.

Whitney comes up with all these one liners and observations that let me know how much she observes and remembers.  She randomly said these things during play.  "Papa's on a plane".  "I'm happy with Mommy" and even corrected my Spanish.  I accidentally called her hijo and she said "Hija!  Not hijo!".

Tucker and fish on the "airplane" together

This one is as big as my head

Cuteness

Whitney monkey at the top (freaking me out)

The fort they made and the watch towers

My neighbor and I were having a discussion about gummy vitamins.  She cracked me up by saying how she is going through "calcium withdrawls" because she ran out of her calcium gummys and feels like she's "gotta have it" in the morning.  We had a good laugh about that and how we all look forward to the sweet treat in the morning.  The kidlets never let me forget either.

Grandma An's

Watching "Banana" with Aunt Hannah.  I had no idea what that started.  They absolutely LOVE this mini movie from the minions.  Tucker asks for it repeatedly and laughs hysterically at seemingly random parts of the movie

Whitney with her pumpkin face she requested to be carved

Tucker with his pumpkin with the candle lit

On the tractor at the pumpkin patch.  We rode in the trailer of this tractor quite a ways to pick out a pumpkin.  When we got there, the driver said we could sit in the seat.  Now.  If he had let Tucker touch the buttons

Getting ready for the wagon ride.  Paul, me, Whit, Hannah, Tucker doggy, Angel

Their second pumpkin carving in life

Whitney at Grandma Ann's trunk or treat party

Tucker at party.  After having eaten 2 whole hot dogs.  I didn't know he even liked hot dogs.  Whit ate the same number.  Then, two hours later, ate all the candy from the bags.  I thought they'd get sick.  Nope.

In wagon with pumpkins

Tucker was actually pretty good at pulling this himself, but not so good at steering

At patch

Tucker laughing while swinging with Grandpa.  Very entertained with this swing, especially upside down

They each took turns pushing each other

Whit on swing.  After a few times, they got brave enough to swing together.  Whitney in the hole and Tucker on top worked best.  Tucker could barely bend himself enough to sit in the hole. Not as flexible.

Nice dental shot

At Grandma An's the weather was a lot warmer and we had access to a car during her workday, so we went........... to the park!  There were some really fun parks nearby.  Their favorite feature of one of the parks was the web thing.  They played monkeys on it for a really long time.  Playing monkeys went kind of like this:  Tucker sat on the little platform near the top while Whitney climbed up and down and around him.  But then she talked him into "painting" his toes pink with the playground tanbark later.

The toilet at that park had a foot flusher.  I had no idea how long lasting of an effect that was going to have on Tucker.  He went home to Grandma An's and flushed her toilet with his foot.  He barely has the flexibility to do it.  That's what makes it so funny to watch him do it.  And he definitely can't do it with jeans on.  He has to stand on his tiptoe and bend his knee of his weightbearing leg, then hold on to the counter and toilet with his hands while he bends his back.  If he does all of that, then he can reach the handle with his other foot.  Once we got home, he found a better way to do it.  Just climb on the toilet lid.  Duh.

Grandma An's animals were very, very relieved to see Tucker and Whitney go.  They chased Kitty around the house quite a bit.  Then, when they couldn't catch her, they would send her "gifts" through the cat door into the garage.  Very calming to the nerves, I'm sure. 

The fish had a heart attack every time they would look at him.  And then when they would touch the tank, he was sure to never come out of hiding.  They tried to feed him by themselves while I was in the bathroom.  I'm really glad the top was too hard to open wide enough to get the abundance of food in.  Fish food goes up one shelf higher.

Another favorite thing at Grandma An's were her plastic bins.  She keeps the smaller kid toys in these bins.  After about 3 day days of playing with all those cool new toys, they dumped out the buckets and pushed them around the house.  Then they got the idea to put their pumpkins in the bins and push them around, too.  And then they got the brillant idea to roll the pumpkin on the floor like a bowling ball.  Tucker did that once.  Whitney and Grandma An wouldn't let Tucker near their pumpkins after that.  He split his open.

Getting dressed when the beds are blankets on the floor makes for a static electricity affair.  Whitney's hair was going wild one morning into her face.  She said "Where's Whitney?" and then took two hands to flip her hair back so I could see her face.  I laughed really hard at it, so Tucker did the same thing.  He leaned his head forward, said "where's Tucker" and moved his imaginary mane of hair back in the same manner.  Of course that made me laugh harder.

The pics explain a lot of  the good times we had there.  Grandma An is great with remember to bust out the camera.  We had loads of fun!