Nothin

Much better than this in life.....
(Yes, they are in our bed :)

Beach Vacay

We just returned from the beach! We LOVE the beach. Well, except Ree who proudly proclaims "I am more of a pool girl!" She loves the shells and particularly enjoys finding the "baby shells". Jee Jee, on the other hand, is obsessed with the beach. He would get just pelted, knocked down, and crashed by the waves and would come up drenched and smiling! That kid has an innate sense of not breathing while in water. It is like a freaky thing. He NEVER inhales water. You may think it is because he probably doesn't go under water that often. Oh no, think again. That kid jumps into the pool with no fear whatsoever. He is offended when we try to help him swim, which becomes dangerous for many obvious reasons like, he is a two year old who has no idea how to swim. Biggie loves water as well and his favorite part of the beach is boogie boarding with dad. He also loves to dig holes in the sand and make forts.

As a side note, I really want to remark on a few things that have been up with my kiddos lately so as not to forget them in the future.

Ree has recently been conditioning her hair because of all the salt water and chlorine. She calls hair conditioner "air conditioner". MJ taught her how to tread water this week and she is a fantastic swimmer now, even though she won't be able to touch in most shallow ends of pools until she is 18 (she is uber short). She calls treading water "trading water". Whenever I am frustrated, she immediately tries to compensate and make it all better by saying "thank you mommy for (fill in the blank)". She really is such a kind hearted, sweet spirited little human. She likes to cuddle for a few minutes at night and then she needs her own space. She is a sugary little introvert. MJ was cuddlying with her the other night and after a few minutes she said "Daddy, can you move please?" So, he scooted over a bit so he wouldn't be quite so close and she said "Umm, no....I mean could you please leave?" Hehe :) I will go ahead and say it because I have thought it for a very long time, she is a genius. I really think she could be a member of mensa if we just had her IQ tested. She is very wise beyond her years with her critical thinking and analytical skills in particular. Love her little heart. She is very precocious. We got to stay with some friends who play in Micah's band while we were on part of our vacation. The dad told us of a conversation he overheard with Ree and his little son who is Ree's age. His little boy is such a cutie but not able to say some consonants very well right now. He said to Ree "we are going to go to the finny pool." And she responded "Well, you need to say it 'swimming' pool, like this 'sssssswwwwwiiiiimmmmmiiiiinnnnnngggggg' pool, with an 'm'" !!!! Hahaha, sounds just like her. She wasn't being rude, she was just trying to help him out. He responded, not in anger or offended in any way and just said "well, I can't say it that way, I say 'finny' pool".

Speaking of talking, JeeJee is NUTSO verbal now. I was so worried for so long with that kid, he did not talk much at all. We would say "Juju, say hello" and he would just respond and say "blahblahblah" baby babble. Well, that has all changed in the course of about 3 weeks. That kid is a talker!!! He is saying almost everything we say and now he has become HILARIOUS. He laid down on a comfy bed at our hotel the other night and raised up his two thumbs for a thumbs up (new favorite thing) and said "BOOOYAAAAA". He also does this clicking of the tongue when he gives thumbs up. He likes to choose who puts him to bed now. He has started sleeping with us now when he wakes up at night. When we are putting him to bed he says "Mia (How he refers to himself, translation: "Me") seep mommy daddy bed." Really, how can we say no??? When he gets in our bed he puts his right arm around my neck and his left arm around daddy's neck and proclaims "cuddle ball!!!!" and squeezes us tight to his cheeks. Love him.

Biggie is really that, a big boy. He is so incredibly helpful to me most of the time ;). He is still his energetic little self and talking my ear off. At some point I am going to count how many times I hear the words "mommy, look" in a 24 hour period. I swear (not exaggerating) it is 50 plus times a day. He is great to sit in the service and really, really enjoys rehearsing music with daddy. He is a LOT like his daddy, which I heart.