cute things the kids have been doing

Grammy and Grandpa Salmon sent some Valentines Day gifts for the kids including lots of stickers. diedre made such a beautiful creation and i was trying to take a picture but she was a little shy for the camera.

here is the finished product.

here are a few cute things that have happened lately that i wanted to make sure to write down:

1. diedre is in swimming lessons. she is the shortest/youngest in her class and kept wandering over to the "deep" end of the shallow learning pool. the teacher had to keep "saving" her. she was talking to derek after class and said "dave saved me. and a little girl saved me. and God was in the water, and He saved me too!"

2. we have been hyping up diedre's birthday party and talking about her cake. she came up to me with a big smile and said "will there be a number on it?!" and i said yes, and she said "oh good."

3. this morning diedre said to derek "mommy's belly is getting big. to make room for the baby." derek said, "yes the baby is growing." and then diedre said, "and when the baby comes out, i will hold it in my sweet, sweet arms."

4. last week diedre made up a song/rhyme kind of thing that i think could be adapted to a "five little duckies" kind of counting song. it goes: "two little ballerinas, turning around. one little ballerina, sitting on the ground."

5. diedre and ezekiel love "playing" the recorder. diedre calls it a "hoot" probably because that is the sound it makes. funny.

as for ezekiel, he's just plain cute!!

1. he has been saying "thank you" when we give him things now.

2. he also is very interested in trying to put his own shoes on. he is able to go get matching shoes from his room when i ask him! i'm totally impressed :)

3. at the park, he is a crazy man on a mission to explore every inch of the park. unlike diedre at this age, who would swing for 40 minutes before cautiously using the slide a few times, he attacks the park with vigor. he discovered the slide and did not want to stop. he kept climbing on from the bottom, going up about six inches and then turning around and "sliding," totally impressed with himself. he also took time to pick up wood chips and throw them back onto the ground. he really as all over, and not interested in swinging at all. what a little boy!

4. on the down side, he does not respond to "no" at all!!! i know that diedre was pretty sensitive to it quite early, so its very strange to get no response to it.

5. but he does respond to "out" when i ask him to go out of the bathroom (unless i'm using the facilities, then he wont leave...)

thanks for the pregnancy well wishes. i guess my readership is significantly down from my earlier pregnancies (and being private probably doesnt help...and being a blog-slacker probably hasnt helped--although i'm doing pretty good now, considering first trimester and two kids!).

and, sparky is still gone :(
i've called all the local vets to give them a heads up. its been over a week now. the poop has been all cleaned up from the backyard and i've washed his bed and cleaned up all the dog hair. his dish still has food in it, but i emptied the water bowl. so, we'll just have to wait and see.