Life moves quickly... the blog, not so much

So what's up in our little corner of the world? A whole bunch- hence the serial neglect of this once frequently-updated blog....

Gus- he's attending his laboratory preschool and absolutely loving it. They do "studies" and build "structures" and do "dramatic play." Right now he's studying recycling, and is busy pointing out all the recycling symbols on everything. He usually says "it's veeeeery tiny...". He also is becoming so much more of his own person. He can dress and undress himself, from head to toe, put his dishes in the sink, and put himself to sleep (for the most part). He loves to sing songs, and often makes up his own or adapts ones where he only knows a few words. He can sound out words, though he's usually smart enough to guess many of them based on the first sounds, the context, pictures etc, and he's also really good at memorizing instead of actually "reading." He was night potty-trained for a while, then started to slip back. Because he has a pretty new and pretty pricey organic mattress, we decided to go with pull-ups for the near future. He's really into star wars and transformers, good guys and bad guys, and we try to tell him every day that he can like both pretty things and cool things (apparently at preschool, all of life falls into one or the other, and he wants to be on the cool side of things). He's a bit of a picky eater, especially with unfamiliar foods, but he'll surprise us now and then, like slurping up turnip puree or meatloaf.

Clay- he has his 2 year appointment tomorrow, so we'll know more about his height/weight/etc. He's a little skinny one, and tall. He has had a verbal explosion in teh last six months, and is so cute when he uses grown-up words and syntax, such as starting sentences with "because." He's much more of an independent player than Gus ever was, and can sit for a good spell by himself scribbling or playing with his trains. He is in daycare now, and adores it- the teachers, the friends, and the activities. He loves transportation themed toys, animals, and books. He'll look at books and "read" them to himself. He is a pretty good eater, but fickle (loves things one day and hates them the next). He always wants to be doing what Gus is doing, and often sounds like a little Gus echo. He's shy with strangers. He has a huge grin and an adorable laugh.