Sophie and Rhys Quirks

Sophie, before school even started, started using some pretty good vocabulary, but not always in the best context.  For instance, she will say something like, "I am going to put that away and keep this toy as my pet."  Followed by "Will that be courageous, Mama?"  Other words I've heard her slip in are gratitude, curious, and apparently.

Conversation with our family of four in the car:
Keri: Sophie, I need you to stop talking for a second.
Sophie: Sometimes I'm quiet.
Neal and Keri in unison: When?!
Sophie: When I'm sleeping.  And then I wake up and I start talking.
So true!

Rhys has gone from crushing spiders with his finger to an amazing fear of ants.  Not just fire ants.  Any ant or  on some particularly special days anything that may look like a tiny black spot.  "Ants!  Ants!  Ant bite me!"

We blame this whole-heartedly on our good friends, the Huffs.  We have been fortunate enough to do some outdoorsy things with them this summer.  They are super paranoid about ants BUT with good reason as their family tends to be dangerously allergic to ant stings, among other insects.

We have had ant visitors in both bathrooms this summer and have to stay on top of it or his new independent toileting skills are greatly disrupted for his fear of entering a bathroom with such vermin.

Rhys also this summer is speaking in 3 word utterances with ease and more consonants.  However, his first response, whether he means it or not, is "No!"  "No, Mommy."  "No, Daddy." "No this" and the double "No, no!" to emphasize are all heard very often.  Then, when he does mean it, he will often follow up with a "Go way, Mommy."  Such is the melodious voice of our dear Rhys.

Another fun thing we have started up is wrestling, tickling, and rough-housing on Mommy and Daddy's bed.  This is a great tradition from Keri's youth, principally.  The carpet surrounding the bed is "Ookey Pooky" which is all things disgusting -- dog poop, wads of gum, rotten eggs, used tissues, you get the idea.  We tussle around until someone falls off the bed, touching the ookey pooky and becoming the abhorred ookey pooky monster.  If you pull another to the carpet, they join the gruesome ranks.  This is well loved by our kids and met with shrills of excitement.  Rhys several times a day will say, "Sit bed, Mommy!  Sit bed, Mommy!" to begin such fun.