The Cat In The Hat for Halloween

Then he got up on top with a tip of his hat.
"I call this game FUN-IN-A-BOX," said the cat.
"In this box are two things I will show to you now.
You will like these two things," said the cat with a bow.
"I will pick up the hook. You will see something new.
Two things. And I call them Thing One and Thing Two."


"These Things will not bite you. They want to have fun."
Then, out of box came Thing Two and Thing One!
And they ran to us fast. They said, "How do you do?
Would you like to shake hands with Think One and Thing Two?"

Then those Things ran about with big bumps, jumps and kicks.
And with hops and big thumps and all kinds of bad tricks.
And I said, "I do not like the way that they play!
If Mother could see this, oh, what would she say!"

Potted Plants

Hide and seek, which up until now meant putting a blanket over your head, has reached a new level at our house. I was playing with Kate and James in the front yard and watched Kate wander to the back. When I went back to check on her, I couldn't see her. I called her name and she peeked her head up out of one of these planters and said "peek-a-boo." I thought it was clever. She thought it was hilarious. Afterwards, James joined in on the fun.
And, take note, James is not wearing his "go Utah shirt." He will also, occasionally, wear one of two other shirts -- the "flag shirt" and this one, the "tiger shirt."

Somersault

Looks like we have gymnasts on our hands.
In case you missed it, James said, "Kate, somersault do." Translation: Kate, do a somersault. James is inventing his own grammar rules and verbs generally come last. Kate loves jumping on anything including our bed, her bed, and the hard floor.

Morning play

"No" to breakfast, "No" to getting dressed, "No" to combing hair. "Yes" to playing first thing in the morning. Ah, to be a kid again . . .

Dad's on duty

Ben put the kids down for naps yesterday afternoon. Looks like he was successful.
When I got in the shower this morning, James was asleep in our bed. When I came back from the shower, here's what I found:

C'mon bird!

We went to the U of U football game this afternoon. James sat with Grandpa, Grandma, Nathan and Jake on the front row. Kate sat in the nose-bleeds with Mom and Dad. Turns out Kate wasn't slighted in the least. Swoop (that's the name of the mascot) was visiting near our section and Kate called "C'mon bird!" and beckoned "come" with her little hand so well that she got two visits from the hawk. The picture above is from the second round. Oh, and the Utes won the game, so James was pleased as well.

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Kate and James turned two on Sunday. When asked how old they are, James says "Two," but holds up four fingers; Kate says "Happy Birthday" and holds up four fingers.

We had family come over to celebrate. It was a fun day and James and Kate certainly enjoyed being the stars. It's amazing to think about how they have changed since their first birthday when they didn't understand or really care about what was going on at the party. This year, they pointed anxiously at the presents in the living room all morning, knew what to do when it was time to open them, blew out the candles, and ate cake by themselves and with a fork.

Below are a few pictures (and a video) of our two-year-olds on their birthday. Part of being two-years-old includes asserting your own independence -- which explains why they are wearing their "Go Utah shirt" instead of something mom would have picked for them knowing that many pictures would be taken.

California Outings

My sister and her husband have a tradition of going to dinner with my Great Aunt Jeanie on Monday nights. Because Aunt Jeanie is one of my favorite relatives, I've always been jealous of the Monday night tradition. While I was visiting my sister and her new baby, I got to tag along to Monday night dinner. Here's a picture of my Aunt Jeanie and me at Ruby's Diner.

My friends Sara and Carter had a baby (Kaia) three months ago. They are living in Southern California and I got to go to lunch with Sara and Kaia while I was there. Kaia was kind enough to act out a bit during lunch so that I could play with her.

My sister and I married polar opposites -- at least where politics is considered. The lighting in the picture is terrible, so I'll tell you what you're looking at. My brother-in-law's Porsche sports a personalized license plate that says "Mr GOP" mounted with a plate holder that says "If you make fun of my elephant, I'll kick your a**." I admit to enjoying a short ride, but I don't suppose Ben ever will.
And, finally, a picture of Daniel -- the reason for my visit. He's smiling at me.