his and hers.

Oh how these kids are changing.  Here is a quick update on life these days:

It only took a few days for Evangeline's "normal" to recalibrate to life after the bottle and pacifier.  Now you would never know that she once appreciated both.  She has a 10 word vocabulary and is very willing to practice new words with encouragement.  She loves to mimic our actions.  It is not unusual to find her wiping a spill with a towel or cleaning her own face with a napkin.  She puts the phone to her ear and says, "Hey!"  She is very territorial with the phone and screams desperately if you take it from her possession.  She knows how to push the buttons to make it light up, and unfortunately I don't think it will take her long to figure out how to disable the patterned screen lock.  She is just that smart.  She tries to put her own clothing on and takes her headbands off just so she can try to get them back on herself.  She has absolutely no interest in walking, though she would be capable if she tried.  She will climb baby Mount Everest, though, so don't underestimate her.  She has no problem climbing onto beds where she can attempt somersaults like her brother.  She can even scale the slide up to his lofted bed.  Seriously.  She hates the swing and loves the slide (go figure).  She can locate one's nose, eyes, and mouth.  She will try to get you to locate her teeth--of which she has 8, and she isn't afraid to use them.  She will giggle uncontrollably while you howl from this discovery.  Cute but pricey entertainment.  Redeemably, she loves to give kisses and blow kisses as well.  She loves to have her back rubbed and her bottom patted.  She will sit perfectly still for both.  Otherwise, she is a moving, wiggling machine.  She is fiercely independent and likes to practice using her own spoon and fork.  It apparently tastes much better seasoned with the satisfaction of knowing she did it herself.  Completely unchanged, her big, toothy grin melts my heart ever time.

Josiah's progress is a little harder to track, as the intellectual development is much more complex at this age.  He is such a sweet boy, and he cares so genuinely for his baby sister.  They get along really well 98% of the time.  He frequently says sweet, encouraging things to her and showers her with hugs and kisses--most of which she reciprocates.  He loves to cuddle with mommy.  He also loves to watch movies and thinks getting a rental is a very big treat.  He is learning to sound out words and determine with which letter they start.  He enjoys pairing words that start with the same letter.  He also likes to pretend he knows what he is reading.  Among all of those brainy things he is also doing cartwheels and full flips on our beds, completely unendorsed by us.  His vocabulary includes some large words and funny phrases, so it is definitely entertaining to hear what he has to say.  I try to remember the stories so I can share them with all of you, but the best ones seem to happen at times poorly coordinated for me to jot them down.

Josiah is still incredibly fickle about his clothing.  He threw an absolute fit when I made him wear short sleeves and shorts in Florida.  He insisted it put him at higher risk for boo-boos and he screamed and cried and begged to put long sleeves and pants back on.  We made some negotiations, and eventually he completely forgot that he was wearing weather-appropriate clothing.  He often changes his shirt 3 times before finally settling on an acceptable one, even if the other two will work just fine tomorrow.  They absolutely must not reach far enough to touch the base of his hands.  This is 100% unacceptable under all circumstances.  He carefully selects his underwear and will start to cry if "his booty is jumping out of them."  (translation, they don't feel secure while he moves around).  The new stipulation on pants is that they must allow him the dexterity to stretch his legs as far to the left and right as he desires (enter: need to do acrobatics around the house).  He strongly prefers socks that secure over his ankles, but he will at least wear ankle socks if nothing else is available.  We are staying flexible, doing the best we can, and trying to find the balance of accommodation and mandates.  It works pretty well most of the time.

Here are a couple of fun stories from his little brain...

While we were meeting Mr. Incredible at Disney World I said to Josiah, "Are you going to tell him how you watch his movie every day?"  Of course I was exaggerating, so I wasn't surprised when Josiah responded..."Mom, I don't watch his movie every day."  The part I didn't anticipate was what he said next, "No TV on Sundays, silly!  Don't you remember?"  The camera man got a good kick out of our interaction and I giggled with gratitude that he is taking ownership of some of our family policies...even if his statement was still a little inaccurate regarding the frequency in which he watches the film.

Last night Jonathan said something to me that prompted Josiah to say, "Please Dad, do not worship Mommy.  Please don't, because then she will turn into an idol."  Jonathan agreed, of course.  We have talked about idols and how anything/one that someone loves more than God can become an idol.  That he understands.  However, I remain unconfident he doesn't still hold the belief I might turn into a lump of concrete should someone make the wrong choice.  It was pretty funny to hear him speak with such conviction.

I'm sure I will think of a good story or two after I publish this post, so if I do I will try to force my own hand to pen them before I forget again.