Sick

Audrey woke up this morning with a fever. She hasn't felt very well all day. Normally Audrey eats alot, but all she has wanted all day is milk. She also slept alot today. She took a morning nap and an afternoon nap and looked very sleepy this evening. Poor little thing. Joseph told Audrey that he loved her and gave her a little kiss. He's a good big brother.

Audrey has been growing leaps and bounds lately. Just a month ago she was having problems putting shapes in her shape sorter. Now she does it with no problems at all. She is also stacking blocks several blocks tall and enjoys knocking them down. Like her brother, Audrey also loves puzzles. She recognizes several numbers and is able to say them and put them in the right place in the puzzle. She also recognizes and knows a couple of letters.

Audrey's favorite word is probably milk. She never did take to sign language except to signal "more" whenever she wants more of something, generally milk. Tonight she said "I want milk" instead of just milk. She also has a couple of other phrases she likes to say. Mommy always forgets how when kids start learning to talk, their vocabulary grows exponentially.

Audrey also enjoys singing just like her brother. Today she was singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Eeentsy Weentsy Spider. Audrey sways her head and her body back and forth while she is singing. It's so cute!

Both Audrey and Joseph love books. Bedtime is full of never-ending negotiations for more books. Well, Joseph negotiates since he is able to speak and express himself fairly well. Audrey just keeps grabbing more books and bringing them over. Some of Audrey's favorite books are: Good Night Moon, Goodnight Gorilla, Oink Piglet, and The Deep Blue Sea. Joseph likes a variety of books. He does seem to be like his Daddy and enjoy Geography. He loves looking at the Atlas that Daddy bought him awhile back. Joseph is always saying he wants to go to Brazil to see the statue of Jesus or Egypt and other places that Daddy has been.

Although Joseph loves books and going to the library, Mommy is a little worried that Joseph is addicted to video games. Joseph has decided that his favorite video game is Rygar. He is always asking Mommy and Daddy if he can play the game. Today Joseph had a potty accident because he was so absorbed in the game. Mommy tries to limit him to just a half hour for the day.

Both Joseph and Audrey also love playing outdoors and they love Sushi. Audrey and Joseph were kissing Sushi (on her back) much to Mommy's dismay. Mommy can't imagine a mouthful of fur...bleck! Daddy put in some swings in the backyard last weekend for Audrey and Joseph. Audrey's is a baby swing with a full seat and holes for the legs. Joseph's swing is just the rubber seat attached to chains. Audrey loves her new swing and Joseph enjoys his as well though he sometimes fights with Audrey about getting in her swing.

The kids also enjoy doing crafts. The other day Joseph and Audrey painted some wooden birdhouses. Joseph also made a paper plate skeleton which we hung outside on the front of the house. Next weekend is pumpkin carving time unless Mommy has the baby in which case, the activity will have to be postponed.

Playdates

Since Mommy had to go to church to play the organ for a funeral this morning, Joseph and Audrey got to play with Max, the little boy from a few houses down. Max's mommy brought Max over to our house to play. The kids had fun. After Mommy got back from the funeral, Joshua and his mommy came over for lunch and to play. The kids spent most of the time outside playing with Sushi and with the outdoor riding toys. Joseph and Joshua had loads of fun riding the toys down the little hill in the back. Audrey and Joseph both took a really long nap this afternoon. Mommy loves it when the kids have other children to play with because they wear themselves out. Joshua's mommy calls naptime "Heaven time" for mommies. That sounds like a good description. As much as Mommy loves to play with Audrey and Joseph, it's nice for Mommy to have a little downtime each day.

More New Friends

Yesterday morning Mommy took the kids to play with Joshua, a little boy from church. Joseph and Joshua are the same age. Joshua has a big backyard with a swing, hammock, sandbox, and playhouse. After coming indoors from playing outside, Joshua's mommy made the kids macaroni and cheese for lunch. Joseph didn't want to go home so we stayed until almost 2:00pm. Then mommy insisted that we go back to the house for our daily "quiet" time (naptime). Mommy invited Joshua and his mommy to come to our house on thursday for a playdate. Everyone has been so friendly here in Oklahoma. The kids have made so many new friends.

Neighbors

Tonight Joseph and Audrey got to meet Braden, the little boy across the street. Actually, Braden is a very big boy. He's only a few months older than Joseph, but he is at least a half a head taller and much heavier. Mommy and Daddy got to hang out with Braden's parents and the kids had a great time playing. Braden gave Joseph a ride on his little 4-wheeler. He also let Joseph drive it a little. Poor Audrey kept trying to keep up with the big boys but was not very successful. Braden's parents have a really beautiful yard with lots of plants and great landscaping. They also have a large Koi pond in the backyard that Daddy envies. Joseph and Audrey got to feed the fish. We all had a fun evening at the neighbor's house this evening.

Earlier in the day, Joseph and Audrey decorated candles for Halloween. It was alot of fun. Joseph loves to do crafts. Daddy says he will pull out our Halloween decorations so that we can start decorating for Halloween. Joseph is looking forward to carving a scary pumpkin to put out on the porch.

New Friends

Mommy and Joseph and Audrey went over to Tracy's house so Mommy could learn how to decorate candles. Joseph and Audrey had a great time playing with some new friends. It was a really fun morning. Plus, we got to eat lots of treats. Tracy had lots of food from cinnamon rolls to chocolate chip cookies. Mommy didn't even end up decorating a candle. Mommy just had to try all the delicious snacks that were set out. Yummy!

MOMs Club

Mommy took the kids to a park yesterday to meet up with the local MOMs club. Mommy and Joseph and Audrey made some new friends. We also ran into our neighbor and her little boy at the park. It was a fun morning. Audrey is old enough now that she plays with Joseph. They have a lot of fun together.

New Home

Mommy finally got internet access today so she can update what's been happening with Joseph and Audrey. Well, we left Texas the last friday at the end of August. Mommy and Daddy dropped Joseph and Audrey off with Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye in Arlington for a week so that Mommy and Daddy could get everything unpacked. Joseph and Audrey had a good time in Arlington. Ye-Ye took them to the splash pad at the nearby park almost every day. Joseph liked playing ball with Nai-Nai. Both kiddos liked jumping on the trampoline at the house and playing in the backyard. Mommy and Daddy worked really hard to get everything ready before the kids arrived. Mommy and Daddy repainted one of the bathrooms a neutral color because it was an awful shade of blue. The moving van also arrived later than expected because the truck broke down in Dallas. Daddy had to go to work right after all the boxes arrived. Mommy worked to unpack boxes during the day and Daddy helped after he got home from work. On saturday (1 week later), Mommy and Daddy met Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye and the kids in Gainsville, TX at the outlet mall. After some shopping and some lunch at the Cracker Barrel, we all headed to the new house.

Joseph and Audrey took to the new house right away. They enjoy playing in the big backyard. Sushi also likes her new surroundings. She has a big porch to lounge under and lots of space to run in the backyard. Because the new baby is coming soon, Mommy and Daddy decided to put Joseph and Audrey in the same room. Audrey is getting used to sleeping in a room with Joseph. Most nights she crawls into bed with Joseph and falls asleep. Daddy moves her to her own bed after she falls asleeep. Audrey does stay in her own bed sometimes. A couple of nights, Mommy and Daddy caught Joseph and Audrey playing instead of in their beds. Mommy and Daddy put all the toys in Joseph's and Audrey's room so that the upstairs room could be a guest room/library instead of a toy room like at the previous house. Sometimes the temptation to play instead of sleep is too great.

The weather here in Oklahoma has been great! Mommy and the kids spend lots of time outdoors. Daddy also spends lots of time outdoors after coming home from work. It is so peaceful in the country. The yard has lots of big oak trees. Joseph and Audrey like walking around the "woods" and exploring. Joseph and Audrey also enjoy riding their scooters off a small hill in the backyard. They push their scooters up the hill and ride down. One of Joseph's newest activities is to roll large rocks off the storm shelter in the backyard. Mommy told him not to "throw" big rocks so he decided to "roll" what he terms "little big rocks" down the front of the storm shelter instead.

Audrey hasn't sprouted any new teeth recently but she is starting to talk a lot more. She says lots of words. Her favorites are probably "no", "mine", "milk", and "shoes". She definitely loves shoes. Audrey is always putting on other people's shoes. Audrey also has quite a little temper. She has a loud, screechy, kind of gutteral cry when she gets mad and throws quite the little tantrums. Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye says that Audrey acts alot like Mommy did when she was little. Mommy threw lots of nice tantrums as a child. Mommy also liked to torment her Ge-Ge (older brother) just like Audrey enjoys tormenting Joseph. One night Mommy and Daddy heard Joseph crying for help. Daddy went in the room and found Audrey next to Joseph in his bed. She was sucking her thumb with one hand and whacking him on the head over and over again with her free hand. Joseph is actually a very sweet older brother and doesn't ever hurt Audrey even if she is hurting him. Audrey has slapped other children and tries to hit Mommy when she is mad. She is a little firecracker sometimes.

Joseph has discovered the world of cartoons on the new channels that come with having Direct TV. He also decided that he loves video games. Mommy and Daddy have had to deal with a lot of tantrums when we limit the time he can spend watching cartoons or playing games. Joseph does like to do other things that are not so mind-numbing. He loves to draw and color and do crafts. He also likes to explore the house with his flashlight. Joseph plays well with other children and always tells Mommy that he "shared" with his friends. Joseph's new nursery teacher said that he has been very good in nursery and has been a good helper. Mommy and Daddy were happy to hear that he does well in nursery. Audrey has been doing pretty well in nursery since this last sunday was only her second time to go. She was a little emotional on sunday. Church happens to be during afternoon nap time so it is a hard time for Audrey.

Joseph seems to understand somewhat that we don't live in Texas anymore. He says Oklahoma is "far, far, away." Although, at times he does ask to go to places in Texas and doesn't seem to realize that we are far from the old places we liked to visit. Mommy and Daddy will have to find lots of new places for the kids to visit. We are thinking about going to the Oklahoma State Fair sometime this week. We also have plans to check out the zoo, bricktown, and other fun places that we have heard about. So far, we all seem to like Oklahoma.