March stories

We couldn't believe it was possible, but March brought even more illness to our home! Ugh! But, it also brought the beginning of spring, and springlike weather, a super fun visit to Vermont to play with beloved cousins, and more adorableness from the kids.

They have been bestest playmates lately. They love to race around the house together, play in their sandbox, and enjoy the same books and toys (both are still learning to share, though!) Hugs and smooches between them are frequent - initiated by both sides at different times and rarely welcome from the recipient! One day when they were playing together in their room, I heard Finley say, "Charlotte I love playing with you." to which she responded, "Finley, I love playing with you." Mommies live for moments like that!!!

Charlotte, ever the quiet one, working to take it all in, clearly idolizes her brother and pays very close attention to everything he does and says before attempting to do precisely the same thing. This means she often repeats the same thing he just said, word for word if she can manage it. Her speaking style is very precise and she clearly spends time thinking about each word she says. Here's an example: Finley says, "Daddy, why does rain come out of the sky?" Nathan starts to answer, probably not realizing that Charlotte has been observing closely. A few moments later, she interrupts with, "Daddy. why. do. de. rain. (long long pause) come. out. out.... out. de... um. sky?" (big smile!) She just said it because she thought it was cool because Finley said it - not because she wanted the answer to the question. She's proud of herself for getting the question close to what he said, too. This is sooo cute!

A cute thing that Finley has been doing lately is to sort of narrate a little story to himself when he's playing alone. He has a "narrator voice" that he uses, I don't think I can describe it... Anyway, we'll hear him saying in his narrator voice something like, "and... just then, the boy, went to the store, because (with emphasis) he didn't know that, it was a good thing. And, he said,....." I love it when he's doing this because: a. it's super adorable, b. it tells me that he's learning from all of the stories that are read to him, and c. it's a little glimpse into his imagination - i like that he is creating.

Charlotte's mimicking now includes that narrator-style of speaking that her brother does. Cute! Nathan did say the other day, in exasperation, after she had repeated every single thing Finley said for an entire day, "Has Charlotte ever had an original thought?!" But, we both know she does have original thoughts and is just in a mode of learning by imitating her most beloved person.

Finley's really grown a lot this year in terms of his comfort level with new experiences. For one thing, last year he was terrified of the sheep at the farm. This year when we went to the farm to see the baby lambs, he thought they were so cute and laughed at them playing. He also has grown to love school and even the classmates who he was having a bit of trouble with earlier in the year. No budging on the food likes and dislikes, though....

Charlotte turned 2 on March 31st. We had planned a brunch birthday party, but had to cancel that morning when she woke up with a super high fever. She ended up at the doctor's office instead that day. Fortunately, her birthday was not completely ignored - Papa and Nannie still wanted to come and celebrate her big day, so here she is (with a 103 degree fever) opening gifts and blowing out candles.