Who do these crazy kids belong to?Kolbe is wearing his Home Depot apron. They had a special workshop for kids and he put together a toy car. He talked all day about wanting to work at Home Depot when he gets older. :)
I have heard of toddlers hiding when they do their business. Yesterday I changed her diaper and before I put the new one on she took off running. She hid behind the rocking chair and peepeed. Kolbe and I thought it was pretty funny, he even wanted to help clean it up. Lately when she has a solid poopy in her diaper she tugs her diaper-must not feel too comfy in there. ;)

She has also been working on trying to dress herself. Any article of clothing of mine she finds she puts on. I'm sure mine are much easier to put on than hers. Usually my shirts become her pants, or she gets them wrapped around and hanging from her neck. She hangs bags, purses, or any other items that work from her arms, holds my car keys and heads for the door. She walks right up to it like she is dressed and ready to go.

Today while Kolbe was at school Elizabeth and I went to the Parents as Teachers playgroup. She had a blast! Several of the other parents commented on how much she loves to get around. She darted all over the place. Libby climbed up on one of the playstructures several times and each time she got to the top would squeal with excitement. It was so funny. You wouldn't hear one sound out of her until she reached the top and she'd look around at the other kids and act like she was the queen of the hill ~'I'm up here everyone, look at me!' ;) We knew several of the other parents there so they already knew Libby and were chuckling at her antics. The one's that didn't know her met her pretty quickly! Of course she was all over the ball bin, almost fell in stretching to get out EVERY last ball in there. She made a mess of the sand pile. And the suprise fun toy, a vacuum. Guess she was trying to clean up her sand mess. She had a great time with that vacuum cleaner. Kolbe used to like that toy a lot too. When he was her age he was scared of the real vacuum cleaner (probably didn't hear it enough to get used to the noise), but liked to pretend with a quiet vacuum.

Kolbe had a good day at school. After Libby and I left the playgroup we picked him up. I asked how school went and he said "Sometimes I don't want to talk about everything I did today." After a couple of minutes though, he went on and on about his morning. I didn't tell him what Libby and I had done. I was hoping to let it slip by (he is too old to go now.) When we got home I took off her shoes a tiny bit of sand fell out. He noticed. He wondered where she went to get that sand in her shoes. I said "I didn't see any sand." I wasn't lying, I really hadn't seen any fall out. Not much gets by this kid! :)

Big girl went poopy on the potty last Monday. Last Sunday, she and Kolbe had gotten into Kolbe's old potty chair- I thought it was safely hidden in the closet. So, I put it in the bathroom. Not long after, she wandered into the bathroom, lifted the lid, looked at it and then came back out. In the minute or so she was in there, she had poopied her diaper. Monday on our way out the door to go pick Kolbe up from preschool I put her on the potty and asked her if she needed to go before we left. She went! Libby got a sticker and lots of PRAISE! Ok, she hasn't poopied since, so probably a fluke, but she's getting the idea. She did peepee twice on the potty today though. Since she is a girl of so few words, I mistakenly think she doesn't understand near as much as she does. It is AMAZING how much a child so young does actually understand. She knows where most all of the dishes go in the kitchen and helps me put away the ones she can reach. She helps set the table like Kolbe and follows several-step commands. "Libby, give the fork to Kolbe and put the spoon on your highchair." Done! :)
Last week while on the phone with an educator from Parents as Teachers about enrolling Libby at the Play center, I also asked her a few questions about children's language development. Of course kids naturally develop at all different rates, but they were a bit concerned that Elizabeth has not said more words than she has. They referred us to infant and toddler services for an informal evaluation. I am certain she is just fine, that her language will come, but since the professionals expressed concern we are going to have them come to the house for a little visit. She said this is a tough age because the language can just seem to develop overnight, but that if there is a problem now is the time to identify it. Gma D says Libby's waiting for her Dad to come home to talk and Gpa says it is genetic; Jeff was a late-talker. :) I think with Kolbe around she just doesn't have the chance, or need, to say much. He'll say something like "Libby says she wants you to turn the fan off" or "Libby says she wants milk in her red sippee cup with the blue lid." To which I respond, "Oh she said all that did she Kolbe? " Kolbe-"Yeah, I can hear her say that."
These two both have had growth spurts recently. Kolbe is getting so tall and his feet have really grown the last few weeks. Elizabeth seemed to gain a few pounds just overnight.

Yay, our pictures finally posted! We recently installed a new virus scan package on the computer and either it or just my recent blogger problems were reaking havoc on our postings. Still no titles though. Who knows?!? At any rate we are :) HAPPY :) to finally have pictures posting! Anytime Kolbe has a chance he is upstairs "working hard" to get it finished in time for Dad to arrive. He always tells me he's a "Big ole guy."
Grandpa was getting ready for a funeral and Kolbe decided he wanted to go. When getting dressed he said he wanted to wear "one of those, that Grandpa has on." So, luckily we had a tie for him. :)

One of Jeff's fellow teachers was in Kolbe's classroom and took some photos to email to Jeff. Yesterday, since it was his birthday, they said a special prayer for Jeff over the P.A.
The first thing Kolbe told me on the way home was that he had made a great big tower at school.
When I went to pick him up, his teacher said it had been quite a day, that there had been some tears. None from Mr. Kolbe though, they took a minute to give me a little update; one said he was a "little angel" and the other said they wished they had 20 just like him. I couldn't wait until Jeff called so we could tell him! I had been wondering how he acted in a different setting, with totally new surroundings, but hadn't asked his teachers for their observations yet. We have P/T conferences in late October, so I thought we'd wait until then to ask, but they volunteered the information. It is so funny the things he shares with me in the car on the way back home from school. "A little girl who is red, no she was wearing red, took my spot." He tells me about all of the little injustices that happen to him throughout the morning. Almost every time he will report someone taking something of his or saying something to him, etc. He doesn't get upset that they have done it, he just wants me to know about it. I would love to be a fly on the wall and see how he reacts to situations that come up. :)

HELLO! We are still alive. We have survived yet another illness. Back at our pre-deployment meeting one of the speakers said we would get sick more this year and a half than we ever have. Truer words were never spoken. Kolbe is now getting over the Hand, Foot and Mouth illness. Libby had a fever for a couple of days and just when I was going to get her checked out, her fever disappeared. A day later the soles of her feet became a bit spotted. A day or so after that, Kolbe got a fever which got up to 103 under his arm, so core temp was even worse. Needless to say I was a bit worried, especially in the middle of the night. He broke out in hives and complained that his throat hurt and then that his mouth hurt. By the time we got in to see the doctor the back of his mouth was covered in blisters and he was in quite a bit of pain. There is no treatment other than pain relief and benadryl for the swelling.
Since Jeff has been gone, we have suffered through, this problem, strep, bladder infection, pink eye, numerous colds, the flu, allergies, and the mysterious roseola. With just over a month until Jeff's return, we hopefully won't have too many more maladies. Suzanne and family were in town this past week, but I didn't take one picture of the kiddos. :( When we are functioning at 100% again, we'll take and post some pics!

We haven't taken pictures in a few days, but have lots of Kolbe sayings to post.
In the store the other day he was goofing around and I told him to calm down. He said "Well, next time you don't have to bring me with you." I usually use this with him when we are somewhere he wants to be and is acting up... "I won't be able to bring you with me next time." He just changed the words a bit for his own benefit.
On our way to his school one morning, the road was torn up due to construction and was very bumpy. He announced from the backseat that I wasn't being a very good driver.
Whenever I give him a treat or something he wants he comments that I am being a good mommy.
A few nights ago I think he was fighting with Libby in his sleep. He had been in bed a couple of hours when I heard from his room "Hi...NO, that's mine, that's my juice box." I assume he was trying to keep it from Libby.
In all fairness, he is a good big brother. Out of the clear blue he said "How much do I love you Libby?...Soooooo much."
Leave it to a 3 year old to tell it like it is. The kids get really interested in my shower when they discover I am shaving my legs. A few hours after my shower Kolbe rubbed his hands on my legs and said "You did a pretty good job here and here, but I feel some whiskers right here, (pointing to my knees.)
I walked into the backroom last week to find an empty trashcan on its side and Kolbe laying inside. I asked him what he was doing and he said "Kolbe's Oscar." Really how can you get mad?!?
He has never been a big tv fan but lately has started to be interested in a few movies, though he loses interest fairly quickly. A little spider was running across our wall and he said, "There's a fly,...SEIZE HIM!" Where did he pick this up? Shrek.
Kolbe loves to paint, but has never liked coloring much. In preschhol they do a lot of coloring with markers. He had a small "homework" assignment that wanted him to color a picture. It was a train like the little engine that could. He started to color the eyes with gray markers and suddenly got upset, "Oh no, he can't see."