Rylie adds her own touch to footed pajamas.

Spencer has an obsession with keys. We have gathered every old key we have in the house and given him his own keychain. His favorite is my old Volkswagon key because it flips open. He usually cries if I have to take the “real”carkeys from him to drive the car. I showed him carefully how I put them in the ignition and turn the key to make the car go. Now he uses his keys to start his tricycle. He very carefully chooses a key and carefully slides it into a screwhole in the front. It was not put there for that purpose but it works. He then turns his key, and only then will he push his “car” across the floor. Only fifteen more years and he’ll really be on the road. Oh my…

I know our families on the east coast are weathering a snowfall, but here in sunny Dallas, it was a bright, breezy, 82 degree day. Darren and I loaded up the double stroller (sippy cups, goldfish, hats, sunglasses, Evian, Ozarka, babywipes, first-aid kit, and 2 kids) and headed for our local park. Darren kept the camera clicking the entire time and we had 93 pictures by the end. Here is a sampling of our best. We hope those of you freezing will feel better knowing tomorrow night they are predicting snow flurries here too. That’s Texas weather for you. This first picture is the boys on the slide.

On Friday, Spencer, Rylie, and I headed to Cedar Hill for lunch with Darren’s grandparents, Mama and Daddy King. Darren’s cousin, Kelly, and her husband, Ben, and their three girls, Rebecca, Sarah, and Anna are in town visiting from Ohio. Luckily, they reserved the private dining room for our lunch, which was great given five kids. Rylie is usually very shy, but soon after we got there Rebecca asked Rylie if she would like to go see the fishtank and look for Nemo. Rylie held her hand and they were off. Rylie didn’t even look back. At lunch, Sarah and Spencer became fast friends. She kept him entertained while the adults finished lunch. Spencer and Rylie had jello and catfish for the first time, both big hits. As we said goodbye and got ready to leave, Sarah held Spencer’s hand all the way to the car. Kelly and I thought she wanted to take him back to Ohio with her.

After lunch, Spencer and Rylie and I stopped by the Dallas World Aquarium on the way home. We took a few minutes to escape from the stroller and walk around. Rylie liked the tall waterfall.

Rylie Mae and Spencer used to be “great” eaters. Now that they are getting a little wiser, my old tricks don’t seem to work anymore.

After carefully hiding spinach between two tortillas with cheese, Rylie proceeded to “peel” each of her pieces and carefully remove each piece of green stuff. It took her forever to eat lunch, and I think she was very proud of her small mound of green mush she had created. Spencer ate so fast, he missed the spinach all together.

For dinner, I gave them black-eyed peas and various other things for dinner. After eating a few other things, she looked at me and said, “peas, peas, peas.” This was the first time she asked specifically for something to eat. Her face lit up when she saw me more on the way. She probably thought, “I finally got that woman to understand what I’ve been saying. Boy, that took months.”

Spencer is not much for reading the directions on proper use of his toys.

Rylie sees lots of things I overlook. Today in the bathtub she kept saying “baby, baby.” I didn’t know what she was looking at, but I finally found it. On the bottle of shampoo is a drawing of a tiny baby.

Today at lunch, the kids were drinking their milk, and I was making myself a salad. I heard Rylie say “Elmo” and “Pooh” for the first time. I was very surprised to hear her say them. I didn’t know why she thought of them until I saw her fork, and Spencer’s fork, one Pooh and the other Elmo. Elmo and Pooh are both about 1/4 inch tall. I think she was pretty proud of herself for the Elmo because she said it over and over practicing different ways to say it.

For Rylie we had “water”, “night-night”, and “ice.” She also said, “Mama, water!”
Spence added “up” to his vocabulary today.