Zouse

The boys like to play "Animals" right now -- which means that we say an animal name, and they have to guess what letter it starts with.  When they play with Mike, they usually say the real letters (and are quite accuate), but when they play with me, they always want to do the silly version.  So, I'll say, "What does mouse start with?" and they'll yell out "Z" or "Q" and I'll say, "Zouse?  I never heard of a zouse!" and they crack up.  :)  This is how we usually spend the ride to preschool. 

James also likes to "do numbers" which means he asks arithmetic questions.  "What's three plus seven?" etc.  He's getting to know a lot of them (and mostly has the hang of the rule that adding zero to a number makes it stay the same and adding one makes it the next number).  Just for the record, this is not something we're pushing at all -- it's all him!

We've also started "I Spy", but they're a bit random at that one -- for instance, I think James will just say "I spy something black" but without any actual object in mind.  :)

Mattie continues to amaze and amuse us with his turns of phrase.  The other night he was having ice cream, and he asked what flavor I was getting out. I told him cookies and cream (his favorite), and he said, "And maybe a little bit of vanilla if you don't mind?"  (How could I refuse?)   Of course, this weekend he said, quite sweetly, "The only way you can stop me from whining is if you give me some colored Cheerios!"  I informed him that this was not a winning strategy, and he immediately went back to "May I please have some colored Cheerios?"  (That's what we call the fruit-flavored Cheerios.)

Mattie is pretty good at saying "No, thank you," but we're still working on it with James.  Occasionally when I ask James to say it, he replies, "Sometimes we just say no."  (That kid has a mind of his own!)