random stuff

Over winter break Jana had Drew and Kate at home with her for a few weeks, which gave them the opportunity to explore some things around Lansing.  One of the things that was on the list to check out was our local children's science museum.  Not suprisingly, Drew and Kate loved it.  In our house, I'm the one who does the cleaning, so it makes me proud to see Kate carrying around a broom.  Apparently, even cleaning can be exciting!

Drew and Kate also enjoyed the water table at the museum.  I'm always amazed both by how much fun kids have with a couple inches of water in a table and by how incredibly wet they can get while playing with the water.  It's incredible!

Drew has been doing a lot with Legos lately.  Legos were always one of my favorite toys growing up, so I have done little to discourage him with Legos and all the attention I give his Legos might actually be encouraging him!  He does a great job of following directions to put things together, but what really delights us are the things he comes up with on his own.  Below is his cherry picker.  It has a rotating arm that raises and lowers with a bucket at the end.  The bucket is hinged so that it can remain level.  On a platform attached to the base of the arm are two yellow rails that hold tools (the tools are the black things).  Jana and I found this creation to be absolutely delightful.

This is what every night at our house is like.  Lots of fun and giggles during bath time.  Well, not really, but sometimes it is lots of fun!  Kate's hair continues to get longer and makes for a great shampoo mohawk.  Drew, on the other hand, refuses to have any products or anything in his hair that might add texture or body.  The only place he doesn't mind is the bath.  So we had some fun with both Kate's hair and with Drew's hair and they both found it to be hilarious.

I don't know what it is about little girls and cameras.  Every once in a while Kate will strike a pose like this.  Drew never did that.  In general though, Kate is much more likely to ham it up than Drew is. 

We continue to read books a LOT.  Even when we get tired of reading to Drew and Kate, they still "read" on their own.  Drew was reading one evening on the couch and Kate just put herself on the couch right next to him and joined in on the story.  Drew tolerates Kate's attention very well and just continues reading with her there and he may even start reading aloud to her.  Our favorite thing is when he tries to teach her something.  He'll sound out a word for her until she pronounces it correctly.  It's so fun to watch!

Lest you think that last photo was staged, here they are at it again.  At this time, Drew was naming things of the page and then Kate had to find them.  Each time she found something, Drew would say, "Good job!  Good job Kate!"  He's actually a pretty good teacher and he's very patient and kind with Kate.  It's so much fun to watch the two of them together.  They play beautifully.