Miscellany

I have a few toy-related observations:

Jenga blocks are amazing.  I thought my kids were too young for Jenga-the-game, and they basically are, but Jenga blocks are so much more than precarious tower-building.  Three-year-old Gee has been playing quietly for at least 30 minutes now, with only a "Look, Momma, I build a bridge!" (or airplane, or stairs, or door) to remind me he is in the same room as I.  And today he has been especially whiny, so this is a minor miracle.

Legos are amazing, too.  I make the kids play with the standard size Legos on the dining room table, because otherwise the baby will try to eat them.  (They can play with the Duplo blocks on the floor of the playroom.)  A couple of evenings ago, as Bradley was at church meetings late, the three older children played with Legos for at least an hour with nary an argument.  That, too, is a minor miracle.  And since they have to be at the table, clean up is pretty easy!

In baby news, yesterday Hebs and I were laying down on the couch together.  We had been quietly cuddling, nothing unusual, when Hebs sat up, squirmed around, and made himself comfortable with his head on my (still fairly flat) stomach.  He then started babbling, as he often does.  Only this time, he was talking right into my belly  And boy, did that wake the baby up!  She immediately started kicking and wiggling around, as if to say, "Hi, Hebs!  Hi!  I'm in here!  I'm coming soon, are you excited?"  It made me laugh (and cry a little).  I'm so excited to add her personality to our family.

And finally, Em is growing up so fast.  She can write the entire alphabet (in capital letters) without help, and all the letters face the correct way.  She can write to 13 without help.  She draws the best cats and dogs (you can actually tell they are animals), and she loves to color.

Yesterday, she was trying to explain something to me, and Gee kept speaking over her.  Frustrated, she finally said, "Gee, you're interrupting my communications!"

Ooookay, then.  What a great girl!