Present Stuff

A quick rundown of some present stories....

- Jack and Kate played "Elefun," a game with an Elephant shooting butterflies into the air for kids to catch with nets. Emily: "Jack, why do you have all the butterflies and Kate doesn't have any?" Jack: "Because I'm REALLY GOOD AT IT!" Later, Jack lets Kate catch some, which is usually them landing on the floor and her bending down, picking one up, and placing it in her net. "My GOT it, Daddy! My GOT one!" They continue to catch them, noting the colors each time. "I got a red one!" "Green! Green!" Later in the afternoon, Kate said "Elefun! Elefun!" on more than one occasion.

- Kate played with her dollhouse while a few feet away, Jack set up the Mousetrap game. Jack sang "Jingle Bell Rock" throughout. This continued for a while. Emily and I wept with stunned happiness.

- I walked into Jack's room yesterday morning and he was modeling his superhero cape over his pajamas.

- I changed Kate's diaper and as we went to leave the room she said, "My dog! My dog!" We collected her stuffed dog off the shelf. "MY dog!"

- Kate busies herself at her kitchen. At the sink: "I wash mah hands," she explains. She brings me a cup of water. Over and over again.

- Kate and Jack both got K-Nex sets from Aunt Robin. One is age appropriate for Kate, the other for Jack. Of course, she likes his set, which makes dinosaurs. This morning we made some, and she continued trying with his set again this afternoon. It was very frustrating to her though. After dinner I was in the kitchen washing dishes and heard her alone in the living room (Emily and Jack were upstairs) saying, "I can't DO this. I can't DO it." I walked out there, and she sat in the midst of a pile of green dinosaur blocks. I helped her, and she made me a waffle in her kitchen.