Time for Some New Nicknames

Meet "Monkey See" and "Monkey Do".  Or would LJ be Monkey Do and SJ Monkey See?  Anyways, they both copy me and Sam certainly copies Lily.  And they can both get themselves into plenty of trouble... usually together ;o)   So I've started saying the rhyme to them and I also just call them Monkeys for short.  

This little monkey has another nickname: The Loudmouth.  (I wonder which parent she gets that from??)  My favorite thing she does lately is shouting "YES" in answer to a question.  You know how it is, as a parent you ask them questions a lot.  For Sammy it goes something like this... Me: Sam, do you want a washcloth?  Sam: YEEEEES!  (And sometimes it's YeeeeeSH which is even funnier to hear)  Me: Sammy do you need a diaper change?  Sam: YEEEES!

She says plenty of "No's" as well... but it's usually more of a coy little flirty NoOoOo.  Me: Sam can I have a kiss?  Sam: NoooooOOOO.

Her vocabulary is really awesome.  I love that having big sister talking more means she is talking sooner and learning other things faster, too.

Lillian.  She has two new nicknames that might seem to contradict each other.  One is The Mumbler.  And one is The Narrator.  She's at that really tiring and obnoxious really adorable and endearing stage of toddlerhood where she gets something in her head she wants to tell you ("Oh no Sammy make mess Mommy") and she tells you over and over and over and OVER until you acknowledge her.  Or till she gives up.  But she doesn't give up easily!  

But she's The Narrator because she likes to tell you the funniest things (to an adult) because she's basically just telling you what you're doing.  Or what she's doing.  "You make tias Mom"  "I go poop get jelly bean Mom"  She's so funny.

Oh and I love how she is starting to mimic phrases that I say to her.  "You must wait Mom"  "Do dis first Mom" Because I'm trying to be good about telling her the chronology of our day ("First we're going to finish breakfast, then do the dishes, then go outside and play with your bike... You must wait till Momma's done cooking to eat dinner") so she's picking up on it and using it properly.

She's also called The Mumbler, though, because there are times where she talks JUST LIKE HER DADDY (as in kind of low and fast) so no one can understand her.  And she repeats herself but DOESNT RAISE HER VOICE JUST LIKE HER DADDY and we all just roll our eyes because we don't know what she's saying.

Back to the mimicking.  I would like to know what sneaky friend came into our house and taught my kids the oddest thing: that the blue power light on the computer is a soap dispenser.  Seriously!  They both go over to the computer tower when it's on and hold their hands under the light and then come over to me and say "soap" and rub it on my leg. What in the world???

Their nicknames sure have changed since a year and a half ago!  I still use some of the old ones, but I like how the new ones reflect all their growing and changing.


Also, this is a really fun stage and I'm super glad that we get to see family in the States soon.  I want all the grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins to get to interact with my little monkeys while they're still doing all these cute things. Because sometimes it's just so hard to write down and remember to blog about all the adorable things they do during the day. 


And can I just say that I'm really missing family these past few weeks?  Maybe it's just more missing because I know that we'll be there soon.  Maybe I'm in the trenches of Mommy-ing little monkeys so I'm hugely aware of all the work my parents (and J's parents) did to raise us.  But man, I'm so glad I'll get to hug my Mom and Dad soon.  And squeeze my sisters (and sisters-in-law) and Brother (and bro-in-law).  And rub my soon-to-be-niece in her momma's belly. And come squeeze her when she's born.  Ahhhhh, family vacations :o)  I can't wait.