Fast Kids At Play

I never knew I needed a racing track in my yard until I got one.  Now I don't know how I'll ever live without it.  It's really a walking path, laid by the city when this neighborhood was built, that separates our yard from our neighbor's, going the length of the properties from the street to the woods.  But that's where it ends - at the woods.  So it honestly goes nowhere!  We've heard that there were plans to connect it to another path on the other side of the woods, but that idea has been abandoned, apparently.  So now we have our own personal racking track for the boys' cozy coupes.

This morning's racing was like a scene from "Grease," where Sandra Lee stands between the cars (makes me wish I had a pair of leather pants - okay, that I looked like HER AND had a pair of leather pants) with the starting flag.  The boys would push their cars to the top of the track, which has a bit of incline, and would shout random numbers together:

"One!  Two!"
"Free!  Five!"
"Seven!  Nine!"
"Eweven!"
Then M would push off without shouting "Go," and run to the end of the track, just a little ahead of N, who couldn't catch up.

Trying to capture this event on film proved nearly impossible, what with the incredible racing speeds and my almost-dead camera battery, but you get the idea that this event is totally awesome, don't you?  It's actually one of my favorite backyard activities that we've done this summer, and I do all I can to encourage it when we're outside.  Because it knocks them out.  Oh, the sweet sounds of silent napping, I do love thee.

Thank you, silly city, for laying this walking path to nowhere in my backyard.  It's totally worth the random confused bikers and walkers who wander back here from time to time!  Maybe I should put up some kind of "FAST KIDS AT PLAY" sign (as opposed to those slow kids).

Backyard Fun

Our dream came true this summer - a backyard!  The boys are having a blast racing their cars, splashing in the pool, chasing and catching frogs and toads, and swatting mosquitoes.  Okay, maybe we don't love the last part, but it's the price we're paying for having such a beautiful woods in our backyard.  (Thank goodness for Cutter, Off! and Bullfrog insect repellants.)

Our newest invention: the water slide!

Just like daddy - driving cars and mowing the lawn.

They love being traced - our patio looks like a crime scene!

Getting ready for another race

Sharing a snack at the end of the day

That last one is my favorite!  Last night, I brought them a snack to eat before heading in to bed.  Rather than eating it at their picnic table, they both got in their cars with the snack and "parked" themselves like this, under a tree, like they were watching the sunset together.  They sat like this for a long time! 

The Great Outdoors

It finally feels like spring out there!  We've been spending our afternoons outdoors this week and it's been GLORIOUS!  I've even been giving them their snack on the deck on a cute little picnic table:

 We've been going for walks in our new neighborhood and discovering the many playgrounds hidden within.  When we stroll by, M asks, "play? Play? Play?"  then N pipes up, "Play?"  A bit later on our stroll, when we roll by another one, he asks, "play 'gain? play 'gain?"  They just can't get enough!

 There's just enough slope in this area for the guys to push their cozy coupes up the grass, then ride them down the sidewalk on the other side of the little pine tree.  They love this game and will play it for hours! okay, minutes - but it seems like hours!

Maybe someday he'll try out for the Twins!  And what's cuter than 2 little boys at a picnic table?  4 little boys, of course!  Our best buds came over for fun in the great outdoors yesterday - until it downpoured! 

We are all so happy for sunshine and warmer weather!  It couldn't come soon enough - welcome, spring!

A Few More Words

M talks a lot more than I realized!  I missed a lot of his words yesterday, including the most obvious:

"Hi!" with a wave to EVERYONE we see
"Bye!" with a wave, but usually AFTER we have departed
"Uh oh," usually said when food is being THROWN on the floor
"No-no," always said when he or his brother (or us, I suppose!) are doing something we're not supposed to be doing, throwing food on the floor, pushing on the screen door, standing in the bathtub...
"Zi?" said pointing an object, asking "What's this?"
"Buh Bo" for bubbles.  He'll repeat it until he wears you down to blow them, then walks away indifferently from you when you do.  Like he just wants them being blown in the background!
"Cah cuh" with a short "a" sound, this word means cracker or cookie, we're not sure because he uses it interchangeably.  I suppose it could also mean "snack!"
"Nay Nay," his name for his brother
"Diggle-diggle"  we think this came from our games of "tickle tickle," but he doesn't use it in that context.  In fact, it seems to be a general term for "I'm pretty happy doing whatever it is I'm doing right now,"

Pushing is better than riding by far

"Caaaah" think of our neighbor from Boston saying "car," and you've got it!  Seemingly there are 3 cars right now: a picture of one in a picture book and our two cozy coupe toys.  We've been playing a lot of "cars" this week since it's so nice out.

Look at that curl N has on his head!

I'll just keep adding to this list when I think of "Mo?" words.  Perhaps giggly little N will start talking "mo", too.

"Ba," used by both of the guys, is an over-generalized word for "ball."  Anything round is a ball, so it's pretty funny when we are at the grocery store and every apple and tomato is "ba! Ba! Ba!"  It's also one of M's mystery words.  One night on a walk, he was desperately signing "milk" and saying "Ba? Ba? Ba?" Maybe he wanted a bottle?  but he hasn't had one in several months!