William spitting and swishing like a pro!

William has learned to spit after brushing like a pro! He even swishes his mouth out with water from a cup and then spits that out. I think that means he's now qualified for adult toothpaste (in very small quantities of course) but I'll leave that to our favorite dentist to determine. Please post the answer as a comment, Dr. Tobin.

Also, William has started trying to say "pledge of allegance" but it's nearly incomprehendable. All the syllables are there, but I couldn't make out a single word. It's so cute to hear him say it though.

Yesterday we were at Bill Grays after a trip to Seabreeze amusic park (sic) and William was acting overtired from all the excitement at the park. He wouldn't sit still, wouldn't eat anything, was overreacting to everything. Anne said to me "We've got to get him to bed; he's not right". Hearing this, William chimes in "I'm not right, Daddy. I'm not right". So funny.

No more "hmm hmm hmm - hmm hmm hmm"

Back when Mary Grace was a newborn we had a little trouble putting her to sleep at night. Of course, she only slept for 1 1/2 to 2 hours at a time between feedings, but that's not the point. At some point I started humming "Lullaby and Goodnight" to her as part of the routine. It worked like a charm. I mentioned it to Anne and she started humming it to her too. That song became so ingrained in the bedtime routine that Mary Grace would not go to bed without it. It became to me a symbol of being a daddy, and some times I would even tear up while humming it.

So, the routine went on and on, and even as a two year old, she knew when she didn't get the song at bedtime and put up a fuss. As recently as this past spring, I used to pretend that I forgot the song and hum the Happy Birthday song or instead of humming I would sing the words, but Mary Grace would have no part of that. "No, not that song... the hmmm hmmm hmmm song!"

I'm sure this sort of thing will be a recurring theme as Mary Grace grows up but the first one hurts just a little. Tonight I asked her if she wanted me to sing the song and she said no, because she's a big girl now. Wait? What? - when did that happen?!

So I whispered to Mary Grace "Can I sing it for me, and you can just listen?" She reluctantly agreed, and I thought of all the wonderful nights of putting her to bed and singing that song. Nights when she was completely exhausted when she first stopped napping, nights when she had no sleep whatsoever in her eyes, warm summer nights, cool spring nights.

They all drift into the past and I'm left with that memory of holding my two year old little girl in my lap and humming Lullaby and Goodnight.

Fistfull of poop.

As we're deep into swimming season, the diaper has been somewhat optional for William. Sure, we *try* to have a diaper on William most of the time, but when he's coming out of or going into the pool, we lower our guard.

My advise to anyone in this situation is to not lower your guard.

Today, William came running into the kitchen yelling "Heea!.., Heea!.." (here.. here..) to his mommy. Looking at what it was that he wanted to give mommy was somewhat of a surprise. Of course the title gave it away. Anne quickly led him to the potty where he deposited the poop, then she proceeded to wash him up.

Mary Grace and I went to inspect and found a few more Caddyshack candy bars and a bin of train tracks that had been recently moistened. More disinfecting...

This reminds me of my brother, who once decided to pee into a can of Tinker Toys rather than walk across the hallway into the bathroom.

Mary Grace has started using a little grunt as punctuation. For example, she might say "No William, you can't play with my Disney Princesses... Emh!" or, "I don't want macaroni and cheese... Emh!". Anne and I both make eye contact and share a little chuckle each time she does it.

We're getting excited for our month of visitors from Arizona and just counting down the days!