Routine

We're still working out our fall routine -- who takes the girls to preschool, who picks them up, how the afternoons go. But during the morning when the girls are at preschool and Heather is at language school, it's just Cole and me. He follows me around, understands and obeys almost everything I say, and delights in life.

If I'm sitting on the floor making cards, he comes in with some blocks and builds towers, weaseling his way into my lap for a snuggle with a most triumphant look on his face and then puckering up his poochy lips to plant a big kiss right on my own.

If I'm reading or journaling or writing e-mails on the couch, he usually comes out with some dishes from the play kitchen and wants me to smack my lips over them. Sometimes he just climbs up to sit beside me or to lay his head in my lap while he sucks his favorite two fingers.

He also loves the give and take of conversation, although the content isn't too complex. Perhaps we would exchange several "hi"s or "hello"s back and forth, or maybe just copy each other's tongue-clicking noises. Here you can see some of his first steps when we were in Maryland, and also some of our activities during the past few days:

In the mornings, Lilah and I have been working on memorizing some verses together. She sits on my lap and looks at a picture for the verse while she repeats the phrases after me. "Trust in the Lord . . . with all your heart . . . and do not lean . . . on your own understanding." I love to see the Word soaking in to her open mind.

Lilah has also been working on potty training. Or rather, Heather and I have been working on potty training Lilah. So far she's not opposed to the idea, but doesn't really see the need to put forth any effort. She usually doesn't tell us she's wet until we take her into the bathroom. "Oh, my underwear is wet," she will tell us. Hmm, why yes it is. When we ask her where she wet, she can usually tell us. "On the couch," or "On the bed." We keep rehearsing the routine for if she has to go potty: tell Mommy or Julie and go in the toilet! Hopefully at some point it will sink into that open mind.