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Claire Helen's favorite things, not quite 21 months:

Buses. Far and away the favorite thing of the moment. Inscrutably, "Wheels on the Bus" is extremely unpopular, but everything else bus related is in its hey-day around here. Whenever we drive anywhere, we play "find the bus," and she loves to talk about meeting daddy after he gets off the bus, and loading up this little plastic bus we got her at the Multiples Club Sale. Farm animals, cheese, legos, whatever. They all get bus rides.

Bossing. I've mentioned this before, but she still finds it so fun. What a great oldest child she is. Simon is not yet really old enough for bossing, but mommy and Betty are just the right age for it. Whenever she has something that is seeming to interest Betty (by which I mean food), she will walk around the house clutching it to her chest announcing "mise." Ex, "Mise. Mise. Mise waffle." or "Mise raisin." When we go on walks, she likes to simultaneously help push Simon in the stroller and hold Betty's leash("I help push. Mise leash. Mise Betty."). She likes directing me as we go about our day. You cannot imagine the number of tasks mommy does not do quite right.

Blue. Nuff said. Yesterday I found her after nap trying to put on some turquoise shorts to go with her turquoise shirt and boots.

Drawing. We got her an art set, and she has been going hog wild with it this week. She still gets the most excited when she gets one of my pens- she knows they are forbidden items, and her eyes get as big as saucers when she finds one in her hands- but she thinks markers are pretty cool too. Especially the blue one.

Aquatic animals. She loves to tell you what a seal says(while spinning around, since we saw a seal in a 25 foot floor to ceiling aquarium spinning and flipping the other day) and find fish. I have been trying to tell her that whales and dolphins only look like fish, but really they are mammals like you and me, but she thinks I am crazy as a loon when I say this.

Also high on her list are books- we usually read for a couple hours a day, bicycles, watches, and cleaning up messes.

Simon's favorite things, not quite 4 months:

Hands. They are so powerful! They can bring him things! They can go in his mouth! They are amazing. Just today he learned to really reach for things smoothly- not like the robot arms they have to start with- really see something, then just grab it. Go Simon!

Kitties! He loooooves the kitties. More precisely, he loves Sadie as Mishka has learned about small children and doesn't appear upstairs during daylight hours. When we are sitting in the living room, he practically jumps over me to get at Sadie, who sits on top of the big cushy chair pretending we have never introduced these small drooly menaces into her life. He doesn't care one whit about Betty, but looooooves the kitties. So soft! And clumps of hair come off when you grab her!

Sitting up. He is getting pretty close to being able to do this indefinitely on his own, but for now I put a pillow on either side of him and hand him a toy to play with while Claire Helen and I make balls and snakes out of playdough. He wobbles his head and grins at me because he is playing like a big kid! And then when I smile back at him he says "Auuooog." And then drops his toy because who has time for a stupid toy when you are having a conversation?

Himself. Specifically in the mirror. He thinks he is so handsome. There is a mirror on his bouncy chair, and whenever he spies himself in it he goes "thbbbt."

Other people. Seriously, how did he get this out of our genes? I suppose we are related to social people, but Mat and I are both so unlikely to talk to strangers in a bar that it's hard to believe we spawned such a social little guy. He smiles for all the old ladies in the grocery line, and every toddler who comes to investigate him at playgroups. He delights everyone who meets him.

Falling asleep while his father holds him on his shoulder. He fights it for as long as he can, and hold onto Mat's collar with one fist, until finally his head droops and his eyes close.

Sparkly things. I think maybe even more than your average baby. He is transfixed by his sister when she plays dress-up, and will drop anything- even a boob- to get to a candy wrapper if he sees one.