18 months

This is the price I paid tonight for doing dishes while talking to my mom-in-law on the phone. I noticed he was creating kitchen catastrophe, but I really didn't notice. I was standing 3 feet away from him. I do not profess to be a super multi-tasker, and this is obvious proof. I can't talk on the phone, and do the dishes, and do something else at the same time. The plastic is my roll of garbage can liners, unrolled. That boy is an efficient mess-maker.

At the dinner table, he must be served whatever someone else is having, even if he won't eat it. If his cup is full of water, and someone else pours a glass, he wants his topped off. If Jilly gets more Parmesan cheese, Gordon wants more, despite the small mountain of cheese already on his plate. You get the idea.

This week he started shrieking for the first time (up until now it had just been an insanely loud "Hi!" and "Bye!" in Costco to whoever he made friends with). Whenever something is happening he doesn't like, the volume in the apartment starts rising. I'm fairly certain anyone in our quad who has seen me with the kids knows right where we live, due to the crazy noise coming from the windows. Gordon also mimics my countdown when the girls are in trouble. He gets to 4 all by himself, while slapping the shut door to the kid's room. The girls won't open until I start counting with him though.

Gordon still climbs everything. He doesn't even really need a footstool anymore to get onto the bathroom and kitchen counters. The kid is good. He hardly ever slips or falls. If he can get a good grip on the surface he's trying to top, he can muscle his way up there. I suspect he'll be trying to climb trees before long. He gets on top of our tall-ish dresser all time, and he could get on top of the fridge, no problem. He hasn't done that by the way, and I hope he doesn't.

He started nursery on Sunday, and got part of the way through it, but melted down after a while and sat with Ben the last hour of church. 11 am is a bad time for us. 1 pm will be more manageable in January.

He eats ice cream cones from the bottom first. Major drippage. He gets it mostly on himself, but what gets on the office-grade carpet I don't care much about anyway, they're gutting our place when we move out.

The 3 of them are definitely becoming a more cohesive group, instead of the girls off playing, and excluding Gordon all the time. I'm hoping it's a pattern that continues.

Water and Sand

 On one hot day last week, we emptied out some toy containers and put water in them to splash out on the balcony. The kids had fun, but I think the extra water on the balcony may have had something to do with the ant infestation we found on Saturday morning. 

 Another morning while Evelyn was at school we headed to the mall to play on the splash pad and do a little shopping, for me. It's been quite a while since I bought anything new.

Jilly has entered the "I can't make a normal smile for pictures" phase. Evelyn is just starting to come out of it, for now. Because the girls are so close in age, I don't really get a break between developmental phases. I'm always surprised to see Jilly begin a phase that Evelyn is just leaving. I can't believe this little girl is growing up so fast. 

 After General Conference ended on Sunday, we went to our local beach to see the results of the annual sandcastle competition. These ones were my favorites. 

 Another statement about the housing market? Our economic reality? 

 A replica of Minas Tirith, from J.R.R. Tolkein's, "Lord of the Rings". (Great movies, haven't gotten around to reading the books). 

 The kids enjoyed Thomas the Train, the girls are standing here with a favorite friend. 

Someone poking more fun at Bret Favre.