Here's what the kids look like!

I'm so glad I finally found all the camera parts! I packed the camera, the battery charger, and the memory card all separate, so it's taken a while to get them all back out. The kids have enjoyed getting the camera attention again, and I'm glad to be able to document their growth again.

That's Gideon! He's getting so big. He'll be two in a couple weeks. He is such a little lover! Still nursing, often, and his vocabulary is growing by the day. We just bought him a CushiTushi toilet seat and he's been trying it out lately. This morning was the first time that he actually peed in the toilet! I was elated. He was a little worried. But he tried to go again a little later, so maybe it didn't freak him out too much. He's so funny, he's a little nervous ninny. At the beginning of the summer, he wouldn't get off the steps of the pool without screaming, even if he was being held. He's gotten a little better, he'll leave the steps by himself now with his arm floaties, but he doesn't really kick his legs and he keeps his mouth shut. It's the funniest thing to watch!

Here they both are, getting along, happy, and smiling. But of course, he had just stepped on her dolls, and it almost turned into a brawl. That happens quite fequently around here. They love each other fiercely. And I mean that! It's gotten more interesting since they have their own rooms. If they're fighting and I tell them to each play by themselves, they don't want to be apart. Go figure. It's funny to watch them fight. Gideon hits, Eowyn pushes. They both wail. Then they move on.

And this is my Eowyn. She loves attention! And being beautiful, a princess, but mostly attention. She just turned 4 this summer. And she's a great kid! I just love her. The way she thinks and uses logic. She's amazing. She'll be starting school next week. We're homeschooling with a group called Classical Conversations. I'll explain more about that later. She's memorized books and "reads" them to Gideon, and she's learning to write. Mostly on her own. I've realized, with her at least, I don't have to push her at all. When she's ready for the next step, she'll take it, but she can't before she's ready. I haven't been teaching her in a formal way all summer, but she's been making cards for everyone and she asks me to write their names on a practice sheet and then she copies it. Not every letter yet, and not always in the right order, but amazing nonetheless.

And now I think they've watched enough TV for the day, so I better turn around and get to work!