I'm Flattered!!

Here are some pictures of our latest crazy game with Daddy. Jump down the stairs ... from the landing ... into Daddy's arms (he is standing at the bottom)! They love it!! It certainly shows the trust they have in their Daddy to catch them!! Nataliya with her piggies ... waiting in the van for her teacher to come get her for school ... and the girls talking on their cell phones! BTW, Nataliya picked out her own clothes ... she was into stripes that day!! Yes, the phones are real ... but they (obviously) don't have cell service ... but don't tell them! :o)

If "imitation is the highest form of flattery" ... then I'm very flattered. Our sweet Juliya is forever imitating much of what I do (for good and for bad!!). When I'm cooking ... she's cooking, when I'm typing on my computer ... she's typing on hers, when I'm folding laundry ... she's folding laundry, when I'm talking ... she's talking. Sometimes I find it so hard to carry on a real conversation ... b/c she echoes just about everything I say (with a phone up to her ear or making hand gestures as I do)! Yes ... this keeps me careful about what is coming out of my mouth (including my tone of voice!). I really just chalk it up to her developing her language skills!

The girls LOVE to pretend. They pretend to be lots of other people ... or piggies or puppies or ... well you just never know!! Juliya will often decide in her head who she wants to "be" ... but she can't remember their name. So, she begins patting her chest and looking at me with a big question mark ... as if to say "what's my name?" So I begin guessing ... starting with the people we have most recently been with! I'm getting pretty good at this guessing thing!! :o)

This week the girls have a special treat to look forward to. Their Auntie Icki (Vicki) is coming from Florida for a 5 day visit. We will have a wonderful time with her ... I can hardly wait!!! I'll tell you all about it next weekend.