Good Times with Cindi

The boys and I had the best time on Friday hanging out with Cindi. She and her husband were in town for a workshop and we got to see them for the first time in almost a year. Just to recap, Cindi took care of R and L for their first 18 months when we were in Texas. She and her husband were an enormous blessing for us and the boys. I went back to work 3 months after they were born and I never once worried about how they were being taken care of or who was doing it. Cindi loved the boys and that reassured me more than anything else that they were in great care when Greg and I were at work. When Cindi last saw the boys I was trying to get them to say her name, but they never did. They are now non-stop talking machines and they asked about Ms. Cindi all day Saturday and several times today (Ms. Cindi and Matt).

We picked Cindi up Friday morning and we went to lunch and the zoo. As I could have predicted, L became really shy and nervous (poor thing has such a worried little personality) and R immediately saw his chance to flirt. L quickly warmed up and R showed off his new not so desirable attitude. We had a good time at the zoo. They boys love the monkeys and they got to ride the zoo train for the first time. On Saturday, the four of us (including Greg) met Cindi and Matt downtime for lunch. I don't think that R and L remembered Cindi right away, but I think she was familiar with them and they quickly warmed up. We look forward to seeing the both of them again in February because Matt was offered a great opportunity to present at the Christian Writers Guild Conference in Colorado Springs. We can't wait to see them again. Thanks Cindi for hanging out with us!

Cindi is a photographer and she can't go anywhere without her camera!! Lucky for me I think she got some sweet pictures of the boys :)


R enjoyed throwing leaves on Cindi while she was trying to take his picture

L did not want to share his drum with his brother.

L ran straight to the elephant when he saw him, R was much more hesitant.

We saw this same monkey when we went to the zoo in July. He (or she) was fascinated with L then and was again on Friday. It immediately jumped down and came to the glass and stared at L. Isn't that crazy - or maybe they're just related?

Cindi and R.

Cindi and L on the train.

New things:

L talks a mile a minute and I know I've said it before, but he truly amazes us each day with what he can say and what he remembers. My parents drover here in August to bring us some furniture from Lubbock and they borrowed my cousin's green SUV so they could pull a trailer. Today, L was playing with a car and said it was Daddy's car and I told him it looked more like Grandad's old Explorer (not old as in he no longer has it, but his old beat up Explorer he still drives to work everyday). L then said, Grandad green car - he remembered the car from August that they drove and the color.

When L talks he can almost hold entire conversations and he can almost use correct grammar/tense in most of the things he says. He refers to himself as "I" and sometimes gets me and my mixed up - but I think most kids this age talk in the third person, not the first.

Everything that R does is very deliberate. He is deliberately funny, sad, angry and defiant. He says no all of the time and he can also scowl. He can scowl when he's angry, but he'll also do it just to make us laugh. His big event tonight was to pee-pee in the potty. He has gone once before, but I think that was almost an accident. Tonight seemed pretty deliberate and I think he knew what he was doing. We're no where near ready for potty training yet, but we're slowly getting there and I think R will be ready first.

The last picture below is of R having the best time with Matt. He loved his goatee-he stroked it the whole time Matt held him and let out huge belly laughs.