Where they're at

So periodically I like to take a moment and record what my boys are doing -- like educational growth -- I thought today would be a pretty ideal day since I'm unbearably nauseous and need to be reminded why on Earth women go throw this ordeal called pregnancy! First off, I don't know why I even separate these two into different categories. They're basically the same person. The eat, sleep, play at the same time -- they mimic everything each other does (dinner time at the Ritters is VERY loud :)). They're pretty ideal. Seth- 3 years 5 months He likes contradiction ... He will give you an option with two possible answers and go with the one you didn't choose. "Mommy, should we play with the soccer ball or the basketball?" - "Basketball" - "I think we'll play with the soccer ball." His love of contradictions in apparent in his clothing as well .. backwards shoes, backward underwear ... jacket upside down, jacket upside down inside his overalls. Shorts in the winter time ... pants and big jacket in the summer ...Hmm... I wonder where he gets his defiant nature from? (JEFFREY!!!!!) No one would probably guess he's defiant, because he really isn't on anything thing that matters ... He's such a well behaved mild mannered little boy (he gets that from Jeffrey too) I just think he's amazing. Let's see... he's really interested in numbers, counting everything from his orange slices to the number of prongs on his fork. He still loves space, you can ask him about Apollo 11 and I wouldn't be surprised if he knew the date of the landing. He retains information to the point of astonishment. We've been teaching him concert music composers .. (like we know a lot) but he can pick out some Vivaldi, Bach, Beethoven. He "reads" to his brother. Which I find really nice, he has memorized several books and can sit down with Levi and read to him. He can sound out I think any three letter word, he might need some encouragement like .. "What does the 'H' say?" at times, but he sounds it out himself. He's very compassionate. He's really good with younger children and likes making them happy. He's really into taking care of his stuffed animals, .. baby bear is rocked to sleep, fed, changed, and Seth usually makes her a pillow bed throughout the day. He can use his pedals on his bike. He can crack an egg and not make a mess (most of the time). And... he's beginning to understand/getting interested in addition and subtraction. Levi- 18 months Oh Levi, where to begin, well he really loves his flannel jacket :) ... like his insists on wearing it to bed. He's also really attached to his blanket and bus. He's such a funny kid And I'm going to brag for a moment, but this kid is incredibly smart. He's beginning to talk in sentences. I think being a second child has a lot to do with it -- and he just adores, idolizes, and mimics everything Seth does. The number of words he knows is in the hundreds. Learning words to him is a game, he loves to point and tell me all the things he knows. .. some words that I think are so cute when he says: "backhoe," "airplane," "bus," "purple," "Sethy," "up-stairs," "yikes," "booster seat," "bunny," "sandal." He knows most of his colors. He likes to pretend that he is reading, he'll point to a letter of a word and go "T-tt--tt" trying to sound out the word. Likes to dance and spin. He's a naturalist. He could look out over our hill forever I think -- waiting to see a pheasant, or a duck, any birds, bunnies. He loves rocks. Oh my boys, I do love them, and I love watching them grown and learn. Well that made me feel a bit better.. just thinking of my boys and how wonderful and fun they are :)