cute kids

Seven things for Sunday:
* A loves helping with laundry. We ask her if she wants to hekp and she nods vigorously and speed-toddles to the laundry hamper. She takes a single article of clothing and takes it to the washer (front-load) and throws it in. Then she comes back for another one. When the load is done, we open the door and she reaches in and pulls an item out and hands it to C, who hands it to one of us and we put it in the dryer (stacked on top). Sometimes she gets confused and starts ferrying clean clothes from her sister's drawers to the washer or tries to load more dirty clothes in when the cycle just finished. It's helpful and fun!
* Recently, she's also taken to folding her arms and even bowing her head when we have our family prayers. We hadn't been asking her to, she just copied us! Just show they're always watching. Which in this case works out great.
* Both girls are snuggled up together in bed for I think maybe the 3rd or 4th time. They had been in separate rooms b/c A didn't sleep well, but really both of them are intensely social (where'd they get that anyway?) And so they seem to be happier together than apart. Usually C falls asleep first, then I set A down nearby, but tonight A was out way before C. When I set her down, her big sister very carefully lifted up the edge of her blanket so she could snuggle onto the same pillow and under the same covers. Two little critters in the same nest. (I started with peas in a pod, but 1: cliche 2: too passive for these energy-balls)
* C loves helping make food. Today we made cookies for home / visiting teachees (because I felt like I needed to during worldwide leadership training yesterday and who am I to argue with spiritual instructions to bake delicious treats?). C helped measure, stir, pat the cookies into balls (or at least lumps) and of course snitch choco chips. That's how she says it too - I'm going to snitch a tiny amount now. Well, today she also helped with making some fruit smoothie drinks. Normally I'd just do my standard frozen blueberries and OJ. But this time we noticed the really old, freezer-burned popsicles in our fride door. So we scraped them off their sticks and added different liquids and made 5 different flavor combinations in our knock-off magic bullet. We started with just 2, but she was having such a good time that we kept going. By the 3rd flavor sitting next to the others, she had decided that they were the elements drinks. We ended up with "the 5 elements - water, earth, fire, air, and boomerangs!" When you drink them they give you magic powers so that air / water / fire shoots out of your eyes. Yep, that's right - the fifth element makes your eyes shoot boomerangs! Very handy for fighting off bad guys. So much fun!
* C still loves Aang / last airbender. Yesterday we were practicing Kyoshi kicks and punches, then we had Kyoshi hot dogs for dinner and an Unagi / Elephant Koi bath. So much wonder and such intense fun.
* J really enjoyed a clip recently about an actress who loves sloths. Obsessively. Beyond her own emotional capacity. It was pretty funny. Maybe she'll share.
* 2012 chcocolate Olympics at Victoria's Fancy Foods was a hit. And seriously choco overloady. I liked the cherry choco cookies, J and I both liked the choco-chip pound cake (her fave). We took our friends - they liked the creme de menthe brownies (so much fancier than just saying mint) and the triple chocolate truffle. Plus, it was totally free. I highly recommend it for all you locals next year (all you know, 2 or 3 of you that is : )