A couple of photos from the last few days

If you are a contact of mine on the photo-printing site Snapfish, you can get prints of any of these (and a bunch more) by going to ReinFamilyPictures.Snapfish.com.

Talia laughing

Collage of Talia laughing (made with Picnik), uploaded 29th November, 2008.

Someday soon I should record her laughing and post it here. It's very enthusiastic. It sort of sounds like she's shouting.

Thanksgiving at Naani and Pop-pop's

Uncle Abie and the kids, uploaded 28th November, 2008.

Here's a snapshot of Zeke (left) and Talia playing with their uncle on the floor. They were very excited to see him (and the rest of the family).

Today's updates:

• 14:04 Z.: "Daddy, we're not held up by the earth, we're held up by ... a giant birthday cake, which is another planet. It's South America!"

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Today's updates:

• 08:35 Zeke, this morning, while rushing to the kitchen table: "I don't want to be late for my hungriness."

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Today's updates:

• 14:34 Zeke, after baking a cake with his mother: "I think the cake doesn't want people to be late to have a bite of it."

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Today's updates:

• 21:06 Q.: "Zeke, what do you want to be for Hallowe'en?" A.: "A toilet in a shark costume."

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Talia

Talia, uploaded 27th October, 2008.

Heather took this with her phone. It doesn't matter what I do -- her pictures are always better than mine.

Today's updates:

• 10:36 Zeke, on walking into the bathroom: "Something stinks in here. Something is FILTH."
• 15:35 Talia peed on the potty yesterday. And on the bathroom floor. Not bad for a 22-month-old.

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"Don't think about your mommy"

Zeke, a few weeks ago, trying to comfort a friend on the way to school:

Don't think about your mommy. And don't think about your daddy. I'm thinking about how nice it is inside our school. And about how nice our teachers are.

Talia has learned a new skill

Sorry for the long silence. There's no especially cogent explanation -- mainly, I don't seem to have collected many very good pictures, and it's only fairly recently that I managed to get my home computer working properly again. Anyhow, though, I intend to begin again, and to show I've turned over a new leaf, here's a nice webcam photo of Talia for you. I have a camera attached to the computer at home, and I was trying to prevail on Talia to do something cute for it. Like, for example, sing. Ordinarily she seems to sing pretty much constantly, except, I guess, when you want to show her off. Her favorite song is the alphabet, but she will repeat almost anything she hears anyone else singing. Anyhow, though, this is all I could get out of her.

Today's updates:

• 21:35 Zeke does some weird acrobatic move and then says, "I learned that from my shadow."
• 21:35 Me, to Zeke: "Was Euan mean to you?" Zeke: "You and me and who?"

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Today's updates:

• 13:38 Zeke (age 3), picking up a twig while getting into the car: "I'll bring this stick, in case there's trouble in the car."

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Kids playing in the morning

They both got a lot of sleep last night -- more than usual -- so they're in a really good mood.

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Today's updates:

• 17:08 Talia holds out her hand. "Slap hands," she says. I slap her five. She grins & immediately also gives a high-five to a bowl of cereal

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A cognitive milestone for Talia -- maybe

Today, when I picked the kids up from day care, Talia informed me: "Eat cake. Happy birthday to you." This was the first time I've heard her tell me, in a declarative way, about something that happened in the past. (There had been a little birthday party for one of the kids in her "class." She couldn't tell me whose birthday it was, but Zeke filled me in on the details.) In fact, I believe it's the first time I've ever heard her use language to describe something that was neither (1) immediately in front of her or (2) something she wanted us to get or do for her. Maybe I'm wrong, but this seems like a major cognitive milestone to me, in terms of how she uses language and how she thinks about events. I don't remember anything quite this dramatic with Zeke.

Here's something else -- two photos, showing Zeke at age 22 months and Talia at age 18 months (a few weeks ago). I think it's pretty striking -- you can really see how much alike they look.

Today's updates:

• 05:51 Zeke (3), at bedtime: "Daddy, I'm really old, and I'm about to die." Me: "Why?" Z.: "Because I've been playing for years and years."

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Froot Loops

Z.: I want to go with you to the store so you don't forget to buy Froot Loops.
Me: Why do you want Froot Loops?
Z.: Because they're very expectful to eat.
Me: What's "expectful"?
Z.: "Expectful" means, um, "really reliable."
Me: What does "really reliable" mean?
Z.: (after a pause) Poop.

Not sure where he ate Froot Loops, but I don't intend to buy any, just for the record.

Today's updates:

• 18:46 Talia shrieks. Heather: "Talia, what are you doing?" Talia: "Skeemin! I yike it!" ("Screaming! I like it!")

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Today's updates:

• 14:46 Zeke (age 3), after listening to Talia (age 1): "When I was little, I used to say: 'See this buggy-buttsy-boots.' That means 'Hell..

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