Fall/winter memories

It is amazing to me that Miriam is a month away from being 3.  How have the past 3 years gone that quickly?  I went back and looked at my "spring/summer memories" post from last July, and Miriam's already changed so much since that time, I thought I'd do another one.  And, of course, now we've got precious memories of Mathias as well.  :)

Here are some things that make me smile, laugh, and/or tear up when I think about my sweet kids:

-Miriam sleeping with 4 blankets and 5 stuffed animals (we call it her "entourage") every night, each one with a specific place

-Miriam's constant singing around the house, and the way she mixes up words to the songs (Today on the way home from preschool, she was singing "Icky Sticky Bubble Gum", except she was saying "Inky Stinky Gubble Bum", over and over)

-Miriam's mothering instinct that has kicked in since we've had Mathias...she mothers her teddy.  She wraps teddy up, makes sure teddy is warm, feeds teddy, gives teddy medicine, etc.  She's very sweet to her teddy (and to Mathias!)

-Mathias' sweet, gummy smiles when you smile at him, or play (slow) peek-a-boo

-Mathias' little giggles, where he opens his mouth really wide and kind of inhales as he laughs

-Miriam's new-found love of her household responsibilities.  She's in charge of keeping the napkin holder stocked, putting away her clean pajamas, matching her socks, and helping Mario unload the dishwasher.  She takes them very seriously and has been known to exclaim "Oh no!  There are no more napkins!  I need to put more in there!"

-Miriam asking "Where are my friends?" when we are waiting outside her preschool classroom waiting for her classmates to arrive, and her interest in staying after preschool and playing with them on the playground

-The way Miriam plays pretend with her stuffed animals, play food and Magna Tiles to create elaborate houses, beach parties (like tea parties) and food dishes

-The way Mathias snuggles his little head into my neck (tucks it between my chin and shoulder) and sleeps there...I cherish those moments

-Miriam's knowledge of the zoo...where all the animals are located, the route that we take around the zoo, the names of almost all of the animals, and how she says (if we don't see a certain animal on that trip) "Oh well...maybe next time.", accompanied by a shrug.

-The way she shouts "Love you Mama!" "Love you Mathias!" "Love you Daddy!" every night before bed

-Miriam's new love of photography, and how she (very seriously) holds the camera, points it carefully and then takes a picture

And lastly, the thing that makes us laugh every day....what we call Miriam's "elephant" memory.  It seems like she never forgets anything....either things she's done, or things we've told her we will be doing.
*We pass a parking garage on the way to preschool....she said it was like the one at the airport from when we picked up Grandma.
*I told her in the morning we could visit the ice cream shop as a treat when Mario got home...and he walks in the door and she yells with excitement "We get to go to the ice cream shop!"