3 years and 8.5 months of pure cuteness

these are some of my favorite pictures; candid jb and dilly. jack usually does the most spontaneous gestures. i love when he smooches her on the head or gives her a boop! on the nose. and now that dylan is mobile, she's eager to share her slobbery slime. she's one of those babies that has to taste everything in finger's reach, leaving behind her trademark dribble. jack has come to expect this as the months have gone by, and he's quick to grab a tissue to clean her up. (but not before announcing "no, didi! shobberly!" i have only myself to blame for his neatness...)

it's really no act, seeing these two together. jack loves his little sister. there is the occasional swipe of a toy or mine! but his actions are almost always heartfelt. he is quick to tell her it's ok, didi when she is upset or rush to pick up a dropped toy from her high chair. he is forever blowing on her belly, sending her into fits of giggles. seeing my two loves together brings me immense joy. i can't express it enough.

like i said before, dylan is on the move. she does a combination of full-out crawling and army-style. she can still get around faster by pulling the carpet and pushing off with her monkey feet. like jack, she gets a determined face: where her lips pucker and the scowl forms on her forehead (also my fault). it's usually when she spots a toy she's not regularly given. (see: die-cast cars and/or trucks)

the top teeth are en route! i spotted the "white gums" earlier this afternoon, and you know they're close when they look like that. and of course, the drool is a good indication. she hasn't seemed as fussy with these just yet, but her bottom two gave her hell.

can you believe she's approaching nine months? nine months. we're gonna be cleaning birthday cake out of her hair before we know it!

jb is a total goofball. he surprised me earlier this week by trying on my jeans while i was in the other room. we have been working on putting on our own undies, sweatpants, etc. so he obviously was looking to practice some more. we are also close on the potty training business. we've been venturing out in big boy pants, and so far - no accidents! we make it a routine to go before we leave the house, then i ask him at the store or he holds it until we get home. his teachers at school are very supportive as well, so on thursday, we are going big boy pants. he loves his undies; he tells me he's proud when he wears them. however, he's still wet when he wakes from his 2.5 hour naps, so i can't go cold turkey on the pull-ups just yet. i feel he's ready to make this next step, and i've listened to him this entire process.

he is such a sweet boy. for all the negative times we've gone through together, he's now rewarding me with such charming behavior. my favorite jackie phrase of the moment: yes, mama, please. those countless hours of communicating manners are finally showing through. before he would just announce that i fawted, now he says scuse me, mama, please when i don't even know why he's excusing himself. he says scuse me as he's driving trucks over his sister's back, over my feet in the kitchen and his animals if they're laying about on the floor. quite the polite little dude.

wrinkle face! roar!