What a nice week

This was one of the nicest weeks! Chris got a long weekend thanks to Labor Day and the temperature has been absolutely wonderful. It's been so hot for so long that we are really enjoying the open window breeze (except Taylor, it's killing her allergies!) My niece Jessica spent the whole weekend with us, I love her so much!! We went to the dollar movies (yes, I'm cheap), went swimming and just hung out together as a family. Nowhere to be at any particular time and no one to impress, thus defining what a nice week(end) means to me!
Taylor has really settled into preschool and absolutely loves to go. I personally think she just enjoys the time away from our house and routine and the chance to be so "grown up." Danny has finally decided that it's not that big of a deal that she's gone for 2 1/2 hours. Actually he's really quite enjoying it! I had to do some special things with him for the first couple days to keep him from crying, but the other day he told me: "Mom, I wuve being your big boy helper!" "I wuve you mom, you're the best!" Wow. That is the best thing I've ever heard in my entire life! We've taken a couple trips to the store while Taylor was at school and Danny has been allowed to walk instead of riding in the cart...now this may not seem like a big deal to you, but for him (he's kinda distracted at the store, so to minimize his wandering I have made it a RULE that he ride in the cart) it's monumental! He is acting more grown up to match the new found freedom! I forgot how much easier it is to get things done with only one child!! Next year they'll both be in school for an overlaping amount of time! Whoa..WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?
I have been working hard with both kids to learn their letters (visually and phonetically), their colors and our phone number/address. (Taylor has shown some real issues with color.) And this weekend, both kids gave Grandma and Grandpa a little "talent show." They both showcased their ability to say the sounds of all 26 letters, count to 20 (14 for Danny), basic colors, recite our phone number and say where we lived! I am so proud of them! They also have started the basic math addition and subtraction where they count the number of objects and then we discuss how many are there when I add or subtract an object. I can't believe how much progress they are making with just a little effort and time. (I do have to give Leap Frog a lot of credit for their wonderful products!) I love my kids! They're the BEST!