We can't believe summer is almost over and we need to start preparing for our first fall and winter in Massachusetts.  The girls start preschool in two weeks. Kaelin will be going two full days and Keeley will be going two full days and two half days.  Aidan will finally get some solo time with Mommy and Daddy (at least for a few months anyway until Baby #4 arrives!). 

Aidan is 14 months old now!  His vocabulary continues to expand, he is repeating almost everything we say, and actually 50% of the time we the words sound very similar. In addition to his favorites names of people (he says "sista" - he can already pronounce "s", "sh" and "k" with clarity), his favorite action words are "on", "off", "up", "down", "more", etc., he learned "clock", "book", "shark", "pepper" and "boat" this week as well.  He is so intrigued by fish these days and goes crazy any time he sees them.  He's constantly going to one of the computers, pointing at them and wanting Daddy to put a fish video on "on!" he exclaims.   We'll be buying him a fish tank soon enough.  Of course, he is still very interested in trucks and balls this month and is beginning to get interested in drawing as well.  He eats just about anything (always wants three clementines and 3 scrambled eggs for breakfast!), but has slimmed down so much from all of his running around (frontward's and his new way of walking quickly backwards while he yells "back, back, back, back, back..."). He takes directions incredible well, you only need to tell him how to do something once and he remembers it over and over (like putting dirty clothes in the laundry, turning off the television, getting a new diaper or getting his shoes in the closet). He's somewhat of a neat freak and will stop in his tracks if he sees a piece of fluff or dirt on the ground--he'll pick it up, say "dirt" and proceed to the garbage to throw it out.

Kaelin is 28 months old.  She's very into playing games these days.  Loves to play keep away from Keeley.  She's fully potty trained now. She was completely ready about 7 or 8 months ago, but we were preparing to move and didn't want to start her while we were in transition.  When we were ready to start her two months ago, she had lost interest, so it was little challenging the first week or two, but now she is perfect at it and is so proud of herself.  She loves her new Bambi movie and wants to watch it every day.  She and Keeley have become so competitive the past couple of months. They both always exclaim "I don't like being second!" The way we can get them to do anything is to ask "Who is going to be first (e.g. to brush their teeth, get under the covers, finish their dinner, etc.).  Kaelin loves to paint, we'll showcase some of her watercolor paintings soon.

Keeley is 3 1/2.  We've been spending lots of time on her preschool books. She loves to learn, write her letters, play matching and "which one doesn't belong" type activities.  Naptime has been challenging lately, she's probably ready to give up her afternoon nap, but we are trying to keep her on a nap schedule with Kaelin for a few more months anyway.  We typically put the girls down at 2pm but them stay up chatting away and telling each other stories for at least an hour or so, it's so funny to stand outside their bedroom door and just listen to them. We asked Keeley if she wanted her own bedroom and she said "No, I want to share with Kaelin!".  Keeley loves to tell elaborate stories while playing along with the keyboard.  About a week ago she started rolling the letter "r" anytime she says a word with an "r" in it. It's very cute, very Spanish...(and probably picked up from Dora the Explorer....).

Upcoming birthdays & events include:

• September 5th Cousin Falyn's 7th Birthday
• September 19th Papa's 60th Birthday
• September 19th Auntie Kelley and Uncle Sean's 8th Wedding Anniversary
• October 5th Daddy's 35th Birthday
• October 15th Cousin Natalia's 3rd Birthday
• October 30th Uncle Tony's 42nd Birthday