Mary Clement is 19 mo. today, and she wants to say HELLO, which sounds like AYE-YA!

Here's she's hoarding toys from friend and neighbor Cormac. Turns out that if you can climb into chairs but your frenemy can't, you have quite the advantage over him. Also note that she still loves to chew on everything!

I snapped the next shot when she slipped out the door as quick as a flash to be "one of the boys". This girl can climb. She was on top of this picnic table in no time:

"Mother, are you seriously incapable of ironing my Sunday dress?"

This day she stomped around the neighborhood like a fashionista, strutting. Really, strutting. Where did she learn this?

A ladybug costume hand-me-down from Ayrah. Harry had as much fun dressing her up as she did:

Harry's constant "morning chore" helper. She throws them in, he arranges. His other morning chore is to take all the trash from the little trash cans and throw it into the kitchen trash, which looks like him pointing at each trash can, her picking it up or pushing it following Harry, who does the dumping. She then pushes the little trash can to its designated spot:

My baby doll:

Charmed

Jackson lost a front tooth last night, while eating spaghetti of all things (the other front tooth is barely hanging on, making for a snaggly-toothed boy, as you can see.) He's lost one bottom tooth already, for which he received a dollar coin from the Tooth Fairy. This time he wrote a note with his tooth, requesting two 50-cent pieces. I didn't know he knew such a thing existed. The Tooth Fairy apparently didn't have time to procure these coins b/c she wrote the following note:

Dear Master Jackson,

Thank you for your note. I regret to inform you that I do not have 50-cent pieces. I prefer them myself, but for some time now the Main Office has required all fairies to carry dollar coins. No explanation was given - just one of those bureaucratic oddities that can't be accounted for. May I suggest, however, that you exchange this coin for 50-cent pieces at a local bank? They are generally willing to accommodate polite young boys on such matters.

Until Next Time,

The Tooth Fairy

P.S. Yes, this is a very fine tooth. Please do keep any supply you have for me.

Our Household Tooth Fairy sounds a lot like a dapper and handsome 30-something in our house. I think I'm going to like her; she's charming.

Icy Days

Today is a "snow day", though with homeschooling, every day is a snow day! While picking Matthew up last night on the way to the Budziszewskis (we carpooled with the Stokes), Betsy snapped these photos of the fountain & tower near Matthew's building.