Sand!

Well, still no pictures. They were playing so well together the other night sitting at the table reading to each other (very, very sweet and cute) and I wanted to get a picture, but I was too lazy to go get the camera out of the car in the pouring rain since I figured the moment would be gone by the time I got back in. Maybe I will get some tonight - or tomorrow on one of my last Fridays off (so sad). We went to a friend's house last night for a baby shower/end of season tennis party and the kids discovered the sandbox she has in her backyard. They were such a mess, but Tyler especially had fun digging in the sand and filling up the truck. At the beach, it was more about the water, but I suspected that Tyler would be a fan of digging! They also had a blast climbing up the "big kid" ladder and sliding down the looong slide. Lance was helping them down, and I was standing behind them on the ladder so I couldn't see their faces (although I heard the squeals of delight), but he said that Tyler was smiling his so sweet and sincere smile the entire time and just looked like he was experiencing "pure joy." Katie did pretty good with all of the strangers - just a couple of moments where she got overwhelmed and wanted to be held. Tyler was caught off guard by the huge German Shepherd that greeted him at the door and the one following him, not to mention the 15 people all smiling and cooing at him so he was very hesitant for a while. He had his arms wrapped around Lance's neck and his head down and he wouldn't even look up or even let go (not even for his favorite - crackers) for about 30 minutes. By the end, though, he didn't even seem to notice the dog that was licking his ear and begging for food, and he was taking full advantage of being up past bedtime (we didn't leave there until 8:00 or so) by getting a crazy and funny second wind that made him run like a maniac from the kitchen to the living room and back again. Their daycare says that Katie is still spending more time in time-out than she is in playtime, and she has had a few episodes, but for the most part she is responding well to my new tactic - excessive praise either for something she is doing right, or something that Tyler is doing that I want her to do as well (like get dressed, sit in carseat, or eat).