look who's talking

max's newest phrase is "no hanks" [no thanks].  i don't know where he picked this up--he seems to learn things by osmosis!  it's hilarious how polite and sweet he can be saying this, but then also so insistent and stubborn when he yells it! 

• max, do you want a drink?  "ummmm, no hanks."
•  max, do you want to play with this truck?  "no hanks"
• are you hungry?  "no hanks."  
• let's get your shoes on and get ready to go.  "no hanks"
• (while tickling him mercilessly) "no hanks!  giggle giggle no hanks!  giggle giggle no hanks!"
• it's time for bed, max, let's go get pj's on.  "no HANKS!"  (while stomping a foot)
• if pace tries to take a toy, or drives up beside him blaring his emergency sirens, or pretends to be a grabber truck...max shouts "NO HANKS!" (and sometimes accompanies that with a hitting, foot-stomping, shrieking, and general banshee-ness)

pace has always been a thinker.  he has always loved learning about where things come from, how they work, where they go.  i think his brain actually never stops...you can almost see his gears turning.  pace has lately taken to sharing bits of trivia when he wakes up from his nap*, which makes me smile inside and out.

• mommy, when daddy gets home i want to tell him about gravity that makes things go up and down
• hey, mama, did you know bees need pollen and water and nectar to make honey?
• did you know lighthouses guide boats to shore to stay safe?
• hey mama, guess what?!  i can sing the whole song of puff the magic dragon!
• i will sometimes pick him up and give him a good squish and tease him, "pace, i think you grew during your nap!  pace, did you grow?!  are you getting bigger?!"  one day last week he looked at me and said, "but i'm only twelve inches long!"

*naptime is being redefined for pace.  i usually put the boys down between 130/2, and they wake up between 4/5.  pace definitely still needs a nap, especially on school days...but there are other days when i think he's fallen asleep because it's so quiet upstairs, and then 45-60 minutes later, pace will come down the stairs and tell me his "eyes are done being tired."  i will later find a huge pile of books by his bed that he tackled before coming down.  he's at the stage, though, where if he takes that much-needed nap, he then lays in bed, wide-eyed, staring at the ceiling, gears turning, until 11pm.  if he doesn't take a nap, he'll a) crash around 4pm and fall asleep sitting up, b) get really hyper, or c) get really ornery, unless we expertly read him and know exactly how to maneuver any given situation.  i'm glad he at least takes 45 minutes of "quiet book time", even if he isn't sleeping...getting bigger is hard!