This morning at breakfast, Katherine held out two closed fists and asked me where her raisin was. "In your mouth" I replied with a smile.

She was indignant and asked "How did you know that?"

Of course, my answer was, "Mommies know everything."

She paused for just a second before announcing, "Well, I'm smarter than you are! I can do rhymes! Cat-Hat, Chair-Bear, House-Mouse. I'm the smartest in the whole entire world!"

And so started another day in our life!

We've all been busy, but Abby has been the busiest. She's in constant motion - either practicing her walking, or scooting because it's faster. She has 2 hand signals associated with walking. Holding one hand up means "Please extend your finger so that I can hold it for balance while I walk." If she holds both hands in the air it means, "I'm tired of this walking game and I want you to pick me up!" She also found time in the last 2 weeks to develop an ear infection. She's halfway through her meds now and clearly feeling better. I'm just glad that the high fevers are gone - there is nothing more pathetic than a feverish child! She has also decided that sitting on the bottom step of the stairs is the perfect place to be. You'll find her there, just sitting, or perhaps clapping her hands or singing to herself. Her current favorite song is "Itsy Bitsy Spider."

You heard it here first: Katherine is going to be very sad when Maggie goes back to school. Even though she'll have her own preschool 3 days a week, I predict this year will be even harder for Katherine. She and Maggie are constantly playing together. They create elaborate story lines with "PetShop" in their room, they play never ending games of "house" in the basement, they create parking lots and houses, and daycares and school outside. I love to watch them play, and I try to sneak close enough to eavesdrop a little too. I love that they get along so well (except when they don't) and I hope that I will make a suitable play-partner for Katherine when Maggie is in school all day!

Last weekend we took a quick "mini-vacation" to Evanston. Because we live close enough, we rarely spend the night at Gram and PopPop's. But the girls ask every time we visit if this will be the time they get to have a sleepover at Gram's. This trip, it was finally Sleepover Time! They packed their suitcases 3 times before we left. The first 2 times they tried to pack toys and books, without any essentials. The third time, they actually got it right - and without any help from me! They remembered clothes, toothbrushes, and even a sweatshirt, just in case it might get cold.

Maggie has been very interested in the idea of a Subway Train, so we planned our first trip underground. They girls had ridden on the 'EL' with their cousins Edward and Daniel before, but never downtown, in the subway, UNDERGROUND! It was quite a thrill. Once downtown, we walked over to the John Hancock building to meet my friend Tracy. She works on the 33rd floor, and invited us to her office to watch the Chicago Air and Water Show. It was awesome. We had great seats, great company, no crowds, and plenty of air conditioning! And Maggie even got to pose with a real Gatorade National Player of the Year Trophy; probably her only chance to get so close to it: )

On Monday it was off to The Museum of Science and Industry. We had so much fun. I hadn't been there in probably 20 years, so it was essentially new to all of us. The girls thought the kid area was awesome - with water tables and balls and puzzles, dollhouse, pulleys, gears. They might have stayed there all day! We managed to get them into a few other exhibits and they found there was plenty of cool stuff at this museum. They're already asking how soon we can go back. Maggie studied a museum map on the way home, reading about everything we missed!

We stopped to have lunch with Aunt Nora after the museum. Dad got to the restaurant first and found there were 2 parking spots right out in front. Of course he did what any loving father would do: he pulled in and then kept his car moving forward and back, saving the spot for our car. What a guy! Inside the restaurant Abby kept us entertained by shaking and dancing to the music and enjoying a 'Blue Moon' soaked orange slice from her Aunt Nora.

After lunch we had a brief visit to a "City Park" (my girls think anything with "city" in its name is awesome) before heading home. We had such a fun time!

Last night we had Maggie's last softball game. Although it was tedious at times, and the mosquitoes were vicious, it was a fun experience for her. She certainly improved over the 8 weeks, and has mentioned that she'd like to try it again next summer. Hmmm, we'll have to see about that!

And finally, let's take a moment to celebrate that it was cool enough yesterday to wear Jeans. Full length blue jeans! It was delightful! Of course, Abby is full of Attitude in this picture, due to her dislike of her hair accessory. But still, JEANS! And wearing jeans meant half as many bites at the game last night! The mosquitoes swarmed our heads, not our legs. Fantastic!