The Pick-me-up

So... Every morning we have a routine.  It isn't one I am particularly proud of but here it goes.  Evie comes and wakes us up (or finds us if we are already up) and lets us know it is time for chocolate milk.  So we give her and Jonah a carnation in a sippy cup, file the kids in the car and take Joey to work.  It all started to try and fortify Evie's breakfast to get her to gain weight - but that is another story for another time.
Yesterday morning Evie got up and Jonah got up and we all headed in to the kitchen for our morning milk chug.  Joey sat down and both of the kids swarmed at him like bees do to a bowl of fruit and began to whine and beg.  Upon response Joey says, "Ahh! I'm being attacked by a bunch of kids! What do I do!!!" Not skipping a beat Evie says (still in her whining but mother-like tone), "Pick us up!"
You know, as I write it, it isn't nearly as funny as when it happened.  Maybe it is one of those had-to-be-there experiences.

Life is so good right now!!! I get to see Joey all the time! Currently he works in the morning and then works from home in the afternoon.  We have been going on walks in the evening after it cools off - it often conflicts with the kids' bed time but I think it is worth it.  Whenever we are walking and talking about nothing but everything I always think to myself, "Wow, I am sure glad I am here or else I wouldn't be experiencing this moment right now."  You may be thinking, "DUH", but if we had been off to Med. School these moments and memories we are creating as a family wouldn't have been.  It is funny because I thought since I have know Joey for 8 or so years now that I would know all of his stories but on these long walks I am hearing new ones! AND I LOVE IT!!! We talked for hours on the phone as young twitter pated folk and so I have heard most of them.  But I like that I am still getting to know the man I love... and I love him more.  (Cheesy, I know...but true.)

Jonah surprised us all with his hidden vocabulary.  A week ago, he was sitting at the table eating a snack with Evie and she turns to him and say, "Say Bowl." And he said it.  Then she says, "Say cup." Once again "cup".  Followed with a "say spoon." And yes, he said spoon!!! I was shocked!!!!! I thought he only knew the 8 or 9 words perviously listed on another post.  Since then, I have been asking him -testing the water if you will- to see what else he has been holding back.  As of today he says the following:
Nana- Banana
Zazoo - the dog
Dape- Grape
E- Evie
Nonah- Jonah
Animal sounds- Moo, Quack, Baa, Ruff (that one just sounds like a grunt), and Meow.
Boat- he says boat for everything, whether it be a car, airplane, motorcycle, or an actual boat. (I have to say this because it is funny, he is scared of airplanes. Him and Evie will be outside playing and he will come running inside as fast as his little legs will take him almost shaking and pointing up at the sky with fear all over his face.  I say, "Did you see an airplane?"  He says, "uhuh" or  "boat" and points again.  Then he walks back out there like it was no big deal. )
Air- he said it once when I asked him while trying to learn airplane, but hasn't ever used it since.
Out

Pease- please
No
Mine (hard to recognize but it is there)
Bed
Cow
Dog
Cat
Car
Di- drive (Evie and him say while driving their plates and waiting for dinner to start.)
Words he already knew (mama, dada, hi, bye, cheese, up, more, ball, fish)

It is crazy how fast his vocabulary has picked up.  It feels like he learns a new word everyday.  Now my job is to get him to use the vocabulary he knows.  He has a tendency to just point at what he wants and I say the word and he says, "uhuh!" and he smiles.  Bribing him doesn't work like it did with Evie.  He just refuses to do what I ask even more.  I guess I have to encourage him but act like it doesn't matter.