can we all just agree that life with little dudes is totally exhausting?

today i got to hang out with the nephews almost all day! and boy howdy, am i tired. the visit has been great so far, though. some highlights include:

•the fact that nephew #1 now says my name.*

•the leafy dance party that nephew #1 and i enjoyed, which involved both of us (but more frequently just me) raking up a big pile of leaves, and then the two of us taking turns dancing all around in the leaves and copying each other's moves. and if you have never had a copycat leaf pile dance party with a two year old, you should really look into doing that as soon as possible.

•the walk that nephew #1 and i took around (and around and around) the house, holding hands the whole time.

•nephew #2 smiling and laughing and laughing and smiling.

•a joint nephew #1-auntie SEE-wah photo session that produced some of the cutest pictures to never hit the internet.

*oh p.s.: my name is now pronounced "SEE-wah."

and now i must go pass out immediately. i hope you also got to have some good times today. goodnight.

i understand.

[nephew #1 is having a tough time waking up from his nap and it's making him super whiny and tearful.]

nephews' mama: "i know you're tired."
nephew #1: [whimpering, starting to cry]
nephews' mama: "why don't you get elmo chair?"
nephew #1: [getting louder]
nephews' mama: "do you need some cheese?"
nephew #1: [stops crying] "yes."

can we all just agree that two year olds can be hilarious?

today i was talking to the nephews' mama on the telephone, and nephew #1 was hanging out being awesome. she was telling me about an abandoned dog, and all of the sudden, nephew #1 starts singing (to the tune of "the farmer in the dell," in that funny, super-high voice that the tiny ones have) "ABANDONING THE DOG! ABANDONING THE DOG! HI-HO-THE-MERRY-O, ABANDONING THE DOG!"

the nephews' mama was pretty surprised. but nephew #1 wasn't done. once silly mommy and silly auntie sarah had stopped laughing about the first song, he switched to "THE FARMER IN THE TEA! THE FARMER IN THE TEA! HI-HO-THE-MERRY-O, THE FARMER IN THE TEA!"

and then he started making himself laugh (almost hysterically) with his own funniness. man, i wish i didn't live so far away from those folks.

can we all just agree that nephews can be totally hilarious too?

nephew #1 loves cows. like loves them loves them. he gets to spend time hanging out with cows, too, so he has a more realistic idea of cows than other little dudes who might just read about them in books or something.

one of the manifestations of this superior understanding of cows in theory and in practice is that he's got a great "moo" going. it isn't "moo," necessarily; it's more like "mnuuuuuhhnh." also, it is awesome.

the other day we were all in the car together, and there weren't any cows in the field on his side of the car (which is a major bummer, of course). he kept mooing (or mnuuuuuhhnhing, as it were,) and his mama said, "[nephew #1], there aren't any cows right now. let's keep looking, and i think we'll see some pretty soon!"

nephew #1 replied, "mnuuuuuhhnh. pease*?"

*you know, "please" for the folks who haven't yet mastered consonant blends?

and it was awesome.

can we all just agree that nephew #1 is hilarious?

nephew #1 is very committed to saying, "excuse me" when he burps or farts. since he's two, it sounds more like "me me" (also, remember that two year olds have really high voices. adorable.) he also excuses other people by name ("me me, [nephew #1's rendering of nephew #2's name]!" "me me, mommy!")

his commitment to excusing himself and others also extends to sneezing, and hiccups. yes, hiccups. this leads to him saying things like:

"hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me."

and i miss him already.

can we all just agree that there's really nothing quite like hearing your almost-23-month-old nephew saying your name over the telephone to melt your

little heart?

here is what happened:

nephews' mama: "[nephew #1], i'm talking to auntie sarah."
nephew #1: "sarah!?"

good heavens he's adorable and i can't wait to see him again soon soon soon.

the nephews' mama is nothing if not reasonable.

nephew #1 has spilled some water on the floor (which is what happens sometimes when a person is using a big boy cup.) nephews' mama is getting him a towel so that he can clean it up, when she says,

"what are you doing, [nephew #1]? we're not going to add to the water on the floor by peeing."

i love those folks.

can we all just agree that the nephews' mama is amazing?

today, while we were talking on the telephone, she said, "[nephew #1], can you go take the letter H out of brother's mouth?"

it's no wonder her kids are totally brilliant.

can we all just agree that going to visit the nephews is really exciting?

so very soon! nephew #1 is very excited too; he knows that he gets to go to the airport and see the airplanes and the baggage claim, and that auntie sarah is coming to visit too. i'm totally fine with taking second place behind the first ever trip to the airport. oh man i can't wait!

can we all just agree that two year olds are rad?

i was taking pictures of nephew #1 while he was eating a muffin. he said something i couldn't understand, and held the muffin right up to his forehead, then smiled for the picture. his mom, who is more or less fluent in his very own variety of weird alien little kidspeak, cracked up, and when she was finally able to translate for me, i learned that he was saying, "smile, muffin!"

oh dude, and the picture came out super cute too.