More from the big trip

Ok, first an apology because I'm getting woefully behind here. (Isn't woefully a great word??) But I have a lame excuse, I have tried like 3 different nights to post on here but it wouldn't allow me to put pictures on. I don't think it works well with Firefox but who knows? So for once I'm allowed to post this morning, so here goes.

These are the pics done by Kings Island because Daddy forgot the camera after naps. So we paid a pretty penny for pics where my children are not even looking but they were so enthralled by Dora and Diego it didn't matter. I'm pretty sure that this may have been the greatest moment in their short lives.

Here is Ethan meeting "Eggo." That look is his "I don't know what to think about this" look, but my fear that they would be scared of the giant foam characters was quickly assuaged as they grabbed them in huge hugs first thing.
Here is a particularly crappy pic of Emma but a good one of "Dora Dora." I have no idea why she has two names to my kids but she always has, along with Spongebob ("Bob bob") and Bob the BUilder (also "Bob bob). Emma hugged her about 8 times and the person who plays the Dora character was great, she even put her hands up to her mouth like Emma was doing so it looked like Dora was giggling along with Emma. And then...
We had the audacity to walk away and leave Dora to the throngs of other kids. I was holding Emma's hand and so didn't see the tears welling up til it was too late. I look down and see the most ginormous tears ever welling in her eyes, and then she just...loses it. That's all I can say. I believe, as my husband said, that Emma experienced the greatest moment of her life, and the worst (leaving Dora) in the same 5 minute span. She was thoroughly unconvinced that we couldn't just leave here there and didn't care when we said we'd miss her if she moved in with Dora. But we do have the above photo to commemorate the greatest and worst day.

On a side note, how did my kids develop such vocabularies overnight? It seems like just a month ago their sentences consisted of "yellow truck" and "Mommy take." Yet just yesterday and this morning, I've heard the following sentences:

Emma: "Mommy, my crib is soaked." (diapie leak!)
"I need a strawberry NOW!"
"Mommy, make me some ponytails"

Ethan: "Mommy, I need a strawberry too."
"I want Ethan's Diego sheets."
"I want to lay in my bed now."

They went from 2 to 10 in a month!! I can't believe they actually speak in full sentences, it seems weird, especially when they enunciate each word, like Emma often does. The other night she was being ignored briefly while we were fighting to get Ethan to sleep and then all the sudden, she says "I. WANT. APPLESAUCE. NOW!" Huge pauses between every word. I'm thinking she had been asking for it for a while. It was so funny that I actually gave her the applesauce, which she ate then went promptly to bed.

I will try to do more later, as I got some cute 4th of July pics I think...and I still have the zoo to do. The story of my life, several days late and several dollars short!