Who They Are Right Now

Right now:

:: they are both still sleeping.

:: Annie falls asleep listening to her Suzuki piano CD or reading a Magic School Bus book in bed most every night.

:: Jemma has progressed to being able to swim underwater half the length of the indoor pool at the gym.

:: their shoulders are a deep, smooth shade of brown, no matter how diligent I am about the sunscreen.

:: they still fill afternoons playing "dog," "baby," and "school."

:: I sometimes catch Jemma kissing her finger, then pressing her finger to the photo of herself and next-door neighbor J that's on our refrigerator.  (I told his mom.)

:: they love picking the snap peas from the garden and eating them raw before we even come inside.

:: they want to learn about sea anemones, shapes, artists, germs, cooking shows, and music.

:: they can identify a U2 song on the radio within ten seconds, and refer to anything by James Taylor as "Sweet Baby James."

:: they spent a portion of last week's Whitecaps game learning about strikes, balls, and outs from their patient daddy.

:: they have each grown about two inches since Christmas.

:: they are still one another's very best friend.