Stages and Changes

AK's new favorite bedtime activity is to "read" Goodnight Moon and find the mouse. It is incredibly cute to hear her chant, "Mouse! Mouse! Mouse!" as I turn the page and say, "Uhh...THERE!" as she finds him, but at this point she knows where the mouse is on every page, and while it was really really adorable the first few times on the first night, by flip-through number four on night number three, it is definitely bordering on mind-numbing for me.

Just like grown ups, little kids love to feel smart and as if they know everything they need to know. For toddlers, like AK, they are smart enough to realize that practice makes perfect, and you can totally nail something if you do it enough times.

LP, on the other hand, has moved out of this stage. Now she really just wants to KNOW EVERYTHING. And not just in terms of knowledge (how do babies get out again?); she is a total busy body. Her teachers tell us that she is a great helper and a "problem solver." When the Hoos asked what exactly they meant by this, they explained, "If two kids are fighting she will get in between them to mediate. "

I am wondering if, kind of like AK and the mouse, this is really sweet the first few times but increasingly less desirable as the day wears on. I know I am constantly reminding LP that I am the mommy and that I am in charge of AK, not her. (Although, honestly, AK seems to think she has a handle on this without needing either of us - even if it does mean jumping off the couch).

Last night the Hoos was flipping through my 2008 blog book (not by choice, I kind of handed it to him to show him something) and he was fascinated by the photos and how much the girls had changed. "We need to make extra copies and put these in the safe deposit box to save for the girls." TALK ABOUT CHANGING! Mind you, the Hoos still hasn't read most of my blog entries ("I live it, I don't need to read about it.") but it is sweet that he is starting to realize the value of my blog as an archive.