Parent Teacher Conferences

Today I had brief formal meetings with both LP's and AK's teachers. They really try to emphasize that day care is a learning situation and not just glorified baby-sitting (which makes me personally feel a bit less guilty).

The family conference forms are really by the book. While they are filled out for each child, they pull phrases from a curriculum book highlighting age-appropriate developmental goals.

For example, AK, who talks up a storm, got this note: uses simple sentences and questions with three or more words. Three or more words? Pshaw!

LP's teacher elaborated a bit more on LP's form, saying both: offers play theme and scenario under the goal "To Learn About the World" and expanding under "Favorite Activities and Special Interests": She likes playing in dramatic play, coming up with themes and acting out a scenario :).

No matter what the forms say, I know my babies are learning and growing at a rapid pace. Remember when AK looked like this and LP looked like this?

Learning From Life

Last night the ladies were in rare form. It took us way too long to get out of the day care center and I had to physically force both girls into their carseats so that we could get home.

Learning objective: Learning how to resist the urge to follow our friends and instead LISTEN TO OUR MOMMY.

Fortunately by the time we got home the tears were over - at least briefly. AK had what I guess was a tantrum for no apparent reason. I didn't yell or force anything on her and she just flipped out. Wanted to be in her chair. Didn't want to be in her chair. Wanted to eat. Didn't want to eat. Wanted this fork. Wanted that fork. Wanted to carry her bowl into the dining room. Wanted her bowl to disappear.

Learning objective: Using our words to convey our emotions instead of our bodies.

I managed to convince the girls that it would be SUPER FUN to change their sheets. Actually, this wasn't too hard, they like the concept. Especially jumping on the mattresses.

Learning objective: Making work fun makes it more bearable. (Good luck applying that in the office.)

In the meantime, AK was wandering around sans bottoms (this followed a diaper change and was right before a bath so I didn't want to waste a diaper). LP decided to follow suit, removing her panties. AK decided to put on said panties. I then spent the next half hour neurotically asking AK if she had to pee. She didn't end up peeing in the panties, which is good. But she also didn't pee on the potty.

Learning objective: Not peeing around the house is cool. Peeing on the potty is cooler. Sharing underwear, less cool.

Logistical Nightmare and Sweet Dreams

The other night LP woke up at 1:45 am for no apparent reason. She wasn't crying, she didn't claim to have a nightmare, she was just awake. She showed up at our bedside four times in 15 minutes. Each time the Hoos and I would patiently walk her back her room and coax her to return to the warmth of her bed. It was not until the Hoos' final trip that she actually stayed put.
Yesterday, at a more decent hour, I asked him what he had said to get her to agree to go back to sleep. "I told her that she wasn't being fair and that Mommy and Daddy needed sleep too." Really? He was using logic with a 3.5 year old? And it worked?

On the sweet side, AK continues to transform into one of the cutest little people you have ever seen. The other night she and LP were playing so nicely together all I wanted to do was watch instead of using the opportunity to accomplish things. AK would call out, "Night-night, Didi!" and LP would lay down on the floor with her head on a couch cushion. AK would then cover her gently with a blanket, taking several attempts to cover her completely - AK is a bit of a perfectionist. Little sister would than bend down over her big sister and rub her back, singing "Night-night, Didi."

Yesterday the Hoos had two silly stories to share from his adventures in getting the girls to school. First, he was so impressed that AK was pointing to her head and saying "head." She really does know all of her body parts. So much so that when the Hoos clapped and told her she was doing a good job, she pointed a bit lower and cried out, "Boobies!" He tried to convince her that she meant "belly" and moved her hands a bit lower, but she was having none of it, "Boobies!" I guess she is learning from her sister after all.

Once they arrived at school, AK continued to show the Hoos what a strategist she is. She ran to the open side of her classroom that was devoid of children. She immediately grabbed three baby dolls and clutched them to her chest before a teacher nabbed her and brought her over to the side with the rest of the children. She then positioned herself in a corner, holding the babies tightly as her friends began circling. One at a time they would reach out a hand to try to requisition the babies and were waved (and screeched) off by my tiny munchkin. She was having none of it, having obviously learned how to fend for herself against LP.

Which leads me to my last "story" of the post, pick up time. When AK and I entered LP's classroom, the students were sitting on the floor in a circle playing a matching game. LP wasn't really interested in leaving. AK didn't mind hanging out. She thinks she belongs in LP's classroom anyway. LP called AK over and the little peanut slowly backed herself up and sat in LP's lap. LP was so proud, calling out, "Hey! Look at [AK]! Look at [AK]!"

I Learned it by Watching YOU, Dad!

Remember those Public Service Announcements? Am I dating myself?

I really think that nature and nurture strike a delicate balance in our house.

Nurture
As is typical of a Monday morning, no one in our house wanted to get out of bed. Over the weekend, LP arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at my bedside around 7:15. Today, not so much. It is like she has already joined the working world of people that dread Monday.

The Hoos snoozed for at least half an hour, finally getting up way closer to 8 than he should have. The ladies also slept in, both of them waking close to 8:30. Fortunately, day care had a two-hour delayed opening, so we didn't really need to rush. But if it had been a "normal" Monday - it would have been a real bummer.

Nature
AK loves the snow. Both girls are really enjoying the new sled they got on the last night of Chanukah (good timing, eh?). AK loves the snow so much that she refuses to keep her gloves on. All she wants to do is pick it up and eat it. Which is okay for nice, clean snow. Not so much for the snow that accumulates on the bottom of her shoes. This is NOT learned behavior.

A New Person

Have I mentioned lately what a sweetheart my AK is? Aside from the random and incredibly loud shrieks she emits on occasion, she really is a lovely little muffin. And she is truly becoming a little individual, far from the baby she was a year ago.

• She has named her pacifier "Buhbee." She will ask me for it, especially if she sees one on the counter.
  
• If she has a buhbee in her mouth and wants something else - usually food, she will throw the paci to the floor to make room for the new item.


• She knows that she is not supposed to have her pacifier outside of her crib; if the Hoos or I bring her into our bed in the morning and we let her keep her paci in hopes of getting more rest it will only work for a short period of time. Eventually she will slide out of our bed, run to her room, put the pacifier into her crib through the slats and run back yelling "breakfast!"


• She has started singing my name to get my attention. It sort of sounds like Tarzan "Maaaa-aaaa-meeee!"

I'll keep her.

Top: AK now (18 mos.) and at 6 mos. Bottom: For comparison purposes LP at 18 mos. - in the same PJs no less!

Left in the Dust

Apparently my girls celebrated birthdays or at least jumped ahead a few years in terms of their development and forgot to tell me.

After reneging on wearing underwear to bed Thursday night, LP has been wearing it every night since! And as she will tell you, "I don't pee in the middle of the night and I stay dry!" HOORAY!

She has also become a gum chewing expert (I know, she shouldn't really have it, but it is the ultimate inexpensive bribery tool for her), she hasn't swallowed it or gotten it in her hair - yet.

We also finally picked out her Halloween costume. Shockingly, she will be Tinkerbell. Before buying it for her I made her understand and repeat that she will have to wear a shirt and pants under the pretty, light-weight dress (it was in the 30s here this weekend!!!). I think what really sold her on it were the cheap plastic clip-on earrings that came with it,"Mommy, do they stick in my ears? No, they do on like hair clips? Oh? Can I get real earrings? Not till I'm big? But Isabella has them and she is three like me."

Not to be outdone, AK has enjoyed sneaking sips from my iced coffee (LP took one taste when she was little and spit it out, never to try to drink from my cups again, AK is apparently a decaffeine fiend). She also has this awesome new thing of telling us when she is ready for bed, climbing out of my arms, sidling up to the crib, and pointing.

AK is also eagerly attempting to repeat words. One of her new favorites is, "Yesssssh!" Which is much better than "No". Actually, I am not sure that she uses "No" yet, not that I am complaining. There will be plenty of time for her to use that word - just ask LP...

Teaching Tact

Saturday night we went on a family date. My little family of four went over to the home of another little family of four for pizza and make your own sundaes. Our kids are exactly the same age and for the most part get along splendidly. In fact, I think the littlest buggers - AK and WMK - are in love, although AK is coy about it, because she smiled but didn't kiss back when her boyfriend smooched her.

Anyway, Chlo-Chlo is all about princesses and dress up. LP was in heaven. Within a minute of us entering their pristine home, both girls had stripped down to their skivvies and were pulling costumes out of the playroom with great fanfare. Apparently, both chose ballet outfits for the first act.

LP walks out with a huge smile in a tutued leotard on backwards. The low cut v that was supposed to be in the back? Was in the front practically exposing her ninnies and navel. She was like the toddler J. Lo. Very fashion forward.

Lesson 400, "Now that you know how to dress yourself, make sure you do it right." Crucial because the Hoos couldn't tell that the leotard was backwards and would have dressed LP that way himself!

Being visually tacky is only one half of the equation. LP is also very direct, like most toddlers.

Yesterday as we took a family walk she announced, "Jules has a birthmark. It will go away when she gets big." Jules is the little sister of a boy in the older class at preschool. That is, he is not even in LP's class. Apparently Jules came in to drop off her big brother and LP got all inquisitive and in-your-face asking questions. Cute for a three-year old, but exponentially less cute as she gets older.

I guess it is time to start the "asking appropriate questions" and "keeping things to yourself" training. Mommy could probably use some help in those areas as well.

Klepto

This morning as the Hoos, the girls and I got into the car after walking through some shops and a farmer's market, I noticed LP playing with something. "It's broken, mama," she said as she handed me a cheap, plastic Halloween themed bracelet/watch.

"Where did you get this?" I inquired. "Did you take it from that store?"

She just continued to whine that it was broken as I insisted that she and the Hoos return it to the card store we had just left. The Hoos was more intent on fixing it before returning it.

The whole experience brought me back to a day, probably more than 25 years ago, when I liberated something from TSS. TSS was short of a precursor to KMART. Maybe a hybrid of KMART and Kohls? Anyway, there was a red halter shirt with gold trim that was originally part of an outfit worn by a Kate Jackson Charlie's Angel Barbie doll. It was just sitting on the shelf in the toy section. Separated from its owner. It looked so pretty. So perfect for my own Barbie...

As soon as my mom saw it in my hand, it was over. I was marched back into the store, made to hand it to a cashier and apologize. Obviously, this stuck with me.

According to the Hoos, when LP apologized (mostly into his shoulder), the young cashier shrugged and said thanks. I hope that a lesson was learned, because I don't want to be the one marching her back in to the store. I wonder if kids realize that events like that are just as traumatic and humiliating for a parent as for a child...

Good Love

Tonight AK said something that sounded close to "da-da" but it wasn't. She already says da-da. The Hoos figured out that she was saying LP's name. When I asked AK "Where is Di-dee?" she pointed at LP. It was awesome.

I already knew she loved her big sister. But now she has an actual name for her.

Tonight also included a change to AK's bedtime routine. Up until tonight her final bottle was consumed in my arms in the glider in her bedroom. When she was done I would pop her into bed. Now that she has teeth, I knew that I really needed to start brushing them. So, I held her in my arms downstairs with the rest of the family until she finished her bottle. I then put her down and told her to give Daddy and LP kisses. She went right over to the Hoos, mouth open wide making the "kiss" sound. When she was done with him she walked over to LP in the same position and bent down to give her a kiss.

I think I am in love. If only I could steal one of those kisses...

Lessons Learned

The last few days have had some eye-opening moments:

1. Don't be the last person to enter the room at a dinner party. Last night I went to a celebratory dinner for work. As I finished a conversation with a colleague at the cocktail hour, everyone was been shepherded in to the dining room. By the time I went to grab a seat, my options were limited and I ended up sitting at the "head" table. The one with all of the important people. And I was actually seated in between the two most important people - the leaders of the company acquiring my firm. They were lovely, but it was bizarre. I was the most junior person in the room. And while I can hold my own, I am not the sort of person that would purposely choose this seat for political reasons. Hopefully I won't see a pink slip today based on my performance
2. The period from day care to bed is very busy. This was actually a lesson for the Hoos. Since I had the aforementioned event for work, he was on his own with the girls last night - day care pick up, after-school playground, dinner, baths and bed. When I called around 10:15 to let him know I was on my way home, one of the first things he said was, "I appreciate you. I haven't stopped all night. I am now cleaning up. I have no idea how you are done with all this, plus making us dinner by 9." Ah, that felt good.
3. Free samples can often exceed expectations. Since I got home late, I needed an extra kick this morning, so I stopped by McDonald's for a sweet tea. As I pulled around to the drive through I noticed signs that said "Free Sample of McMocha 7am-10am". I was expecting a shot glass sized sample. This was so much better! My free mini-iced mocha was adorable and complete with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Highly recommended.
4. Bathing suit shopping sucks less when you actually find a suit that fits. Yay! I got a new bathing suit for vacation next week. And, amazingly, I don't look lumpy, bumpy, old, or chubby. Not that it matters, since once I am on the beach with my kids I am focused more on them than what I look like, but it will still be nice to at least feel comfortable and somewhat attractive. There still won't be pictures.

A Mile a Minute

Fortunately, the blog title DOES NOT have to do with how fast AK is walking - yet. But last night she was pulling herself into a standing position from the middle of the floor, taking a few steps, falling down and pulling herself back up again. It is only a matter of time before crawling becomes totally passé.

In addition to the walking, yesterday AK learned how to turn on the faucets in the bath tub. Which is a fun challenge when you are bathing two adorable little girls at once. I am like a defensive lineman, trying to keep two slippery little girls from injuring each other, getting burned, and drenching my entire bathroom (AK's new bath time fun includes scooping water up in her hands and tossing it out of the tub - her hands are small, but she is fast!).

At the playground AK has also started climbing the stairs by herself, crawling over to the slide, righting herself and attempting to go down feet first without assistance. I am constantly climbing up and down the steps, riding the slide and moving as fast as I can to make sure she doesn't jump out of an opening, fall down an opening, bang the back of her head on the slide, whack her face into the railing, get stepped on by any of the other rugrats enjoying the playground, or get smothered by LP who tries to catch her at the bottom of the slide.

Who needs to go to the gym?

Question Everything

LP is at the point in her little life where she is constantly asking questions.

One favorite line of questioning revolves around "When you were little" as in, "Mommy, when you were little did you have accidents? When you were teeny did you used to go on the carousel? When you were little did someone read you books?" And on and on.

The other night as we played the baby animal game (what's a baby...pig? what's a baby...goat?), she mixed it up a bit, "Mommy, how do goats wipe when they poop? How do elephants wipe when they poop? How do giraffes..." Again, this went on and on, despite the fact that I told her animals don't have hands and can't and don't really wipe anyway.

She doesn't just reserve questions for me or the Hoos. She is pretty nosy, actually and will ask anyone she encounters random questions. Which scares the beejezus out of me since it makes me think of my now 11 year old niece asking my dad if he had a [boy part] when she was around LP's age. I apologize in advance.

A Tough Lesson

The past two mornings, LP has woken up while I am getting ready in the morning calling out, "MOMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!". The Hoos tries to shush her, both for fear of her waking up AK, who miraculously continues to sleep through the night, and because he wants a few more minutes of peace before his day is invaded.

When I go into her room to see what the problem is, she insists that today should be her birthday. You see, she knows the actual date of her birthday, even if she doesn't know today's date. Which makes things difficult when you try to explain that today is the 21st and her birthday is the 28th, "Baby, there are seven days between now and your birthday." She gives me the "Whatever" look and continues whining about today being her birthday.

What will be even better is that her actual birthday is on a Thursday and her party is three days later on Sunday. It will be a lot of fun to try to explain that she is going to school - and bringing mini-cupcakes with pink frosting and sprinkles as per her request - and not the zoo.

Tonight the Hoos is going to make a paper chain with her so that she can tear off a link every day leading up to her birthday, in hopes that this gives her a better concept of time and timing. I doubt it will actually work, but if it buys me an extra half hour of sleep during the long holiday weekend, it will be worth it.

Taking a Hint

Hint #1. Yesterday I was in the mood to be a good mom. So I made a little book about LP's adventures with Zooza. To the right are some pics from the book.

I sent it to the Hoos to see what he thought. He told me 1. I was nuts; 2. LP would like it; and 3. I used like 3 different animals instead of just squirrels.

LP did love the book, but every other page she would turn to me and say, "Is this a hedgehog?" or "Mommy, is this squirrel pooping?" [IT WAS ITS TAIL!!]

Hint #2. Later in the day I went to pick the girls up at day care. When I walked in the door to LP's classroom she looked at me, astonished. "Mommy, your legs are brown!"

Yes, ladies and gentleman, I was wearing a skirt and hose for only the second time in about a year. My daughter noticed. She even insisted her friends take notice, "CAMMIE! Look at my mommy's legs!"

Finally, this morning, Hint #3.

Usually AK wakes up around 5, nurses for two minutes and goes right back to bed. I am also able to go back to sleep since I haven't even woken up at this point.
Today AK woke up at 5:30. She ate for 10 minutes and then took a really stinky poop. After changing her diaper and getting her back to bed, I was wide awake.
So, what did I learn?

1. I am not a nature girl. Whatever. But I am halfway decent with PhotoShop.
2. In terms of nature vs. nurture, nurture is winning. My girls aren't girly-girls because I'm not. If I wore skirts and dresses more, LP would be FancyNancy in no time. Still not happening.
3. My kids want me to exercise more. Obviously after all of the diaper changing and disposing, I was wide awake. I ended up going on the treadmill for half an hour before getting ready for work.

Improvement

LP's skills as a photographer seem to be improving - at least the subject is actually in the photos:

Let's Get This Potty Started

On Friday I had parent-teacher conferences for both girls.

AK is cute and starting to move a lot; that was basically her whole report.

Since LP is almost two and a half the teachers have a bit more to say about her. She is a great kid that is good about using her words and being independent when she wants to.

For example, when they get back from gym the first thing all the kids have to do is put their shoes and socks back on. At home, LP insists on doing this herself. At school she calls out "Help me!" I asked Miss Shauna why she thought this was. Turns out lunch is served after gym. The faster you get yourself together, the faster you can eat. Did I mention that she is wasting away? No? Well, she isn't.

As for using her words, I guess instead of asking another kid if she can play with the toy that they have, she just takes it. They want her to ask, "Are you done? No? Well, can I play with it when you are done?" Good luck with that folks!

She continues to do pretty well with potty training at school. At home she could care less. This weekend we created a potty chart and bought special stickers she could win when she used the potty. She was excited about it for all of two minutes. Then she realized that she could get free stickers - Savta (my mother-in-law) brought her a pack of stickers Friday night and Saturday she accompanied me to the bank and they gave her stickers. Sunday, the Hoos upped the ante and told her she could get her own ice cream cone Saturday night if she used the potty twice. She sat on the potty twice and I read her a million stories on the potty, but no ice cream was earned. At this point we will just wait until she is ready. Oh well.

Here is my big girl playing in the leaves. Notice that her black eyes are almost gone.

Because She Rocks!

Last night, as LP's bedtime neared, I asked her if she wanted to go upstairs to the "Baby's Room" to change. She jumped at the chance (she loves the Baby's Room) and ran up the stairs to pick out her PJs. By the time my slow, pregnant butt made it up to the nursery, LP was on her back on the floor, with her pants off, ready for me to change her diaper.

While I was changing her she looked at me and asked "Night-night? Floor?". This time, I jumped at the chance, "Sure, munchkin bunny, we can make that happen." Once she had a dry diaper and fresh, clean pajamas on, she watched me drag the bottom twin mattress from the trundle bed in the nursery into her bedroom. By "watched" I mean, every time I would stop she would run at the mattress like an excited crazy person. Good thing her bedroom is directly across the hall from the nursery.

We set the mattress up on the floor next to her crib and transferred all of her nappies (blankets) and babies to the "big girl bed". I brought over some books and we splayed out to read. Not that much reading was accomplished because she was so excited she kept jumping up to add more babies to the mattress. Finally, after a song (or two or five), I told her I was going to leave. Her response? "Mommy, milk, cuppie."

I returned with a sippy full of milk and quietly left the room. When I came downstairs and told the Hoos about the miracle in process he was appropriately stunned (after yelling at me for moving the mattress). Amazingly, all was quiet for about 15 minutes. Around 9:15 I hear, "Mommy? All done." and there is LP at the top of the stairs, holding out her drained milk cup.

I took the cup from her and thanked her and walked her back to her room. After another song and some rearranging of blankets she asked for some more milk. I semi-obliged and returned with a sippy of water and went back downstairs. By 9:30 she was out like a light, crashed across the mattress. It was a beautiful sight.

Of course, we had no idea what was in store for us for the rest of the night. Just in case LP got the urge to wander, the Hoos put a baby gate across the top of the stairs to prevent any accidents. I was fully expecting to have a visitor at 3am.

At 7:15 this morning we heard the pitter patter of little feet, "Mommy? Daddy?"

Shortly thereafter she returned to our room with a pull-up. I guess a sippy full of milk before bed makes for a pretty uncomfortable morning diaper. She proceeded to remove her pajama pants and wet diaper and attempt to put on the pull-up. Although it looked really cute for her to have two legs sticking out of the same leg hole, it wasn't very practical both in terms of protection and movement.

Anyway, I am trying really hard not to jinx us. Five months ago I swore LP was on the verge of being potty trained. All I can report is that right now LP is napping soundly on her mattress...and I am so proud of my little cutie pie that I can hardly stand it.

"I do it, too!! My turn!"

The time has come. My little girl is almost two and she is ready to be an independent woman. There are very few things that she doesn't think she can do. From cutting melon to getting dressed.

For the most part she is okay with being denied the opportunity to do dangerous things (e.g., cut melon) , but she does get really irate if you try to help her put clothing on. As helpful as this has the potential to be, it can be quite time-consuming and trying. Three mornings a week she is home alone with the Hoos, they are usually running late, and time and patience (on either of their parts) are in short supply.

This morning, the end of LP's first five day week at day care, I was home to handle LP while the Hoos could take his time getting ready for work. I patiently sat at the top of the stairs while she:

1. removed her pajamas, shouting "Zippa!!!"
2. put on her pants, correctly - after I showed her how to make sure that they were right-side out and the tag was in the back
3. pulled on her short-sleeved onesie, let me adjust it so it was not on backwards, and pushed her arms through without assistance
4. repeated step 3 with her long-sleeved shirt
5. put on her socks - pulling them up to her knees - and then let me straighten them out
6. retrieved her sneakers, removed the inserts (these are part of the shoe, I have no idea why she takes them out, but whatever), stood up and held on to my head for balance as she tried to put them on
7. responded appropriately when I said "wrong foot," lining her shoes up so she would put them on the correct foot

All this only took 15 minutes. Well, if you don't count the 23 month lead up of learning and development... It really is amazing to me that my little LP is so grown up.

Now if only she would curb her independence when we are in a rush or out in public.

Two Cells = One Amazing Person

What a busy weekend! With the arrival of my brother-in-law and two nieces from overseas on Friday evening, our weekend was kicked into high-gear. It was chock full of family and food and fun in addition to the million other things that typically have to get done. Last night was the first night since Thursday that LP had her regular bath time regimen!

This weekend in particular really help me to see how much LP is growing and changing:

• Friday night she sat patiently (I can only assume) while piggytails were put into her hair at all sorts of angles by her older cousins.
  
• Saturday morning she impressed the stylists in our hair salon as she sat patiently on the Hoos' lap while they trimmed her bangs. I then took her to the playground and she proceeded to follow the lead of an older boy and go down the "roller" slide head first (man, I hope they have improved those things since we were kids, I remember getting my fingers pinched!).
  
• Saturday evening she sat at the Seder table for much longer than I anticipated and wowed many of my relatives by eating a hard-boiled egg with a fork. And as we left my parents' house on Long Island, she used all of her manipulation skills to try to convince my parents to let her stay over and awake, yelling out "Papa! Shopping!". As a two year old she already knows a.) that my dad is a total softie and she makes him melt every time she says "Papa!" and b.) my parents are big bargain hunters and have no problem going shopping just about anytime.
  
• Sunday afternoon she enjoyed roasting (kosher for Passover) marshmallows over the Hoos' fire bowl and helping to throw sticks into the fire. She also enjoyed showing her Hungarian cousins every nook and cranny of our house, crawling up the stairs, motioning for them to follow as she yelled out "Baby's room!".
  
• Sunday night she ate "steak" (aka brisket) at my sister-in-law's lovely Seder, one of the few items of meat protein she will actually let pass her lips.
• Monday morning I had an 8:30 doctor's appointment. LP sat so wonderfully in a chair in the corner of the examination room (unfortunately eating baby junk food, but sometimes bribery is necessary) while we listened to her sibling's heart beat. She did get riled up during the HOUR it took for me to get blood drawn, but everyone has their limits.
  
• Monday afternoon she had a nice visit with my parents and grandparents and then wowed me with all sorts of new vocabulary words and phrases like "no reach" and "watch kids" and "[LP] play too".

I am in awe that this beautiful, smart, amazing little toddler is the same chubby munchkin I gave birth to almost two years ago. It really is making me appreciate even more how amazing nature is. We created a little PERSON with her own personality out of two tiny cells! Wow....

Daddy's Girl

LP doesn't look anything like the Hoos. She looks a bit more like me, but regardless, she is 100% my side of the family. At least so far. She has strawberry blond hair and blue eyes and a round face and pale skin. Of course, she is simply gorgeous.

However, looks are only part of the equation. LP's personality is much more in line with the Hoos. First, they are both Geminis. I don't really know too much about astrology, but I do know that as the "sign of the Twins" people in this category tend to have split personalities. I leave this up to your interpretation. LP is a little enigma in that she will be standing up in her crib in the morning, waiting to be taken out, groaning "Night, night!" and asking to go back to bed. Doesn't make much sense to me, if I didn't want to get up I would still have the blanket over my head, so I am attributing this to her Gemini nature.

Also, she loves being outside and playing in the dirt. I like being outside, but I am more of a black thumb. The Hoos will read gardening magazines, visit multiple garden centers, and put thought into the placement of particular plants in our yard. LP could stand outside for hours just flinging dirt all over the place and pulling up crocuses. She says "crocus!" and can also name several of the birds that visit our feeder by sight ("Cardinal! Chi-dee [chickadee]! Timice [Titmouse]!").

Last night after her bath she was excited to see the Hoos working at his fly-tying desk. In order for her to allow me to get her dressed I had to promise that she could help him when we were done. The Hoos was so thrilled that she kept yelling "More flies! More flies!" that she ended up pushing off her bedtime by 10 minutes.

I don't think there can be anything more satisfying than watching my two favorite people enjoy each other's company. Today I am content.