Details

So, today really was a better day. I got lots of things accomplished (laundry, cleaning floors, a short run, cooked a real dinner), plus Annie and Jemma were fairly good-natured. So I don't forget how a typical day-in-the-life goes this time of year, I wanted to write down a few details about both girls before they change all over again.

Annie:

1. Talks all the time, asks tons of questions, has a very large vocabulary, asks me what signs say when we're driving, asks which letters start words, etc. In spite of her good language skills, she still has a few "Annie" words that are hilarious. They include "fridger-fridger" for refrigerator, "chickmuck" for chipmunk, "kanks" for thanks, and "nickie" for naked.

2. New accomplishments include putting undies and shorts back on all by herself after going potty (sometimes things are backwards, but we don't point that out . . .), washing her hands with soap, blowing her own nose, throwing and catching a mini-basketball pretty well, doing somersaults, and mostly putting her shoes on the correct foot.

3. For the first time in her life, she's doing lots of bedtime stalling. This is a girl who, for the last 2 years, has pretty much asked to go to bed when she's tired. Now, not so much. Tonight, she actually took her Gracie (doll) out of bed and hid it in the dining room so that we would have to search for it at bedtime. Other favorite stalling techniques include claiming that she has to poop at the last second, asking to "snuggle me," and needing one more drink of water. We are slowly catching on to her nonsense and trying to head it off with some new bedtime rules and routines.

4. Loves to dance, eat popsicles, chase and be chased, blow bubbles, have her toenails painted, go down slides backwards, eat PB&J for lunch, crawl on the floor with Jemma and make her giggle, watch for familiar cars out the window ("There's Mr. Bergsma! Oh! I see Mrs. MacKeigan with Kate and Ian!"), and do projects with glitter glue.

Jemma:

1. Is everywhere! Every time I turn around for one second, she's pulled herself up on some rickety object or a toy with wheels. No major falls yet, but I'm sure there are some bruises in her future. In spite of all her mobility, there are times of day (mostly when she's tired) when she really wants to be held, so my left arm is pretty strong.

2. Sucks the same two fingers that Annie did as a baby. Is this genetic? Good thing we'll be getting free orthodontic work . . .

3. Waved at me today, I think. She was crawling down the hallway, stopped, turned and looked at me, and raised a hand in the air and scrunched her fingers in response to my voice. She absolutely lights up whenever she hears Annie's giggle or Jason's voice when he gets home from work.

4. Loves, loves, loves to be outside. When she's fussy and bored, all I have to do is take her outside and she immediately calms down and gets happy. What will we do when winter arrives?

I sure love my girls!