Ever The Protective Big Sister

Anna's been coming into her own as a true big sister lately. A few days ago I asked Rachel to tell Daddy something and when she didn't answer Anna stepped in, explaining very matter-of-factly, "She's tired." And this morning I was reprimanding Rachel when Anna told me, "Don't yell at her." It's actually very sweet. Especially when it's not directed at me.

Before I even got a chance to publish this post I got another glimpse of Big Sister Anna. The story actually serves two purposes; in addition to demonstrating the sweetness of my oldest child it is also being added to my ever-growing list of fun mommy survival stories. You know, the kind that so often involve an adventurous child receiving an injury just serious enough to cause a parent's heart to stop beating but not serious enough to necessitate a trip to the hospital.

I gave the girls their bath while Dan was at work (the experience of bathing these two wild toddler beasts on my own being its own separate post of course). I had Rachel dried off, lotioned, diapered, clothed and brushed and was about to go to work on Anna when Rachel fell. More specifically she climbed onto the toilet (top down), got herself into her usual seated position and then proceeded to fall backwards between the wall and the commode. She of course screamed immediately and I picked her up thinking at first that she was just mad but after she took a gulp of air and screamed again I saw blood. Filling her mouth. Running down the front of her yellow pajamas. I ran for the linen closet and grabbed a clean washcloth and started dabbing to see where the blood was coming from. Anna starts wailing as I finally see that Rachel's lower lip has two deep cuts which were quite obviously caused by her two top front teeth. She lets me hold her as I get the blood to stop but she is still crying bitterly and Anna is standing next to me, pressed up against me, still naked and damp and just beside herself that her sister is hurt. "Help her, Mommy!" she tells me over and over again. "I don't want Rachel to have a boo-boo."

Twenty hectic minutes later my heart slows to a normal rhythm and Rachel asks me for a banana. Not much comes between that girl and her food. Anna leads Rachel over to the chair and tells her to go sit by the pillows. Rachel puts down her banana, climbs up and gets settled under Anna's watchful eye. Anna hands her the banana and tucks a blanket around her little sister. Then she kisses her and says, "there you go Rachel." Rachel thanks her: "Tink you Ina." I watch this scene from the hallway and have to catch my breath again.

Sweet Sophie

This beautiful happy little girl is Sophie. She turns 10 months old today and is celebrating with her brand new - and equally happy - parents, whom she met four days ago. Congratulations Sophie and have a safe trip home from China. I can't wait to meet you, sweet girl.

Just Another Monday Night At Our House

Have I mentioned that potty training hasn't been going according to plan?

Everyone's A Critic

Last night with my girls asleep in their rooms and my husband happily snoring away on the couch I decided to tidy up the family room. This means I spent thirty minutes crawling around on my hands and knees collecting a gazillion little toys and blocks and puzzle pieces and books and putting them in their respective containers, finding a disturbing number of discarded snacks along the way. Afterward I looked around, satisfied that I could wait to run the vacuum until the household was awake again.

This morning I pointed out to the girls that Mommy had picked up their toys for them, didn't it look clean? Anna's answer: "No, there are still lots of yucky things on the carpet. See Mommy?"

Sigh. Yes, I see.

Play Time

Mr. Potato Head gave Rachel fits today. She doesn't push the parts in hard enough to be secure and her response when it falls to pieces is typical two-year-old - she shrieks with outrage at the toy's brazen refusal to bend to her will. Well what would you do?

Anna's toddler-related control behavior is slightly different although now that I think about it, there is also shrieking involved. My sweet cuddly three-year-old has lately demonstrated a distinct gift for giving orders. Instead of building a fort she will stand on the chair and demand that I place the pillows and blankets just so. If her vision is not fully realized she emits a sound that has seriously caused wallpaper to peel to the floor. That actually happened. Ok fine, the cat did that, but the screaming did not help.

There are three activities that my girls can agree on. Play-Doh has lately become Mommy's Little Helper. (Other items that have previously held this title are the Fisher Price Baby Papasan swing, Baby Einstein's Baby Galileo video, and wine. For Mommy, not for baby.) Their latest set came with super dull plastic scissors and Anna pretty much thinks that's the coolest thing ever. She smashes up whatever pretty color suits her fancy and then spends twenty minutes cutting this massive blob into thousands of tiny pieces that then find a semi-permanent home in our carpet. Rachel tries very hard to recreate the little bears that Daddy made the first night we opened up the kit.

Stickers are another favorite. Totally random, any stickers with any pictures on them will keep these kids busy until there is no more functioning adhesive in the room. They will stick them to paper, cards, clothing and body parts. For some reason this is just endlessly amusing.

And finally, my girls enthusiastically participate in the super exciting game of Questioning Mommy. So many questions. All beginning with the word "Mommy." Mommy, what are you doing? Mommy, what are you talking about? Mommy, what's that smell? You get the picture. SO. MUCH. FUN.

Psychedelic Play-Doh Bears

We got the girls a huge Play-Doh set for Valentine's Day. Dan - who doesn't get to do this very often (read: has a full time job) - enjoyed himself immensely.

I Am Not Even Exaggerating

Rachel's latest response to my singing for any reason is a look of horror and a loud outraged scream. "Be quiet Mommy!" she commands, then remembers to add: "Please."