Part II

The two-year-old is currently choosing to whine and play in her crib instead of sleep for the second day in a row. I'm not OK with this. At least I know she can't get into anything. And I can turn down the baby monitor, so I can pretend she's sleeping. I guess this just means she'll go to bed at a decent hour for the baby sitter tonight! Yes, I just said baby sitter. We thought this crazy busy year would be date-free out of necessity. But we're meeting at the temple--30 min from D's work & 2 hrs from home--for a stake-wide meeting. He got 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night; do you think he'll stay awake during the meeting? :-)

LL turned six last week! She's a big first grader. (not size-wise, just meaning "grownup") Being so young, we almost didn't start her last year. Then we almost pulled her out at Christmas. Then we almost had her repeat kindergarten. All of this unbeknown to her, we thought. But her behavior and the teachers kept convincing us that she's fine right where she is. Just yesterday she came home declaring that she's glad she's not in kindergarten anymore because they're babies. Maybe all of that "almost..." last year wasn't such a mystery to her? Last night I announced that it was reading time, and she asked if I would read a book to her. Before I could respond, big sister AM said, "No, remember? You can read all by yourself now!" LL just replied, "Oh, yeah" and went over to the bookshelf. I do still read to my children, though. Don't you worry.

NE, who turned four last month, continues to tell me every day that she's almost old enough to go to school on the bus. In fact, yesterday at the YMCA she announced to the Kids Gym staff that it's almost her birthday. This might be a very long year for her. Preschool starts next week, so I hope that will stave off the blues. She has a style all her own, and knows exactly what she wants to wear and how her hair needs to be done. I usually don't fight with her on such things because, heck! you're only four once! And she gets her fashion sense from her father, anyway. (That came out sounding like an insult, but it's really supposed to be a compliment. I get the most comments on my clothes when my husband dresses me!) NE is currently taking swimming lessons and practices blowing bubbles in the bathtub.

AE has taken a chapter from NE's book. We now have two mess-maker extraordinaires in the family. There are little scribbles on every flat surface of the house, and books are not safe with her unsupervised. She wears a skirt everyday (or "kurt" as she calls it), and sometimes matches. Boy, have I gotten lax! Or maybe I've learned that this phase doesn't last very long, and I'd rather fight about what food goes in her mouth than which outfit she picks out. It's not like she's wearing halter tops and fish net stockings--I do still purchase all her clothes! She is in the very fun (sarcastic) stage of "no, I don't want to wear a diaper, but no, I also don't want to go potty in the toilet." The other day while I was changing her poopy diaper, she kept telling me, "Don't, Mom!" I told her that I wouldn't have to wipe her whole bum if she put her poop in the potty instead of in her pants. She then proceeded to walk around the house asking everyone if they put their poop in the potty. Are we turning a corner? Only time will tell. I really haven't wanted to push the potty-training thing (are you noticing a parental pattern here?) because she is only two, but when she talks about it so often, I think I may as well give it a go. Stay tuned.