Long May It Endure

I just have to note down a few recent things about the kids before I forget. Feel free to be totally bored and skip this entirely. Let's be honest; there won't be that many people who are that interested.

Kitty Kat
... grabs your finger to make YOU point to things in a book while you read it to her.

... is no pushover. She knows what she wants, when she wants it, and (more dangerously) how to figure out how to get it.

... will come up and give hugs and kisses when asked. They both take on the same form of her turning sideways and leaning the side of her forehead into you.

... is the most VOCAL baby/toddler I have ever come across! She has a voice, and the confidence to use it.

... on our starting-to-become-tradition-weekly-family-bike-ride, if the bike with Big Chief and Mr T is in front, LOVES the ride. She's laughing, shouting, squealing, sqeaking, squaking, and generally busting a gut the whole time. If our bike ever gets in front and she can't see the boys, it's tears and tantrums all around.

... is fast becoming Daddy's Little Girl. I'm losing her already. (but she'll be back when she wants to get her ears pierced)

... is obsessed with wearing my shoes.

... is also obsessed with remote controls.

(Shoes and remote controls.......did I mention she's fast becoming Daddy's Little Girl?)

...  now understands basic words like ball, hug, kiss, Daddy, Mommy, Mr T, and the all-important command in our house of 'Get him!'

... having her brother's old toys to play with, loves balls and cars. And sometimes combines the two loves with kicking the cars around like a soccer ball.

...  does NOT eat nearly as well as her brother did at this age. While she inhales fruit as much as Brother Fruit Bat always did, she's a real hit-or-miss when it comes to other things. The one and only cookie she ever had took an hour and a half to get through, but she loves her black beans, broccoli, and peas. Mama's NOT going to complain about THAT! If only I could get her to eat full meals regularly.....it's anyone's guess form one meal to the next whether she'll eat or not.

... loves being outside and in the grass. Mr T at this age would SCREAM if you put his feet anywhere near grass, and would do anything in his power to get away from it. You'd have thought it was flame-tipped razor blades we were asking him to play on (no, he's not allergic). This girl LOVES it. Can't get enough of being outside.

... is full of 'her word'; Confidence. She's not scared of anything, has complete faith that she can do anything she decides she wants to do, and doesn't give up trying. Long may it endure.

Mr T
... usually saves his best behavior/character traits for outside our house. On the one day of the year he's allowed to bring candy to school (special field trip day to a local playground), he willingly donates one of his precious four pieces to a friend who didn't have any candy. And when two new non-Dutch-speaking girls from the Middle East started in his classroom, he volunteered to the teacher to translate Dutch into English for them, since they speak a little English. See? The toad-faced little git can have such a huge heart when he wants to!

... is such a perfectionist, he gets upset when he is disciplined because it means he isn't yet acting perfect, and he's afraid he'll never learn how to 'get it right.' How does a parent deal with that when the discipline needs to be learned, but don't want the spirit to get crushed in the process AND try to prevent a child growing up in the painful, fearful, insecure world of The Perfectionist?

... told me the other day how a girl in his class believes that when you turn 7, you die. Because 7 is so old, nobody can possibly live that long, so of course you just die. Mr T turned around and said 'Well, that's just silly, because then my mom and dad would be dead. And my grandparents. And my aunt. If you die when you're 7, then how do any of us have any mommies or daddies???' Deep thinking, Mr T!

... is nearly finished with his swimming lessons and will soon (I believe) take his test to get his first national swimming diploma (I'll explain all this in a blog to follow in the next few weeks). After that, he'll have a month's break, then most likely take some intense courses to get his next two diplomas faster. These courses will be Hellish. 4 days a week for 2 weeks, 8 days in total, THREE HOURS each day. He will seriously earn a big pasta lunch and PlayStation chill-out time in the afternoons!

... was beyond excited to learn (from Daddy) how to ride his bike so he could ride with his friends in the street. Then Mommy stepped in one day after school and said he now needs to learn the starting/stopping part by himself. She refused to hold the bike at all; not like Daddy who supported Mr T totally at those points and taught him the actual 'riding' part. Daddy's 20-minute lessons end with a jubilant Mr T begging for more. Mommy's 5-minute lesson ended in tears and screaming (on both our parts) and Mr T's refusal to ever touch his bike again. Awesome.

... has been saving his allowance for months now, only very occasionally splashing out to buy something. And now that he understands the concept of saving longer for bigger things, he's come to the executive decision that he will save all his allowance until he's 7 (a full year) and will then go buy a few massive things. This was his idea and his decision. The man has a plan and he's willing to do what it takes to make it happen, no matter what the personal sacrifice. Long may it endure.

Both
Every night, after being put to bed, the two of them entertain each other for a good hour. He has a captive audience for all the silliness remaining in him from the day, she gets a free show from the big brother she worships. Big Chief and I both know we should tell them to go to sleep, but it's too darn endearing how much they love each other and truly enjoy each other's company....we haven't got the heart to ask them to stop and end up sitting quietly, listening and savoring the sounds. Long, long, long may this mutual adoration endure.