Testing the Limits

Now that my parents have returned home, the girls and I getting back to our normal (albeit lonelier) routine.  The girls napped well and played well today.  They spent quite a bit of time exploring the house, peeking around corners and under tables.  Perhaps they were looking for Grammie and Grandpa.  Or perhaps they were looking for the crumbs that escaped my vacuum cleaner.  How do kids always manage to find that little needle in the haystack (or the dead ant on the carpet, as the case may be)?

There’s a reason my mother-in-law calls Susanna a little “Hoover” – not only does she crawl around and inhale anything on the floor, she loves playing with the vacuum attachments!

Here are some pictures of their explorations today:

I think the girls must have heard the story about what their 21-month-old cousins do:  When Jonathan and Katelyn are asked what a doggy says, they reply, “Woof, woof.”  When asked what a ducky says, they reply, “Quack, quack.”   When asked what a lion says, they reply, “Roar, roar.”  When asked what mommy says, they reply, “No! No!”

Rebecca has been going around the house shaking her head as if she’s saying, “No! No!”, and I’m sure she’s picked it up from the frequency with which I am employing that head shake and reprimand.  Susanna has discovered the thrill of excitement that comes from disobedience.  We have a fireplace that is off-limits to the girls, not due to any inherent danger, but rather as an exercise in teaching self-control.  Unfortunately, so far all it’s teaching the girls is how Mom says, “No! No!”  No sooner do I rebuke Susanna for an infraction and pull her away from the enticing fireplace, than she spins around and frantically scampers back to the scene of the crime, grinning like a Cheshire cat all the while.   The louder I scold, the bigger she smiles.  And the more Rebecca shakes her head. 

Susanna has even started scheming her fireplace forays.  This afternoon, in an effort to pull herself up, Rebecca fell headlong into a chair and judging from her wails, diagnosed herself with a major concussion.  Susanna decided one of two things: either that this was the moment she could indulge her impulses undetected while Mom was distracted, or that this was an opportunity to divert Mom’s attention from her sister.  Whatever her motivation, as soon as I knelt down to calm a hysterical Rebecca, Susanna made a rush for the fireplace, glancing backwards to see if I was watching.    

Sigh.

The toddler years are going to be long…and they aren’t even toddling yet!