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Normally, I wouldn’t be crazy about someone skulking around my house in a stocking cap. But I’ll make an exception for cute little people. Even little troublemakers.
And there goes another one!
Good thing I have all my valuables locked up. Like my toilet paper. Not only does Rebecca now insist on holding her own book when we read, today she wanted to sit in her own chair:
Too bad her independent streak doesn’t extend to changing her own diapers! I knew it would happen sooner or later. I was just hoping for later.
The little stinkers decided to redecorate the bathroom when I wasn’t looking. If you look very closely, you can see that they decided the bathroom was their new library:
I guess my girls are the kind of people who do their best reading in the bathroom! We took the girls tonight to a Christmas party at the assisted living facility where Jim’s Nana lives, where we were treated to a dance performance by a local troupe. Becky and Susie were under the impression that the audience was there to see them dance, so they bounced and clapped and raised their arms right along with the dancers. After the show, our girls indeed did get a bit of applause from some of the senior residents. I guess the kids know how to work a crowd!
The girls: “Dad, can we get a puppy for Christmas?”
Susie (on right): “Nana, are you Mrs. Claus? Can you tell Santa we want a puppy for Christmas?” Becky: “Sis, you’re wasting your time. I’m giving Dad puppy dog eyes. It’s our only hope.” As most of you know, Jim is a fan of cars, trucks, boats, ATVs, UTVs, snowmobiles – basically anything with a motor that you can drive on some kind of terrain. The more rugged the terrain, the better. (Except when it comes to boating. He wants smooth water for boating. Picky guy!) Anyway, the girls have inherited his fascination with motorsports. Our garage is inevitably filled with his toys, and every time I unload the girls from the car, they emphatically clap and point at the massive machines, indicating that they want to go for a ride. Unfortunately for them, I am rather inhibited when it comes to driving these powerful vehicles, so I decline their requests and usher the girls upstairs. But every time they hear a truck drive by, or their grandfather revving a motorcycle outside, they get excited and run to the door. Becky has even mastered a guttural grunt/growl that she uses any time she sees or hear anything with wheels. (This includes pictures of farm tractors or trucks, and it extends to bicycles. I don’t think she has accepted the fact that not all things with wheels have motors. She and her Daddy can keep dreaming.) Yesterday afternoon, Jim decided that it was high time the girls sat on their first snowmobile. They were thrilled, of course, and Becky (in front) punctuated her “ride†with enthusiastic engine noises.
Jim decided to climb on behind them to pretend to ride as a family (I was happy to remain the photographer). I snapped a picture, and I love the expressions I captured. Jim is ecstatic that his girls are following in his footsteps (or should I say, “tire tracksâ€?). Susie, in front, is calm, unruffled, and ready to hit the trails. Becky, on the other hand, looks terrified that her father is going to drive them into a ditch. Her eyes are wide and her little hands are holding on tight. I guess she’d rather do the driving!
We went out to our favorite Mexican restaurant tonight, and not only did we enjoy the excellent food, but we also enjoyed the company of some lovely ladies at the next table. We discovered that the two sisters’ names were Rebecca and Suzanne! We got a picture of the two Susie’s (on the left) and the two Becky’s:
We will be very blessed if our Becky and Susie grow up to be even half as beautiful and kind as these ladies. Right now, I’m just hoping that my girls end up with half as much hair! We spent a wonderful afternoon at my friend’s house, where the girls were entranced by the big musical decorations:
and the big kids:
and the big kid toys:
and the big shoes:
and the big bites of yummy Italian food (Mama liked this one too!):
and especially the big dog (and I do mean big – it’s a beautiful Great Dane):
Thanks, friends, for showing us hospitality in a BIG way!
Here’s a couple of videos where you can see Becky living it up. I think she’d much rather live at my friend’s house, where she could pet big dogs and wear big shoes all day long!
We had a wonderful experience this morning with two evaluators from the Birth-to-Three program, who visited our home to check the girls’ development. Our pediatrician had recommended this check-up, due to the fact that the girls aren’t speaking yet (or demonstrating “expressive†language, to use the doctor lingo). Apparently, many children their age have 2-3 words at this point, but my girls seem content to just clap and point. He stressed that he didn’t think that anything was wrong, but noted it never hurt to have an extra set of eyes on the girls. I agreed! I am relieved and pleased to say that the girls rose to the challenge. They must have sensed it was performance time, because Susie in particular pulled out all the charm she could muster. I thought her face was going to crack in half she was smiling so wide during the interview. I guess she figured the evaluators would be so entranced by her cuteness that they wouldn’t have time to write anything on their clipboards! So whether by character or by charisma, the girls passed with flying colors. They are on-target in every developmental area, and the workers assured me that the girls made up for their lack of expressive language with their grasp of “receptive†language, or comprehension. That is, even if the girls aren’t talking back, they know exactly what I’m saying. I suppose I ought to be grateful for this current imbalance. It won’t be long before the girls won’t care what I’m saying, and they’ll talk back anyway! I didn’t get a chance to pull out my camera today, but here are a couple of pictures from earlier this week of the girls admiring the Christmas tree.
Becky: “Hmm…I think that ornament could stand to be moved a little to the left…â€
Susie: “Mom, can you get that ornament down for me? I think I’d like to see how it tastes.†We got out first decent snowfall of the season this morning, and the girls were in awe of the winter wonderland outside.
I think being snowed-in all day gave the girls cabin fever, or cabin craziness, or something like that. At least, temporary insanity is the only way I can explain Becky’s choice of headwear later this evening:
Today was our first day back at the girls’ library story hour after several weeks of absences due to travel and illness. It’s amazing how much colder it is now than when we last attended. Before, we went outside for snack time in a light fall coat. Today, I had to bundle the kids up to shield them from the bitter winter air. Watching all the kids toddle around in their snow gear reminded me of those inflatable rental sumo suits I’ve seen on the internet:
Good thing the girls look cute with so much padding!
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