I’ve been wondering half-heartedly recently how Clarence has been getting into the trash in the kitchen. Since it has a tight lid on it, I was guessing he was dragging things out when the trash gets close to the top and a little part of a bag started to stick out. Wrong! I caught him in the act just now of stepping on the level to open the lid so that he could help himself to the contents.
What a cute dog. Grrrr….
Molly: I smell something, Mama?
Me: What do you smell? The bleach Daddy just used? The coffee I’m making?
Molly: I smell the paper towels.
Hmmmm…
I just don’t think to blog anymore now that I’ve stopped regularly updating my other blog Growing Our Green Beans! But the kids continue to be funny, cute, and sweet… and wildly infuriating on occasion too.
We have had a wonderful Christmas, with my mom here and Austin’s sister’s family in town and of course, Henny and Papa as well. We also went up to DC to see the sights (the zoo was the biggest hit, well, after the hotel). We are very spoiled!
We have all been relatively healthy this fall/early winter which is awesome. Tucker loves school. I hear a lot about gym, lunch and the playground and significantly less about everything else. He is already ready to go back to school, even though his winter break has three more days! Tucker does everything Austin does now, and frequently checks in on what Austin’s choice is before making his own (i.e. food for lunch, clothes for church, etc.).
Molly is more ambivalent about preschool, but is surviving. She makes the most of it by wearing ridiculous outfits—tutus, Minnie Mouse dresses, fairy princess dresses, mismatching shoes…. I pick my battles and clothing is not one of them. Molly has the most delightful laugh, and is the most ambitious and stubborn girl in the house. When asked what they wanted for Christmas, Tucker wanted an elf—he waxed eloquent about this elf, and about nothing elf. Molly, on the other hand, in the same time it took Tucker to request an elf, listed off dozens of items that she would like. This girl has big ideas! She also hates bugs and refuses to use the bathroom if it has a ladybug. The other day she saw a spider on her carseat; her blood curdling yell made me think we were being car jacked.
Clarence continues to be a very good bad doggy. When we forget to watch him like a hawk, he enjoys stealing things from the sink… the counter… the table… kids’ hands… the bathroom… and everywhere else in between. He is currently sitting on top of the coffee table in front of me, staring me down. Apparently, it is time he got some love. (So good he lets me know this….)
Tucker and Molly play amazingly well together. About 20% of the time it degenerates into screaming, but generally they are each other’s favorite people. They put on lots of shows, do lots of crafts, and well, just about everything else as well.
Happy New Year!
Molly: I have to pee.
Me: Why don’t you go potty?
Molly: No, thank you, I go after Thanksgiving.
[Considering we had this conversation on 10/30, she has a long time to wait….]
Molly: My milk is frozen.
Me: No, Molly, your milk can’t be frozen.
Molly: My milk is frozen.
[I go over and look, and realize I’ve given her the mug of hardened bacon grease that was in the fridge, since we were at a State Park and didn’t have any place to put it…. Oops.]
She has a memory like a steel trap and is very difficult to distract. If her mind is set on something… watch out, world! Her preschool teacher wondered the other day how to make Molly apologize to another child in the class--apparently a 2 and a half minute time out hadn’t done the trick. What a surprise (just joking). This summer at the pool, it took 45 minutes by the side of the pool in time out until she was ready to apologize to her cousin. This fall it took her eight hours to apologize to her brother (granted in this latter situation, we were traveling so our abilities to enforce were compromised though we did the best we could….)
Tucker loves our dog Clarence and devolves into baby talk to him several times a day. Molly on the other hand mostly thinks Clarence is good for ordering around. She likes most other dogs except him. Tucker didn’t like riding in strollers after he started walking—Molly still loves the stroller and gladly rides in it to the bus stop and back twice a day or when I go running.
Molly is also very organized when she wants to be and has a strong sense of how things ought to be. She takes off her shoes and places them carefully together under the Sunday School table in her class (they are not asked to remove their shoes…) and is so convincing, occasionally other kids do the same as well. She takes pleasure in organizing lots of little pieces, and sorting is right up her alley. She is meticulous at coloring and will whip through eight 12-piece puzzles in a row at her grandparent’s house. Maybe she is an engineer in training because her puzzle ability is off the charts.
I love you, Molly!
Molly: Where is my purple bus?
Me: I don’t know.
Molly: Up in the sky? Where can I find it?
[Note: Molly does not have a purple bus, nor has she ever seen a purple bus to my knowledge.]
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Walking into our house holding a pumpkin someone had just given us.
Molly: Where’s the Christmas tree?
Me: It’s not Christmas time.
Molly [very disappointed]: Oh.
[Not sure why the pumpkin made her think it was Christmas time….]
