Funny Kids

I only have a few minutes to spend but months of blog-worthy stuff to post, so I'm going to pick just a couple of quick highlights. I've been putting off posting because I never seem to have enough time to do all the catching up I need to. But then I fall further behind, which makes it that much harder to post the next time. And I definitely don't have time to deal with pictures, but please picture two adorable sweet angels in your head, add permanent markers, purple grape juice, ketchup, and perpetually runny noses. You'll have a good picture what's been going on at our house lately.

Kira asked Jason a couple of months ago, "You a boy? You drive trucks?" I don't know if those questions were connected in her mind or not. Both were funny to me. But of course I launched into an explanation about how girls can drive trucks too, etc. All of which was met by a blank stare and a prompt return to playing with her toys.

About a month ago I took the girls for a walk around the block: I pushed Lia in the stroller and Kira pushed her baby doll in a doll stroller. Kira said she was "big and taller like Mommy, and I pushin' my baby daughter like my Mommy pushin' her baby daughter." (Note: Lia has grown tremendously since this occasion, and now she pushes her own baby doll in her own doll stroller when we walk around the block. I don't push anyone in a stroller, but I have to do lots of corralling to keep Lia out of traffic.)

Lia is *unbelievably* grown up now. She is very independent and quite headstrong. She is so, so sweet and happy. She is signing well (more, milk, shoes, fish) and talking nicely too (dog, ball, dada, mama). My little baby is disappearing and a sweet, round little toddler is taking her place. She is a lovey, lovey baby.

I asked Kira what she was up to about a month ago as she sat on the floor picking at her toes. She answered, "probly just my job... I just working at my job." When further prompted, she told me her job was "probly toe jam." (Apparently Jason taught her that word when he swiped sock lint from her feet getting her ready for bed one night.) She got mad when I tried to help her and said, "It NOT your work, Mommy!"

The girls are very sweet to eachother. They like playing together and (mostly) share. The problems arise with Lia when Kira lays on, holds in place, or otherwise detains Lia and restricts her movements in the name of "I just huggin' her." Lia *hates* being pinned like that. (Who can blame her? I blame my slight claustrophobia on similar experiences as a kid [being pinned under a blanket by my brothers].) The problems arise with Kira when Lia wants whatever toy Kira has. Kira (very sweetly) usually gives the toy to Lia, says "I sharin'" and gets another toy, only to get *irate* when Lia then wants the new toy. No amount of explaining to her that Kira herself is the attraction does any good. She just doesn't understand why she must be plagued with this grabby little sister when she has clearly taken the high road and shared.

Kira told me the other day that clouds move in the sky because wind makes them move. I was speechless. Amazing. She asked me what electricity was shortly thereafter. What sort of questions should I expect when she's three?

Lia is so, so smart. Over Easter she perfectly nested a stack of a dozen plastic cups which only stack if in the exact right order. She would look at one, then the next, and put the smaller inside the larger. Then she would look at a third and compare it to the ones she already had. If it was smaller, she'd stack it inside the smallest or if it was larger, outside the largest. That was impressive enough, but she would separate the already-stacked cups at the exact right spot to insert a new cup that fell somewhere in the middle. And there are a dozen of these things, not four! I was blown away.

Ok, enough bragging for tonight. I promise to try to get some pictures up sometime in the next month. Life has been very hectic for us with our Spanish house guest and everything, and now we are building a deck, and about a million other things are on our list to do. But I am cautiously optimistic that I'll get Lia's first birthday photos posted well before her second birthday. But definitely not before Kira's third birthday.