How I love thee

I am consistently amazed at just how much Audrey adores Ian. I just can't believe that she is so accepting, and loving, and interested in this little boy who has turned her world upside down. But she is all of that. She dotes on him. Cares for him. Always remembers, on her own, to kiss him good-bye and good night. When she and Eric arrive home from school, she comes barreling through the door, of course excited to see me, but also to see what Ian is up to. She always wants to know his whereabouts. Tonight when she arrived home, she immediately asked where Ian was, and forgot to give me any kind of welcome as she was worried about how he was doing after his shots. She is much like a Tasmanian devil when she enters the room as Ian often has a startle response as this happens, but he smiles from ear to ear when Audrey is in view.

So.proud.of.this.little.girl.

Another dinner conversation

We've had to have many conversations about not being bossy. And about who's in charge. And who's in charge of who. And who they are NOT in charge of.

A: "Daddy, you need to eat your peppers on your plate!"

Me: "Audrey, you need to eat your peppers on your plate!"

A: "Mommy, stop being bossy!"

We're still working on the who's in charge part...especially the who's in charge of who part.

What's that they say about psychologists' kids???

"It's okay. It doesn't matter. We'll just deal with it."

and

"Just take a deeeeeeep breath. A few deeeeeep breaths."

I'll categorize this one under one of the many things I never thought I would do...

Eric overheard Audrey yesterday having her stuffed animal Grover participate in circle time. Of course Audrey was the teacher; Grover, the student. When I got Audrey up from her nap today, I found her talking with Grover and Big Bird, who were each propped up against her bed rail. I didn't ask at the time what she was doing as I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather and an asleep Ian to get some outside time alone with Audrey.

When I was putting her in bed tonight, I asked her what she was up to with Grover and Big Bird when I had gotten her up from nap.

A: "They were doing circle time."

Me: "Oh, what were they doing during circle time?"

A: "Well, they weren't standing up."

Me: "Are you supposed to stand up during circle time? I thought you sat down to listen to the teacher."

A: "Well, they are supposed to stand up."

Me: "Do you stand for all of circle time at school?"

A: "Only for the Pledge of Allegiance. Grover and Big Bird are supposed to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. But they can't stand by themselves!"

As my little girl was almost to tears telling me this story, I offered to hold Grover and Big Bird in a standing position, with their hand over their heart, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Things I never thought I would do.

But so worth it.

Dinner conversation:

Eric: "How many times do I have to tell you to not put your feet on the table?"

Audrey: "Um, four times...No, three times."

Curtain call

Audrey had her last dance class which included a very abbreviated production of "The Wizard of Oz". The kids had spent time designing costumes and the set, but unfortunately all was thrown out accidentally the day prior to the big show. So, they had to improvise. Audrey's job was to throw the confetti rain but she decided she'd rather hold onto it! That's ok because the other kids were holding the rainbow upside down! Needless to say it was quite entertaining, and even Ian enjoyed the show.

Cousin H withdrawal is hard.

Audrey had a really fabulous weekend with cousin H. She was so excited to see her and just couldn't wait for her arrival. These two little girls act like long lost sisters. There were giggles before I even made it down the stairs after having read to them and tucked them in. Sleep happened after a few rules were outlined, and by the third night, the adults had the bedtime routine almost down...

There was fun to be had on the swing set, in the bathtub, raspberry picking, at the Children's Museum, and "the big airplane". And everywhere in between.

Cousin J and Ian are two lucky little boys, to have such great big sisters. They shall never want for a pacifier. :)