My Girls

"Squeaking, little mouse!" Joy just pronounced.

She's right; that's exactly what Gracie sounds like at the moment. Which is highly preferable to a Baby Ringwraith, or even just a highly unhappy child. It might not be quite as amusing as "Grr, bear cub," but it usually does indicate a happier mindset.

Joy herself is sitting on the floor, alternately cuddling her fairy bunny and throwing it on the floor. ("Oh no, poor bunny, on the floor!") Now she's lying down on top of Bunny ("Taking a nap.") and grinning between her fingers at me.

My kids crack me up.

Gracie turned 8 months last weekend. She's the most inquisitive kid; I can't get over it. She's still not crawling, but she creeps everywhere, so fast, I can't get over it, and is into everything. I haven't really done too much for baby-proofing this time around, because Joy just didn't get into anything. She knocked the full-length mirror down on top of her a few times, but that's about it. Gracie, though ... if she's not safely in someone's arms or her little play center, she's most likely going to be getting into trouble. With a big old grin on her face, of course. She keeps getting herself stuck under the table; she is fascinated by the bookshelves; if she's in the bathroom with me while I'm helping Joy with the potty, she's trying to play with the trashcan; her last few baths she's tried to roll over and creep in the tub.

And just as I'm about ready to lock her in a cage (kidding! just kidding!), she looks up at me and says in the softest, sweetest voice: "Ah-da-da-da," or she pats my face with her little hands and tries to bite my nose off.

Joy's been a little destructive lately, so I've been trying to balance between being a bit more strict, and also spending more time playing specifically with her. I have a hard time - I tend to feel that either I have to spend every minute of the day actively involved with her, or else leave her to play completely on her own, just watching her and encouraging her and talking to her. Yeah ... balance. So yesterday I spent a lot of time reading her stories, coloring with her, working on her toddler BrainQuest from Oma, even just sitting with her on my lap while I checked my internet stuff (she's abandoned Bunny and is back on my lap now, listening to Raffi while I type), and also was a bit more strict when it came to things like "pick up your stuffed animals if you want to read" and "take care of your books when you're done reading them" (and helping her with all that, since, after all, she is only two), and we managed to get through the day without anything getting ripped or broken.

And the potty-training seems to be back on track - only one accident yesterday, and that was when she snuck upstairs into Gracie's room while I was preparing the chicken for supper. Some of Gracie's clothes ended up in the laundry, but no real damage was done.

These girls have such completely different personalities - Joy is the cautious one, the planner, strong-willed, passionate, either all happy or all miserable, no in-between. Gracie's my wild child, all adventure and no forethought, curious about everything, generally happy unless she's in pain, mostly easy-going. They keep me on my toes, but oh, they are fun while they are running me ragged!