Chatty Mimi

What a difference being bi-pedal will make in a person.

The Small One seems to have developed, along with newfound walking skill, an entire vocabulary overnight. Our little songbird's entire list of words consisted of "Dada," "Mama," (only used when she wants something. Learning early, I guess...), "baby" and "Woof." In the span of about a week and a half, she's suddenly blossomed into a regular chatterbox, letting loose with all sorts of delightful expressions. Amongst her numerous new terms are "brother," "snack," "bath," "down" and "stuck." I took her to the store with me yesterday morning to get her some suitable walking footwear, and when I placed them on her feet, she smiled and said "socks!" I had no idea she even knew that word, since nobody's worn socks in our house since Spring.

Of course her favorite pastime continues to be following Brother around and doing whatever he does. Connor began learning his alphabet at around her age, using the foam letter shapes he played with in the tub. With his help (and mine), she can recognize two letters already. Maybe he will teach her to read in a couple years!

SHE'S WALKING!!

We have a toddler! This evening at about bedtime, Miss Mimi decided it was time to let go of the wall. About ten minutes after these shaky first steps, she began patrolling the entire house, and climbing everything. Help! Hee hee.

From the over-disciplined to the yet un-disciplined

Connor's really enjoying preschool and so am I! Last week's Bible verse was "A soft answer turneth away wrath," which he and I both benefitted from memorizing. Ha! Mia STILL isn't willing to walk alone, but she and Connor have been getting along better recently (not perfectly, but I'll take what I can get). They play together a bit more these days, which is encouraging. Connor still has his contrary times, and that's when I know he needs his space. I know how it feels to have a younger sister always in your stuff. We're still dealing with power struggles with Connor, especially at mealtimes, but I'm trying some new approaches to see if we can settle things without raising our voices. If he refuses what's on the menu, he simply doesn't get a meal. Yesterday he was on a food strike all day until 8pm, when I finally threw out his dinner from the PREVIOUS night that I'd reheated about six times (it was getting petrified). He decided he'd eat meat loaf with the rest of us and ended up downing two plates. I'm not sure which of us won that battle. He's got a stubborn streak like nobody's business. We love him anyway.

In other news, I received a text message from my sister last night saying she'd been robbed at work. Nobody was hurt and the assailant wasn't armed that we know of, but as soon as she opened the cash register to ring up his waffle purchase, he leapt the counter, shoved her backward, jammed his hands in the till and made off with about $200. Becky called 911 from her cell phone. She and the thief were the only ones in the dining room; the cook was out back emptying garbage. He tried chasing the guy down but he got away. When I finally got her on the phone last night we both cried. I'm just glad she's ok. Doubtful they'll catch the guy, but I have to think he must have been pretty desperate to knock over a Waffle House.

Hooray for preschool!

We had a bit of a bumpy beginning, I'll admit. I cringed this morning as I backed awkwardly out of Connor's brand new classroom, deflecting grabby little hands that clung to my pant leg and clawed at the door frame...I attempted to level my blood pressure despite howls of protest as I made my exit...Would it be like this all year? Good glory.

Well, the tides had changed by the time I came back to pick him up. He was positively radiant. He loves his teacher, his class, everything. Impressed everyone with his writing and math skills. Didn't act like a demon. I was relieved. At home he drew me a self-portrait. Most impressive. I think it's going to be a good year.




Happy Anniversary, Babe.

Nine tenths of a century...

My Poppie's ninetieth birthday is coming up in a month. He is so dear to our family, and we all have such fond memories of growing up with him in our lives. He's such an unforgettable individual. I feel especially blessed to be able to watch my children, his great-grandchildren, developing a warm relationship with Poppie that reminds me of my own tender years with him. My project for him has been an 8x8 memory book, complete with sentiments from every generation descending from him. I completed the first two pages tonight, one for each of my children: