Just to be Clear...

Charlotte & I are officially rocking Mommy & Me haircuts. 

Oh, yes. We both have bobs & bangs.  Which is the haircut I have wanted her to have for a while...but I was afraid it would make my 'do look "juvenille". 

Charlotte was never destined for long hair.  She doesn't like braids & ponytails, nor does she like brushing it...now the bob looks precious all the time.  To my astonishment, her hair looks cute & sassy and mine looks suprisingly chic and it's the same haircut...amazing. 

And Ruby got her bangs cut.  She was looking a little too much like a Beatle with her wispy curls and her ultra-long bangs.  Ruby says 'No to the Bow' just like her sissy did and no to the mini bang ponytail (which is actually flattering on few I'm afraid...) so Noni clipped her bangs for me.  No pixie cut for her, Noni didn't go near the curls. They're straight enough. 

Speaking of the Beatles...you know all the old footage you've seen on TV, or if you're old enough, I suppose you may have witnessed it yourself, actually
the Beatle fan mania.  That's Ruby whenever someone calls on the telephone or the dogs bark or when she sees a white truck or when the door alarm chimes...because it might mean DADDY.  Screaming, jumping, grabbing her hair, running in place, jumping, laughing...pure joy - pandemonium.  DADDY.  Then they both get on it and here comes Keeper.  Daddy is a superstar in this house. 

Speaking of dogs.  Charlotte is at the age where she wants to take "care" of things.  When she grows up she wants to be a baby doctor so she can "hole dey an love on babies and take cawe o' dey".  Charlotte says when she's a mommy she's going to be the best mommy.  She is going to take her baby to the 'pwaygwoun ewday and nuwse dey all de time.  I guess that's all you gotta do.  I think she was trying to tell me we don't go to the playground at the park near enough.  We run by it regularly...but normally I trick Charlotte into forgetting her shoes so that I can say, 'oh sweetie, you forgot you shoes!  we can't stop and play today!'  Isn't that awful?  Well, both of them together are tough to keep up with and as much as I love Lakebottom it is inner-city and this is the same massive playground that had the razor blades taped to the monkey bars and the slides...I'm afraid to let either one of them out of my sight and quite frankly, Charlotte doesn't listen to me. 



Charlotte (2) & Keeper

Right.  So, dogs!  Charlotte wants to "baby" one...Moses has been doing an okay job as a puppy substitute.  But finally, old Mo, has had enough.  Two bites in three days.  With any other dog, I swear, we probably would have had the thing euthanized but Moses?  Well, obviously it was Charlotte's fault.  And it was.  Moses is old - he's 9 - that's 63 in dog years.  Charlotte likes to plop on him while he's asleep.  She likes to pick him up and tote him like a dolly.  She likes to put him in strange places...top of the sofa...she wants him to come on all stroller rides and trips to school and she wants him to sit in her lap (Moses is too old to walk or run with us...he can only make it about a 1/4 mile before he's wore out), she wants him under the covers to rub her feet on him.  In other words: he puts up with a lot.  But when she rolled him over and tried to give him a raspberry on his belly he nipped her check - bruised it and broke the skin in a little dot.  The blood didn't trickle but there was a puncture.  The next day, he nipped her on the earlobe - no mark, just tears and a sobbing pre-schooler.  The child has got to give him some space.  I'm trying to aim her attention more to Keeper who thinks belly raspberries are the best and he's playful and curious without being timid or too rambunctious but he's a little too big to be carried and diapered (yes, I said diapered - I'm telling you,  Moses is actually a saint).   

Ruby is obsessed with going tee-tee in the potty.  The only problem is that I think #1 doesn't feel funny to her - it doesn't require any "work" so she doesn't recognize the feeling...now she gets the feeling of #2 but isn't quite ready for that level of exposure on the Elmo potty.  She wants to "go" like her sister and then she wants to put panties on just like her sister.  Then mommy takes her potty every 30 minutes and usually 2 minutes after I get her off the potty for the 3rd 30 minute interval she wets her panties.  The only time we seem to guarantee a success is when I stick her on the potty right when she wakes up or right after she gets out of the tub...Quite frankly, it's a lot of work.  And she's only 19 months old.  I'm thinking really, I'll just let Noni & St. Luke Mommy's Morning Out potty train her in August, right after her 2nd birthday.  

I know one of these days I'm probably going to miss this house.  I'll definitely miss the yard.  Of course, I don't know if Adam will because it is a lot of work - which he does tirelessly - that giant hill is a beast without a self-propelled push mower and the weeds...the WEEDS!  The girls, however, LOVE the yard.  And on rainy days?  I'm pulling out my hair because they can't go out there.  That's not true...usually I give them rain jackets and help 'em pull on their rain boots and off they go.  Charlotte can climb the Red Tip this year, they explore the "trail", mix up "stews" in flower pots and sand pails, swing, slide, climb, fill the birdbaths with rocks, say hello to the huskies that live behind us (that you can see in one little corner of the yard, to which they've named "Cloudy" and "Meatball"), climb the tree house to shout hello to Wilson & Baker (Mr. Jack's dogs that live next door), pick flowers and hunt for bugs and frogs and poop.  The girls are poop pirates.  If there is a dog poop in the yard they will track it down, get the scoop and get to hollering for me to help them get it.  Ruby also likes to hike the stairs then shout for mom from the top - to show me that she's made it...and then to help her swing like a big girl (no baby swing for this toddler - it's backless swinging all the way).  Note to Adam:  I'm purposely leaving out what happened this weekend right here...all three accidents.  Love ya.  

"ffffflower"

Charlotte's speech is going pretty well!  We're still working on "f" but I'm hoping we'll accomplish that soon...at $90 a half hour session.  Maybe week 8 will be our lucky week!  No, really - she can pronounce the "f" sound - what we're working on now is her mastering the sound in blends (fr/fl) and conversationally.  It's changing her habits, like changing an accent almost - a way of speaking.  Ruby likes to practice with us - and proudly shouts "FROG".  Really, if Ruby had been our first I would have noticed Charlotte's speech a lot sooner.  Ruby, at 19 months has one serious vocabulary.  And her pronunciation is just about spot on.  Do you want to know what word I hear 1,000 times a day?  Of course you do!  "Char-Char!"  Over and over and over.

They completely dressed themselves.

Char-Char!  Ruby wants to be just like her.  She wants to wear her clothes, wear her shoes, eat the same food (and then some because Ruby has a great appetite and will try everything, and usually likes it - not strawberries), play with the same toys, read the same books, play the same games, sit in the same seat, receive the same "luxuries" (ie. walking through a parking lot holding her own umbrella).  Sister emulation.  God it's sweet.  And then to see Charlotte taking it for granted!  Are all sisters like this?  I mean, my sister definitely doesn't idolize me...Ha!  But maybe she did...Greatest gift, I'm telling you...Char Char better not take that love for granted...Sibling Rivalry is a tricky little beast that I can attest to already.

We had to get ready to go pre-register at the hospital this morning for Friday.  The girls got dressed.  I can't tell either one of them what to wear.  Charlotte picked out her favorite pants and her favorite shirt.  Ruby picked out her favorite dress of Charlotte's and leggings.  I put my foot down when she wanted to wear Charlotte's shoes.  Fine. I caught a great story on NPR about the importance of letting preschoolers implement their own decisions...New Zealand study, birth to 32 years, blah blah blah.  So, whatever, I'm cool with them picking out their clothes and having some autonomy...I just want it clear that I didn't pick out those ensembles.