They're GOOD too

No, really...my kids are good sometimes.

Andrew- Has been a rock star with his siblings and other kids. It's like all that social awkwardness has just melted away. He was hunting for fireflies and started in with the big boys from across the street. Their mother commented, "I couldn't even imagine Andrew doing that last year." He has found that he LOVES playing with Lily...and he is becoming very good at adapting his game to suit her mood. There are many mornings that I wish he didn't have camp, because they are playing so well together. Except that he is doing GREAT at camp, too...always surrounded by kids and counselors playing hard when I go to pick him up. So any of you out there with 2 year olds attached at your hip who can't seem to get 2 feet away from you to make contact with the outside world...there is hope! And I am sooooo glad that he didn't start Kindergarten last year. In California, the cutoff date for Kindergarten is December 1st...so Andrew would have skated by. And with his booksmarts and ginormousness, I'm sure we would have started him. But the social development in the last 12 months has made me sure that even if he is bored next year...he will be so much happier socially and emotionally. It makes me feel really good about putting him on that bus. When does that start again?

Lily- Honestly, she is getting much more rational. I can sense the 3's coming...still tantruming, still obstinate, but not so irrationally Cr-A-zy. Usually we fight during 2 main times...meal time, because she hates all food except junk and her mean mother makes her eat good food and then Andrew pick up time, because she is having fun doing her own thing and doesn't want to pile in the car just to go sign him in/out. Nothing in it for her. I can understand these tantrums, they make sense to me. Other than that, she is waiting to hold my hand in parking lots, listening, understanding limitations...amazing.

A quick story...I went on Monday morning to get Michael's hair cut. I have never done this with Lily...but it had to be done. So we dropped Andrew off and went straight there. In the car I gave Lily a debriefing of what was going to happen...we do this for every outing, so she knows the expectations. She walked in, grabbed a sucker, and climbed into one of the waiting chairs. I went back with Michael and held the screaming banshee while he was submitting to the torture of getting his hair cut. She never moved...just swung her legs in that chair and munched on the sucker. When I came back front with my sweating, red-faced, sticky from suckers and hairy from the sticky, and newly handsome 15 month old, Lily was still sitting in the same chair. I complimented her and told her I was proud of her. She pointed to the 60 year old woman next to her and said, "I was just talking to this girl." The nice woman laughed and told me they had indeed had a long conversation. As we were leaving, Lily waved goodbye, and the woman asked her what she was going to do today. Lily responded, "I going to try not to get hurt." and bounded out the door. If you saw her beat up knees, you'd think it made a lot of sense.

Michael- Oh wait. Michael is always good. We don't REALLY need to go over that again, do we? He is so so so so so close to walking. So close. If he were my first child, I would probably say that he is already walking. He can stand and balance for a minute or more. He regularly takes 2-3 steps to get somewhere before he drops down and crawls. He CAN do it...but he doesn't think he can. I think it is an any day thing.

Enjoy your day! My kids have requested the pool again today. My friend went out of town and gave us her pool pass...so we are using it for all its worth. ;) But it makes me T-iiiiiiiired. But it makes the kids tired too...so that's cool.