Our Kids

The girls and I were sitting on the sofa last night taking in the Oscars (we like clapping and there’s a lot of clapping on that show). I sneezed and immediately Piper said “bless you.” I think. She definitely said something that was the same number of syllables as “bless you” and it definitely was not a mock sneeze like we get when we cough. It would make sense that she’d say something like that since Mystique and I both utter that odd little phrase when the other person sneezes, so I’m gonna stick with my story. Piper blessed me.

Since the fall out incident, I have rearranged the girls cribs back to a side by side configuration.  I am starting to remember why I moved them from this configuration.  Every nap time is a time for joyous romping, jumping and throwing of toys into each other cribs.  Often times I remember coming in and you could see instantly who fell asleep first.  The poor early sleeper would be covered with about 10 stuffed animals and two blankets and the late sleeper would be in her bare crib in deep slumber.

Today we had just such an incident.  Too much fun was being had in the back room and me being out alone with only the floors to mop, I decided to investigate.  So I peeked in to see them laughing and jumping and kissing each other over the rails.  Then Piper let me know she had a poo poo, that is another of her tricks, wait until nap time and then lay one on so I can delay nap time some more.  So I started changing her and talking to her and I called her Lela, quick as a whip she said “I Piper” and then she pointed at Lela and said “Nyah Nyah”.  It was so funny, I was totally busted.  HA!  Now they are napping which is good because we have a follow up doctor appt today for Lela’s ear and they need to get some shut eye before that main event.

So every once in a while I get fed up with all the junk around and I put it all away.  I clear the cabinets, put away the toys, stack all the books and scrub her down.  Then we think, oh how nice the house looks.  Almost immediately the thought comes to mind, now what in the heck did I do with X?  X is  never to be found again since it was so nicely put away.  Had X stayed on the counter it would be in plain site and usually found within a day.

This is what has happened to my battery charger.  I can’t find it since I put it away, now you are probably wondering why you should care.  Well I use said battery charger for my digital camera.  So no charger, no photos.  You see the dilemma now?  We do have another charger but it is in the bedroom and it is inconvenient for me (its a whole 15 feet from the kitchen).  It really isn’t that it is inconvenient so much as the fact that if I don’t see it I will forget.  It is also why I leave the vacuum out in the living room, otherwise I will forget that I haven’t vacuumed that room yet.  So all the stuff is on the counter again, EXCEPT for the charger which is still roaming around somewhere with X.

I’m not sure how this started, but about three weeks ago the girls started adding “-y” or “-ie” to the end of a lot of their words. Some of it is valid, of course… doggie, daddy, mommy, etc… Some, not so valid: orang-ie, book-y, shoes-ies, sock-ies. I’ve been very careful at work when I talk to people not to add my own -ie suffix and thankfully it hasn’t happened. But, I’m sure I’ll slip up someday in a meeting and talking about my new projecty where I get to write some codey on my computery. It’s inevitable.

There have been other changes recently, as well… the girls used to enjoy taking baths. Piper more than Lela, but they still both liked it. Nowadays, not so much. Don’t know what happened there.

The girls are also getting really good at saying yes and no to our questions which is causing us to rethink how we phrase things. For example, when we asked “do you want to take a bath?” both girls gave definitive answers of “no.” I think Lela actually said, “no, no, no” while shaking her head. And it’s not the standard emphatic “no” that they say… it sounds so nonchalant coming from them… a high pitch “no” with an imperceptible shrug, as if it was an afterthought or a foregone conclusion.

Most of the time their “yes” comes out as a “yeah”. Totally cute… “do you want oatmeal this morning?” “Yeah.” Same imperceptible shrug… as if saying “yeah, I guess oatmeal’s ok if that’s all you’ve got.”

Oh yeah… this started with Lela and I think Piper picked up on it because it worked out so well. Lela would be sitting on the sofa, or on the floor, probably with a book… then she’d pat the space next to her and say, “daddy, here.” How could I resist that? So I’d sit down next to her and she’d cuddle in close and we’d read a book or do whatever it was she wanted. I’m a sucker. I think I just promised Lela a pony.

So everything is moving along here at the Haslup house… lately it seems like Mystique and I have been way more tired than usual, but I’m not sure why that is. Otto is growing up and the girls really seem to love him. He’ll be laying on the ground minding his own business and every now and then Piper will walk over to him, lay down, and give him a kiss. I think she’s stopped trying to carry him around, thankfully… her neck-grab probably wasn’t the best for either of them. It’s pretty funny hearing the girls say “Otto, back” and “Otto, off” while pushing him out of their room or off the sofa. Yet another reminder that they pick up on everything you say, good and bad.

I mean, good-y and bad-y.

Well Piper just fell out of her crib.  Right on to the floor.  Like a giant belly flop.

She is okay but was a bit shocked that it happened.  She is a smart cookie and hopefully she saw the cause and effect of climbing out of her crib.  If not then we will be making the move to big girl bed and I am not really looking forward to that.  They can’t open doors yet but without the crib they are mobile.  Sigh…..just when I was getting comfortable again:)

Okay so Lela has been so incredibly cute lately.  More often than not you will find her sitting and singing quietly to herself itsy bitsy spider or the alphabet with a few words and letters correct and the rest in Lela speak.  The girls have never really sung to themselves so this is a new thing.  I think Piper likes it because she has started to mimic Lela when she is singing.  When you point it out or address Lela, she stops.  The girls have also been quite chatty with each other but in a more direct way.  They are talking quietly discussing the color of their balloons, shoes or other things that catch their fancy.  I looked up today to see them in their fort on their swingset just hugging and trying to pick each other up and saying “heavy”.

As for the band aid, Piper has the tiniest knick in her finger from Otto.  She has insisted on a band aid for over a week now and she tells us over and over how Otto did it.  Jason tries to get her to say I did it but she tells him in no uncertain terms it was Otto.   At least we know she is not ready to throw me to the wolves just yet, maybe in her teen years.

Today we went shopping for some odds and ends and the girls walked around the entire store, stayed by my side, and did not touch anything that they should not.  They were very good, we don’t usually let them wander about the stores but they are getting to be big girls and I want them to learn how to do it.  I was impressed.

So Piper will repeat the alphabet and all her numbers as well as spell her name and Lela’s name with no trouble.  She is starting to recognize letters and will even say what letter comes next 40% of the time.  Lela just takes it all in and doesn’t say much.  Sometimes she will repeat the letters but more often than not mum is the word.  I just figure she will do it when she is ready.  That is the funny thing about Lela, she sits quietly and doesn’t say anything but she is taking it all in.  This morning she just started up going through the alphabet without any prompting, it was more for her own enjoyment than anything else where Piper does it to entertain/please you.  My little ones are as special as they are different.

So now I have to worry about what I say around Lela because I know she is ALWAYS listening and learning:)

Funny thing about the twos, it is old enough to want something, even if it isn’t really good and/or comfortable for you.  Case in point is our fabulous new shoes.  We got new Dora tennis shoes and some new Teva style sandals.  The girls wear them all the time, I mean 24/7!  You have to get the shoes off and hide them to even have a hint of a chance to getting them to sleep without them.  The other day we got a little wet outside so Piper (who does not like to have even a drop of water on her) insists to have all her clothes off, except her diaper, socks and shoes.  That is how she napped, in her shoes and socks.  It is so cute and so funny.  I mean those clunky things can’t be comfortable but they go along with the wacky outfits they pick out sometimes too.  So much fun, so much amusement, who knew it could be this good.