Wait...

I was supposed to do tummy time with EACH kid?

....oops.

Gonna get right on that.

Tomorrow.

How is this possible?!

I blinked, and she went from this



to this




That'll teach me to blink.

And to breathe. When we got home this morning, I was seriously overwhelmed. Gracie was a tornado at breakfast with the bunny, tearing around and getting lost in the crowd, photo-bombing the other kids' easter bunny pics, trying to take all the eggs in the hunt, and I ran after her while wearing Katie on my chest. We got home with Gracie hopped up on sugar and Katie just DONE with being dragged around. I was still overheated from running around with a human strapped to my chest while carrying the diaper bag and trying not to lose my phone or my keys and for a second, I felt totally irritated with myself for even leaving the house, and just wished that the girls were old enough to visit the bunny and wait in line nicely and participate in arts and crafts and not run away from me the whole time. But for once, I stopped myself and remembered not to wish my life away. That the days are long but the years are short and one day, the absolute last thing either one of them will want to do is visit the Easter bunny with their stupid, badly-dressed mother.

It was a really, really good morning.

Random Thoughts

I met a new friend today from inside my computer. She's a baby center person, from the March 2011 AMA (advanced-maternal age, hello, I'm old) board. She had twins, so she also had February babies. (and we found out later we were even in the hospital, on the same floor, at the same time. Crazy, right?!) It's cold and raw and disgusting in Chicago, so we went here. It was super crowded, the parking situation was terrible (the neighborhood is notoriously crowded), and I had the worst cup of decaf I've ever had in my life, but oh my. Grace was in HEAVEN. I wish I'd found it sooner, because even though she dozed in the car on the way there AND back, she still took a two and a half hour nap after lunch. We'll definitely be going back.

For the most part, the kids all shared space pretty well. Considering the age group and how crowded it was, I was really surprised there wasnt' more of a need for parental intervention. There was one kid, though, who wasn't playing super-well with others. He saw Gracie climbing the stairs to go down the slide, shoved her out of the way and said, "NO! MINE!", and then proceeded to stand at the top of the stairs and block her from even going up at all. I glanced around for his parent/nanny/responsible adult, and nobody came forward. I watched him act like that a few more times, and nothing. My new friend shrugged and said, "I think in places like this, all's fair in love and war. it's just part of the setting." And considering the fact that she has twins, that attitude is probably a very, very good thing. But...I disagree. Grace is one of those kids who MEANS to be good when she's playing with other kids, but she has a really poor sense of her body in space, so I have to really watch her to make sure she doesn't plow anyone over. The other day at the children's museum, she accidentally STOMPED another little girl's fingers before I could stop her. And while I would be totally appalled with any parent who went nuts over that, I also think I need to step in and show her that she hurt someone and needs to say she's sorry. I mean, they're all little, how can they learn to behave if we don't tell them? I also had to watch Grace like a hawk because she's a human garbage disposal and tried to eat like five random bags of goldfish and snacktrap contents that she found scattered throughout. I can't imagine that would have gone over very well.

On the flip side, when I set down an empty coffee cup next to my foot so I could lift her up to dunk a basketball, if someone else's kid comes running over and picks it up, I don't think that deserves the nasty look I got from their nanny. Because, seriously, the play space is a coffee shop. that's the idea. There are no garbage cans in the play space. It's NEXT TO MY FOOT. But then, maybe the other mom felt that way about her bully of a son? I really don't know. Just thinking out loud.

And speaking of twins (we were speaking of twins. Tangentially, anyway), one of my other friends linked me to this blog. (She knows her from her multiples group.) God bless her. Can you imagine? I think there are people in this world who are meant to have twins and people who aren't and I think you can ALL guess under category I FIRMLY fall. It's not just me being high-strung and far too inflexible for twins, there is also the fact that I don't give birth to newborns so much as miniature terrorists. I mean, CAN YOU IMAGINE?! Good night. I work with a woman whose first baby was born in December, second baby was born in March, and then had boy/girl twins in December. When she found out Katie was due in March, knowing that Grace was born in December, she said, "ohhh, and when you have your third, you'll have twins in December!" I threw my pen at her. I am not kidding you guys- if I ever got pregnant with December twins, you would all have to take turns staying in my house and hiding the sharp objects.

Consider yourselves warned.

Look at me! Look at me!

One day, if all goes according to plan, Katie will be a middle child. And when that day comes, everyone will chuckle and say, awww, look at Katie. Typical middle child. Desperate for attention!

So I just want to say for the record: She has been like that SINCE BEFORE SHE WAS BORN.

"hi, I'm your fetus and I have a cardiac arrhythmia. Look at me!!!"

"hi, I'm your fetus and I'm allll tiny! Go get your growth ultrasound and look at me!!"

"Hi, I'm your baby and I'm gonna come ten days early! Look at me and all my dimples!"

"HI MY NAME IS KATIE AND I'M PRETTY SURE YOU'RE NOT HOLDING ME WTFSCREEEEEAM!!!"

Unless the universe somehow knew she was going to be a middle child and programmed her accordingly, it's just how she is. And I'll have my little drama queen know, she might have decided yesterday that she hates the front carrier, but that is too freaking bad because I occasionally require the use of my hands.

Currency!!!

You may or may not be aware, girls who hit and kick get their blankies taken away. This causes much weeping and wailing and cries of "peeeeeease bankit BACK!!"

Whether or not it produces actual changes in behavior remains to be seen. Stay tuned.

Stats

I just read mine for the first time. I dunno, I kind of figured it was just friends reading here and the occasional person who got lost on Google, so it didn't seem that interesting.

And really, yes, that is exactly who's reading here. But then I saw the search keywords that got people here and I found this phrase:

"baby crabby for weeks crying doc says nothing help"

I'm sorry, random person who was googling with frustration, rage, whatever. I know you didn't find anything here that helped you. Probably you are not even reading this anyway, but man, it sure does suck, doesn't it?

It gets better. Promise.

And when she was good, she was very, very good....

People have been asking how Gracie is doing with Katie. Gracie is doing very well with Katie. It's everything else in the world that's giving her fits.

No. I exaggerate. But SERIOUSLY OH MY GOD, the girl is feeling every second of her two years old.

Defiant is the word that comes to mind most often. Not always- often, in fact, when we ask her to do something (or not do something), she just ignores us. Clearly, we are addressing another child named Gracie who is banging on the wall with plastic bowling pins, or not picking up her toys, or digging thru the kitchen drawers. But when she REALLY doesn't want to do something?! "NOOO! NO NO NO NO NO NO," she will shriek (SHRIEK) with a pitch and timbre that can shatter your eardrums. And the TONE in her voice? There's so much more than no in there. It's "I don't want to and you can't make me because you're stupid and dumb and I don't EVER have to listen to you so just go to hell already OKAY?!?!?" And in those moments, she challenges me more than she ever did as a newborn. Which is saying something.

Aaaand then there's the kicking and the hitting. Kicking is mostly reserved for diaper changes and getting dressed. She doesn't want to, and if she has to bloody my nose to stop it, so be it. It's a loss of control, really. The hitting, though? Ohhh, my, does my blood boil. She stares me dead in the eye and slowly, deliberately, reaches out and smacks me. Or pinches me. Or grabs my fingers and pulls in opposite directions.

If I show anger, either to these actions, or really any form of misbehavior, she finds it utterly hilarious. Time-outs are merely a brief interlude in her day. "Sah mommy," she'll say afterwards, hug me, and skip off on her way, only to repeat the same misbehavior the next time the mood strikes. Taking away things she wants occasionally works temporarily, but she soon forgets it ever happens. I know I have to find her currency, but I have a feeling that won't happen until her memory is a bit longer (and I seriously can't believe there are kids who actually respond to time-outs. for real.)

But she's also so, so, so good. She's getting such a sense of humor, with actual give and take. She gets SO excited about going to play outside in her sandbox. She'll get so excited about something, and say to me, "Mama! Wookit dat!" She spreads her hands out over something and says "taaa!" (because she hasn't quite figured out Ta-Da!). She'll walk into a room with her hands behind her back and say, "ah-prise!" and when we ask her what, she'll whip out some random object and say, "Deese!" She will occasionally do this in front of the mirror, to watch herself say it. (she'll also run past the front hall mirror and check herself out as she goes by.) She pats her sister on the head and says, "nice baby..."

She is funny and sweet and clever and amazing. And when she's bad? Well. I'm really hoping to find her currency soon.