La La

Alex loves to watch and feed the fish when Max is in school. She stands there saying, "HI FISH! HI! Hi Fish!" and then listens for them to respond. She really loves animals...especially dogs!

The other day when I was putting Alex down for her nap, she started singing the ABC's to herself. It sounds something like:
a b c d _ f g _ i _ k _ _ m n O P _ r s _ _ v W _ Y Z. Noooooowwww _ _ my bc's ne na nuh _ sing _ me! YAY! (clap, clap, clap) YAY ME! She sang the song three times. Most of her letters are pretty clear and she carries the tune really well. After each song she clapped for herself at the end and then said, "Yay me!" She says, "Yay me!" a lot when she does something she's proud of. I think it's perfect. I should definitely say that to myself more.

I just cut her hair last week. For the most part she sat there so still for me and was very cooperative. At one point she even looked in the mirror and said, "Mommy cut. Like it!" I told her I thought it looked cute so she looked at herself in the mirror again, smiled and said, "Ya, cute!" Words cannot even describe how this hair cutting experience with her differs from the ones I have with Max...

When you point to the color orange and ask her the color she says, "Max." When you point to the color red and ask her the color she says, "Mine."

She refers to herself as La La. For the longest time we didn't know what she was talking about until one day we asked her what her name was and she very clearly said, "LA LA!" She thinks it's really funny when we call her that.

We went up skiing on Sunday. Max did really well on his little skis. He got some good gliding in and is getting a lot better at getting up by himself when he falls. He INSISTS on using his poles and actually does amazingly well with them.

Hey, You Live on the Planet Earth!

We have been reading about the solar system lately. Max likes to tell people he meets (especially other kids at the park) that they live on planet Earth. He has yet to meet an equally enthusiastic audience...

except Alex...she's always fascinated by everything he says. She copies everything he does these days...sometimes every minute mannerism and word. She's constantly saying, "Me too, me too!" Alex wants to be like Max so badly she doesn't like to admit she's a girl though she'll settle for Tom-Boy-Girl. We've been reading 'Girls Hold Up This World' to her - she really likes all of the pictures...she doesn't realize it yet, but her girl power is strong.

Max has a fish tank in his bedroom now with 2 orange and black fish (they're tropical but I forget what kind). I think he sleeps better knowing he's not entirely alone. I seriously considered getting him a dog, but with our luck it would just end up wanting to sleep with me or Dan as well. Anyway, he loves his fish and he loves helping me clean the tank more than anything. In this area he actually is a help. He can catch the fish in the net so much better than I can...so much better that I don't even want to clean the tank without his help. He's like a little fish whisperer the way he goes about it. He just holds the net in the water and waits...he keeps it very still...and he WAITS until the fish eventually swims in and then he pulls the net up. He talks to them very softly and calmly the whole time. It's the only time you will ever see this child that motionless and quiet.

I have a confession. I enjoy watching other kids throw tantrums in public. It's not that I wish tantrums upon other parents; it's just that it's so reassuring to know that I'm not alone and that those embarrassing fits are not a measure or indication of my abilities. You can avoid certain situations and mitigate circumstances as much as possible, but kids are kids and it's perfectly normal for them to fall apart sometimes. However, with society's general discouragement of meltdowns it's easy to feel like a bad mother when they happen. No matter how well you deal with them, your children inevitably cause a scene and you can instantly feel the judgmental eyes upon you. Usually mine are the ones falling apart, but there has recently been some realignment in the universe and I get to watch other kids fall to pieces while mine hop along happily. To whom ever is responsible: THANK YOU.

I also have an announcement. I have discovered the reason Max likes me to park on the left side of the parking lot at preschool. Brooke's mom always parks on the left side. He really likes Brooke. Apparently Brooke (who turns 5 next week) considers him her boyfriend and according to their teachers, they like to do everything together at school. They especially like to race each other out to the cars when we pick them up...