Austen has aged about five years overnight. There is nothing she can't say, but she doesn't always get things in the right order:
She calls toilet paper, "paper toilet." I've started calling it this, and have actually used the term to another adult. Oops.
"What is this called book?"
She uses "for" instead of "to." So, "Sorry to hitting you, KK."
Tonight, as I was going past her room to go to bed, I heard her whimpering. I decided to go in and check, and she was fine, but said, "Will you rock with me in my chair, Mama?" At two and a half years old, you just don't turn that down. Ever. We rocked -- she laid her head on my shoulder and wrapped her arms around my neck -- and I breathed her in. My big/baby girl.
After putting her back into her crib, I sat in her room for another minute. Pretty soon, I hear whispering: "Kara, Travis, Paige, Parker, Jeff, Lisa, Austen, Kaitlyn..." Random kid-speak. :)
To Kaitlyn: "Oh...Oh man...is that an owie on your foot?"
The first time we took the girls up to the cabin, Austen was calling it "Cabin's House."
She's two and a half, which, by definition, means that she has no regard for personal space. Elbows in the gut and other places are common. If you say "Ow," Austen will quickly ask, "You okay?"
Oh, Kaitlyn. She's almost four, going on 13. We were baking the other day and I was reaching for something under her leg (she likes to sit on the counter when we work in the kitchen). I made a silly noise as I was moving her, and she laughs and says, "You're so funny, Mama." So, I did it again the next time, expecting another giggle. Instead, it was, "It's not funny anymore, Mom."
She reverses "anything" and "nothing." Any time she uses one, it's always the opposite. So, "What are you doing, K?" gets "Anything." (Nothing -- which, by the way, usually means "I'm up to no good.) And, "I don't want nothing." (Anything.)
We had a play date recently, and my friend was asking about Riley. "You have a dog named Riley, right, Kaitlyn?" "Yeah, but he's a stinker." She's right...
K likes to go "wake up Austen," which means that she's the first one in her room when A is already awake. The other day, she went in while I was still downstairs and I hear over the monitor: "You slept for a good long time sweetie - you did so good."
Austen told Kaitlyn and she loved her, and K responds, "I love you, too, sweetie pie."
We were driving: "Mama, I see snail eye clouds." No idea, but I'm sure she saw them...
"Mama, when do tongues sleep? Do they sleep when we sleep?"
She's been really into beginning word sounds, and some days will go around saying things like, "Blanket. B-b-b-blanket...B!" Love.It.
And one of my all-time favorite Kaitlyn moments, which you had to be there for, I'm sure: We were driving in the car and she said something to Austen about not being her friend anymore. I started talking to her about how we don't say that, yada yada yada, and we got in a big conversation about how, if you see someone playing alone or sad, going to them and asking if they want to play, etc. would be a great thing to do. Including others, etc., etc. By the way, the mama bear in me insists on mentioning that comments like this aren't said very often, and I believe that at this age, they are just testing it out. There; moving on...
I had popped in a CD that my aunt had burned for me, and this song came on (random link, but it shows the lyrics). I hadn't heard it before, and was thinking how weird it was that we had just had this big conversation about this very situation. I opened my mouth to say something, and from the backseat K says, "Hey, this is just like what we were talking about." She quickly caught on, as kids do, and sang along. She now calls this her favorite song. :)
For whatever the reason, this made me cry. There are a great many things I want for my kids, and at the very top of that list, besides happiness, is compassion for others. I know better than to think that things I say are going to shape this completely, but it can't hurt to have these conversations. And, I believe that music and lyrics can be just as powerful for kids as they are for adults.
I am so.dang.long-winded.
Goodnight. :)
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