On the move

Addie is about to give Gillian a run for her money. Now, it won't be in the unique fashion that Gillian got around. If I was a betting woman, I would say Addie will be a traditional "hands and knees" crawler. But she is definitely persistent, and seems to have a pretty good sense of object permanance already, which is always fascinating to watch evolve.

Here is Addie's current rock n' roll mobility:


In other news, Gillian was a regular dream daughter today, which, if you know Gillian's wild spirit, is a blessed occasion. On her fabulous days, she is helpful, polite, and generous. This gives me hope because it tells me somewhere inside her demonic 3-year-old psyche, there are honest-to-God values becoming entrenched that are decent and good. Most days, though, are "test ya till I break ya" days and those days end with us in comas going to bed early because there is no other option. Today, Gillian was a regular Donna Reed. She helped me make Addie's avocados, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes. She entertained Addie while I cleaned dishes. She helped baste the chicken, and enjoyed seasoning it. She set the table. I find if I can channel her energy and give her some responsibility, she gets all puffed up and peacockish, proud of being "so big". She was a bit put off by my story of why the chicken was dead, and accused farmers of being "bad guys". When I explained that chickens were raised to be eaten, well, that worked for her. Then she named our dinner "Poor Sad Dead Chicken". After that, she fed Addie and helped me bathe her. I kept thinking "can we keep THIS Gillian, and send the hellion back till she comes to her senses?" I will save my moral issues with discipline for another post, but suffice it to say, Gillian is in need of boundaries made of granite (she would NEVER do well at a Waldorf or Montessori program), and we are about to change how we discipline her in a big way. This was prompted, in my mind, by her telling me (when Addie was sleeping) "You have to play with me right now Mama, or I might scream and wake Addie up." Wow. Threats from a 3 year old. Time to stop talking and explaining so much and start a consistent response for just about every transgression.




The talking/babbling is coming along too. When Bill and Suzi were here for Christmas, Addie started imitating speech. It's a happy, crazy noisy house we've got here. Sounds all full of life. And I love that!


And I will leave you with a few recent pictures. I believe we are on the brink of losing the coolest avant garde characters ever in favor of trying-to-be-more-realistic. But at least we still have plenty of imagination when it comes to play. Like, Gillian was "playing" with my belly yesterday. Making "him" talk and stuff. She shall never be bored.