Currents: Sophie

Current Books:
She's reading, she's reading! She can officially read now, although she doesn't seem to realize it. If you ask her if she can read, she'll answer No. But she can. She loves reading all the books that are assigned from school. She reads them aloud to us, and then we sign a form and send it back to her teacher. She got a lot of early reader books for Christmas, and she still loves to be read to as well. Currently, we are reading the chapter book Tangled, from the movie.

Current Music:
She just asked yesterday if I could put "Gangnam Style" on my ipod, so she's a little late to that party. She and Emma both love "What Does The Fox Say." Have you heard that song and/or seen the video? Oh my. There must be some sort of subliminal message audible only to kids, because the girls go nuts over it and I just don't get it. Although Glee covered it, so maybe the song's appeal is less about age and more about my (lack of) coolness factor. Other current favorites: "Demons" and "Forget You."

Current TV/Film: 
TV shows: Sofia the First. Like, at the top. But also: Peppa Pig, Strawberry Shortcake, Powerpuff Girls. Movies: Frozen, Neverending Story, Little Mermaid 3, Aquamarine, and "The Harry Potter movie where she writes blood on the wall and that guy forgets stuff, except not the part where Ron throws up slugs." She's talking about Chamber of Secrets, and though I love me some Harry Potter, I rue the day she saw the slug bit because since then, she has been deathly afraid of vomiting. It's a full-fledged phobia, so the fact that she listed that as one of her favorite movies is rather ironic.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure:
Same damn thing as last time I wrote a post like this about Sophie...almost two years ago. She picks her nose and then delicately puts her finger in her mouth and eats it. I have tried everything I can think of - short of out-and-out shaming - to get her to stop. I don't want to embarrass her, that doesn't feel right. But we have talked about it and talked about it and talked about it, and I think at this point it's going to take one or several of her peers calling her out about it before the behavior disappears.

Current Other Pleasures:
She loves board games and playing pretend. She's just starting to get into play dates with other friends from school. She really enjoys swim lessons and gymnastics. She loves to snuggle and hug, is very quick to give and receive affection. She adores sneaking downstairs early in the morning on weekends and snatching the ipad, then creeping back upstairs and watching Strawberry Shortcake and My Little Pony to her heart's content while the rest of us sleep in. This morning she woke me at 6:30am because she was too excited about Taco Night to sleep, so apparently pre-planned dinners bring her pleasure as well. Honestly, she's a generally happy kid who gets pleasure out of almost everything around her.

Current Color:
Purple or pink.

Current Fetish:
Sophie lives to change her mind, particularly over food. For years, she ate 2-3 Gogurts a day. She loved them, to the point of obsession. Now, she won't touch them. Why, you might ask? "I just don't like them anymore." We went to Panda Express recently and Sophie ordered her usual, the same meal she's been eating from that restaurant for three years. But this time, she took a bite and declared she hated it. We will make all her favorites for dinner, and sometimes she devours it. Other times, she won't touch the food. She has been known to actually change her mind mid-meal. She'll eat half a hot dog or taco and then label it "disgusting" (one of her favorite words) and ask if she can have a piece of cheese instead. It. Drives. Us. Mad.

Current Outfit: 
Right now she is in her princess robe because she just got out of the shower.

Current Drink:
We are back to near-constant orange juice. She used to drink Crystal Lite lemonade, but doesn't like it anymore. (See Current Fetish.) She will drink Capri Sun lemonade and slushies, but will not touch milk for any bribe in the world and will only drink water out of a water fountain. She does, however, love fruit smoothies. Both girls have them every day for breakfast. Sophie's favorite combo is banana, strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, raspberry and mango.

Current Wish List:

1. To be able to do absolutely everything that Emma gets to do at the exact same time that Emma gets to do it.
2. To see a shooting star.
3. To get a puppy.
4. To go swimming in Florida "in a real pool OUTSIDE where it is warm and not winter."
5. For her hair to be long, or at least long enough to wear a ponytail. (She wore small ponytails to school recently and it looked so damn cute, and then the kids in her class - "even my friends, Mommy, even my friends!" - made fun of her "short little baby ponytails" and she won't wear them again. Peer pressure rocks, doesn't it?)

Current Triumph:
She recently mastered a "fast cartwheel," which she is excited about. She is highly skilled at tying shoes, takes her own showers, and can make her own toast and waffles in the morning. For a six-year-old, these are big things.

She is also very proud to be writing whole sentences and even whole stories at school. They have the kids write phonetically, so sometimes her writing is a challenge to read. But it's fun to try and figure out the thought processes behind how and why she spells words certain ways. Often times, her version of the word makes much more sense than how it is actually spelled. Plus, Chris and I get a kick out of seeing if we can decode all of her writing. It's like our own little mystery quest or something.

I cannot believe how far she has come in less than a year. Below is just one sample of something she wrote...check it out, Aunt Cara! (Click on the image to make it bigger.)

Translation: One of the best days is when I went to Indiana Beach. It has rides. We went on water rides, roller coasters and a real fast ride. We went into the water and we splashed each other. After, we watched fireworks. I love going to Indiana Beach!

  
Current Bane Of Her Existence:

1. Chapped lips. 
2. The unfairness of life. (Her very favorite phrase is, "That's not fair!" Used once a day, easily.) 
3. Anyone throwing up anywhere near her, within hearing or sight, ever. It absolutely terrifies her. If it happens in a movie or show, we must shut it off immediately. I did not realize how much throwing up happens in "family" movies until now. I'm guessing because most kids find gross things funny? I don't know, but it makes my kid borderline catatonic. She starts shaking, turns totally white, and hides her face and covers her ears. A lot of times, she literally goes and hides. It's an intense reaction, although slowly, by small increments, it is getting better.
4. Her stupid damn skin rashes that she keeps getting. 
5. Her tonsils, which are so swollen that she's had cold-like symptoms for two months.
6. Everyone always thinking she's a boy because she has short hair. Just a short list of the people we've encountered who have called her "little buddy" or otherwise flat out referred to her with male pronouns: two teachers, the grocery clerk, several kids at school, our UPS guy, and the receptionist at our doctor's office.

Current Celebrity Crush: 
Probably The Tooth Fairy and Cee Lo Green

Current Indulgence:
Stealing anything she can from the pantry and eating it on the sly. Oddly, this behavior has never occurred to Emma, but Sophie is all over that sneaky stuff. So far she's stolen candy, Oreos, fruit roll ups and Pringles. She also has a new habit of hiding things she doesn't want to eat in strange places. Ask Chris sometime about the squished-sandwich-under-the-sink episode.

Current Excitement: 
She's lost her first two teeth, and another is loose. This causes BIG excitement around here. She's also very excited to be learning new things. She comes home from school every day with new tales to tell. She sings us songs from music, details the fun games she plays in gym, and reviews the stories she is comparing and contrasting in class...always with a huge smile on her face.

She's at 19 marbles in her marble jar, which means just one away from a reward. Hence, all afternoon today, she kept pausing at whatever she was doing and declaring dramatically, "I wish I could get just one more marble." When I reminded her that marbles are earned by good behavior, she responded, "Yeah, I know. But that will take too long."

Current Mood:
On the whole, she is a sweet, slightly reticent, warm, sunny little girl. She can also be stubborn and moody and prone to tears, of course. But she is our little lovebug, throwing out frequent declarations of "I love you" and telling us all the time that we are the best mommy/daddy/sister in the whole wide world. Her smile lights up any room she is in, and she completes our family in ways I could have never ever dreamed.

Currents: Emma

Current Books:
At school, they are reading Lois Lowry's Number the Stars. At home, Emma is reading the 5th Harry Potter book. She goes through phases with reading...sometimes reading nothing, other times jumping around from book to book to book. She loves to go to the library, plus she has a lot of books at home she has yet to read, so I think she suffers from the same thing I do: A feeling of so many books, so little time. One of her challenges is focusing on just one book at a time; she likes to read two or three simultaneously, which I don't get. But hey, she's reading! All is well. (Yes, that's an intentional HP nod.)

Current Music:
Well, she has her own ipod. (Yes, we caved...although she bought it with her own money and we made her save up for a year and a half.) She has a lot of artists on there, mostly pop music. She's recently downloaded songs from all the judges on The Voice - Adam, Blake (yes, she digs some country!) and Adam...although Cee Lo is her favorite. Around Christmastime, she would happily listen to Cee Lo's version of "The Grinch" on repeat for hours.

Current TV/Film:
She doesn't watch nearly as much TV as she used to. She enjoys watching old episodes of Modern Family, and she's pumped for the new season of The Voice. We are all sad to see Disney's Good Luck, Charlie go. (I admit that I might be the saddest.) She still gets sucked into cartoon shows that her little sis watches, although she denies she likes them.

For movies, both the girls loved The Lego Movie, and especially Frozen. They've seen it twice and know the words to all the songs. She got all eight Harry Potter movies for Christmas and is excited to watch the ones she hasn't seen. (We have a rule: can't watch the movie until you've read the book. THIS SHOULD BE A RULE FOR LIFE. In my opinion.) Other recent family-night movies we've seen that she's really liked: Secondhand Lions, Alaska, The Rookie and School of Rock. Oddly enough, we tried to watch Hugo for family movie night last Friday, and she informed me that she "just isn't really a movie person" and played with her sister for three hours instead. Mixed emotions on that one.

Current Pleasures: 
Emma loves learning new skills, and she particularly loves learning them on her own. For months now, her main obsession has been making things out of duct tape. Pocket lockers, wallets, purses, bags, notebooks, folders, etc. She has gotten very good, and she briefly tried to make a business of it. She was all geared up to sell things on her Youtube channel and everything. Her business aspirations ran smack dab into reality when she came home from school with 17 wallet orders and we had to explain about supply and demand. Once she realized she had to buy the materials to make those things for everyone, and that she wouldn't really come out ahead, she changed course. For now, she's focusing on making instructional videos. (I think she's working out a new entrepreneurial approach in her head, though. I sense a round 2 in the works.)

She is now moving on to baking and cooking. For Valentine's Day, she made us all cupcakes. This was a big deal to her. She found the recipe and wrote up an ingredients list, and then Chris helped her shop and supervised her in the kitchen. She was so damn proud of herself, although there were tears when things didn't go her way. All in all, she seemed to enjoy it because this weekend, she wants to make us a surprise dinner.

Most recently, she asked for crocheting supplies. I have no idea where she is getting all this domestic craftiness from, but it is definitely not me.

Current Color:
"Blue, black, and any darkish color...oh, and hot pink."

Current Links:
Youtube and Instagram. She loves to watch how-to videos about crafting and baking on Youtube, and there is one site in particular where she gets all her duct tape ideas. And she loves posting Instagram pictures and videos for her friends. Of course, her account is private, and followers must be approved before accepted. Frankly, Chris and I are still finding our sea legs on how to monitor her Internet usage. I am nostalgic for when I was a kid and no one had to worry about this stuff. The vastness of the Internet is still hard for me to wrap my brain around, which makes it all the more challenging when tasked with explaining the potentially harmful aspects of the Internet to a nine-year-old.

Her Instagram profile photo is the one below, with the accompanying caption: "Me and my sister!" Seeing that made me happy. The first comment on the pic below was a "friend" of hers from school who wrote, "THAT'S A GIRL???" (For everyone who wonders why Sophie wants to grow her hair out...Exhibit A.) Emma wrote back: "Excuse me, but don't talk that way about my sister." That made me very happy, indeed.

Current Fetish:
She continues to have weird quirks where clothes are concerned, especially pants. They can't be denim, must be a soft knit of some kind, preferably leggings, no odd stitching in the legs or crotch, tight against her skin, tight against her ankles, not too long, ABSOLUTELY NO TAGS. She has also developed some annoying habits that she's trying to break. It used to be chewing on the skin of her fingers. The behavior became so frequent that all her fingers were red and puffy; they looked disfigured. It's gotten better, but I'm actually concerned she may have done some lasting damage. Now, she licks her hands. She looks like a reptile when she does it; the visual is very odd. When questioned, her answer is that she licks them because the skin is dry and chapped. (Oh, this winter...don't. get. me. started.) And she is absolutely convinced that lotion makes it worse. So the new rule is, if I catch her doing it twice in a row, she must use lotion. Yes, lotion is now a threat and punishment in my house.

Current Outfit:
Multi-striped leggings, oversize t-shirt with peace signs, giraffe socks, cheetah-print sneakers.

Current Drink:
Grape juice at school. Soda whenever we are weak and say yes (which isn't often). Water (yay!). Green tea still, sometimes. Kiddie cocktails at restaurants. A fruit smoothie almost every day.

Current Wish List:

1.  Crocheting supplies
2.  A refrigerator in her room. (See addendum at bottom of this post.)
3. Sleepovers with her friends every single weekend.
4. Learning karate, ice skating, cooking, basketball, baseball and ballet, while continuing to do swimming, gymnastics, girl scouts, and SWAT (after-school tech group). Honestly, if we were independently wealthy she would do it all and somehow clone herself to make it happen.
5. The ability to make her sister apparate and disapparate at will.
6. Unlimited ipod time, no restrictions.
7. No bed time.
8. 10:00am start time for school.
9. Her own phone.

Current Triumph:
She just taught herself all of "Ode to Joy" on the recorder and was pretty proud to play it for us and friends last weekend. She takes great pride in each new craft she creates. She is trying hard to master a flip flop in gymnastics; she can do it with her teacher spotting her, but not yet on her own. She has gotten all A's in school this year.

She just came home from school today all excited because her band Music 5 (Em and four friends...hence the name) performed Bruno Mars' song "Grenade" in gym class for all the fourth graders. She was glowing when she told me. She said she felt "throwing-up-nervous" beforehand, but it went really well and everyone clapped and her gym teachers said that Music 5 can take the stage anytime. I really wish I could have seen that.

Current Bane Of Her Existence:
The ISATs at school. They start next week, and she has a lot of anxiety over them. Also...me, honestly. I think I'm a bane of her existence. We butt heads a lot, and she does not like being told what to do. Cleaning her room, taking a shower, conditioning and brushing her hair, cutting her nails, doing her chores, not being late to school...all these reminders are on a constant loop coming out of my mouth, and she is not very appreciative of my input. :) We have been talking quite a lot about Responsibility in our house lately. So probably, more than anything, the concept of Responsibility bugs the shit out of Emma right now.

Current Celebrity Crush:
She loves this girl Allison who is in all her duct tape Youtube videos. I don't think she's a celebrity to many people, but she sure is to Emma. Yesterday, Emma told me that her friend J is going to take her to New York for her birthday because Allison will be at a craft show there and they want to meet her. When I asked who was paying for this trip, Emma replied, "Well, J's Mom, of course. It's my birthday present." Last year, J got Emma an outfit from Justice. That's quite an upgrade. When I pointed out the discrepancy, Emma retorted, "Yes, but my next birthday is double-digits, so I'll be getting extra special presents." I better start saving right away, I guess. Hell, it seems I should have started saving two years ago.

Current Indulgence:
I hate to sound repetitive but really, it's duct tape. Those suckers cost $4.99 a roll! Major indulgence indeed.

Current Excitement:
Emma is always excited about everything. Here are just a few things that are generating excitement at the moment:

1. Her marble reward. (Every twenty marbles she earns, she gets a reward. This time she got a sleepover with Mommy and Daddy. I thought her head was gonna explode. Sophie, on the other hand, burst into tears. Ah, sibling jealousy.)
2. Her friend's book club that starts this Thursday. (Super cute - her girlfriend sent an invite and everything. Fourth graders starting their own book club? I love it.) 
3. To see her Grandma and her cousins this weekend. 
4. To share all her newest creations with us. 
5. To visit her Grandpa and Grandma Kitty in Florida next month.
6. For her whole class to take a field trip to Mommy's work and see our new show.  
7. Auditioning for the solo in her Spring chorus program.
8. Her birthday. In June. She usually starts talking about it right after Christmas, so we are already two months into discussions.

Current Mood:
Changes daily. Euphoric, generous, defiant, caring, sweet, hostile, sunny, enthusiastic, engaged. Overall...delightful. Even during the dark periods. Emma is coming into her own, and it is truly awesome to watch.

Addendum (conversation from a couple of weeks ago):

Emma: "Sometimes at night when I am lying in bed, my stomach feels so empty and I know that it is sad, and I want to cry. I hate sadness, it just breaks my heart. Don't you agree?"
Me: "Well, of course. I'm not particularly fond of sadness."
Emma: "Yes! You know what I mean. So...that's why I think we should put a refrigerator in my room."

Currents: Emma

Current Books: She just told me she loves Liz Kessler books, especially Philippa Fisher and Emily Windsnap. She is reading Philippa Fisher and the Fairy's Promise at the moment. She just finished The Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963 and wouldn't stop talking about it. I caught her giggling out loud when reading it more than once. (As a huge reader myself, this sight made my heart absolutely SOAR.) She is eagerly awaiting her birthday because I made a stupid promise one year ago that she could start reading the My Sister The Vampire books when she turned 8 years old, so now I have to stick to it. Of course, I remember reading my mother's Danielle Steel books when I was around her age, so there are worse things.

Current Music: She is super duper in love with Selena Gomez right now. I seriously hear "Love You Like A Love Song," "Who Says?" and "A Year Without Rain" in my sleep. She and I are both really digging Taylor Swift's new song off the Hunger Games soundtrack, "Safe and Sound."  I try to push her toward these types of singers whenever I can, but unfortunately Kesha is still on our playlist too. However, I feel I've been at least mildly successful in influencing her musical choices because she loves her some Kelly Clarkson and Pink, and really...who in their right mind doesn't??

Current TV/Film: TV: "Austin & Ally" and "Wizards of Waverly Place." She would be loath to admit it, but she also gets sucked into a lot of her sister's "baby" shows. We haven't been to a movie in awhile. I think the last one was Lorax, which both girls seemed to enjoy. Her all-time favorite movie of the moment is Dolphin Tale.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasures:

1. Running around naked, smacking her butt and chanting "Shake your booty, shake shake your booty" while I huddle in a corner and try to resuscitate her unconscious father.
2. Putting her hands under her shirt and pretending she has "boobies."
3. Blowing bubbles in her dirty bathwater, a pastime she's seduced her sister into doing as well.
4. Gleefully sticking her stinky feet in my face.
5. Having heated, one-way conversations with various game characters as she's playing her Nintendo DS.
6. Wearing her favorite pair of jeans several days in a row. She'll only stop after I order her to put them in the laundry, and not before she falls to the floor, cradles the jeans to her chest and shrieks, "But they aren't gross yet, I swear! JUST ONE MORE DAY!" 

Current Color: Black, blue and purple. (Check out the "Current Color" section of my recent Currents: Sophie blog post, to which I say: A-HA!)

Current Links: ST Math, Disney Coloring Pages, and Funny Kitties songs on Youtube.

Current Fetish: She will only wear pants and t-shirts. The pants must be skinny jeans or leggings. No pants that are "puffy" and make her look fat. (Oh yes, that is a direct quote. And oh yes, it pains me terribly.) Still no dresses. Also, she always wears at least two ponytail holders around each of her wrists because "the colors help make her hands pop."

Current Outfit: Black leggings, blue t-shirt.

Current Drink: Lemonade, water, green tea. Soda whenever she can sneak it past me.

Current Wish List:

1. To not have to changes schools when we move to our new house.
2. To get her ears pierced.
3. To have a huge party for her birthday.
4. To move to Indiana, St. Louis or Florida (near family members) instead of living in Chicago, where "there is nothing to do."
5. To have her own phone, laptop and ipod.
6. To go to Florida and meet Winter the dolphin.
7. To have a bunk bed.
8. To drink soda "with every meal for the rest of my life."

(Guess how many of these wishes are going to come true? I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with "sun.")

Current Triumph: I don't know if this counts as a triumph, but she just got her hair cut and she's pretty excited about it. Also, she's now lost six teeth and happily shares that fact with complete strangers, along with the fact that she's "practically a third grader."

Current Bane Of Her Existence: Well, this could go on forever. Learning to ride a bike, the wind blowing her hair, muscle cramps, homework, wearing jackets, clothes that itch, spiders, wet hair on her neck. When I asked Emma directly, here was her reply: "Sophie annoying me and you telling me to do things that don't make any sense, like be responsible. Oh - and be sure to put in there that I don't like casserole."

Current Celebrity Crush: Selena Gomez and Winter the dolphin

Current Indulgence: Jewelry. She just used her own money to buy "Best Friends" bracelet and necklace sets. She gave the matching bracelet to her friend Violet and the matching necklace to her friend Olivia. She also has an Emma necklace from Grandma Kitty and a bracelet from Gigi that she wears almost every day.

Current Excitement: She is so excited for her birthday. Like, SO EXCITED. She's been talking about it since February. Seriously.

Current Mood: Dramatic. Ebullient. Unpredictable. Giddy. Mercurial. Dynamic. Tenacious. Maddening. Utterly, completely entertaining. A glorious tornado of opinions, thoughts, and feelings...that's our Emma Bloom.

Currents: Sophie

Current Books: Some of her favorites are the Pinkalicious and Frances series of books, Marcel the Shell, Skippyjohn Jones (she only has the first book but listens to the author read them all on CD). But she also loves chapter books. We've read the first Secrets of Droon book three times and she likes the Disney Fairies series. She also loves this app on Chris's phone where Grover reads Monster At The End Of This Book.

Current Music: She just asked today if I could put Nicki Minaj's "Turn Me On" on my ipod. But she'll still listen happily to Laurie Berkner. She's a musical conundrum. Chris has been playing both girls The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" at night on his phone for a lullaby, but the song on his phone that they most adore is "The Duck Song." If you haven't seen the video, check it out below. Then picture my girls re-enacting it word-for-word, which they have done on multiple occasions.

Current TV/Film: TV shows: "Wow Wow Wubbzy," "Peppa Pig," "Team Umizoomi," "My Little Pony." Oh, and "Powerpuff Girls," of course. For movies...she says her favorite is anything with Ariel (ie, My Little Mermaid or Ariel's Beginning) but she also loves the Barbie movies. Anything girly-girl.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Oh god. It's so gross. She picks her nose and then delicately, discreetly, puts her finger in her mouth and sucks. I have tried saying something to her about it more than once, but she just gets embarrassed and hides under the table. (Literally, this is what she has done every single time. It's like a pre-programmed response, as if someone hypnotized her and then suggested she climb under the nearest table immediately upon hearing the phrase "Please stop eating your boogers.") I don't have the heart to ask her to stop anymore. When I was little, a boy at school ate dirt every single day during recess. By the handful. Like...he gobbled it. So if she likes the taste of her own snot, who am I to judge? Eventually a peer is gonna give her grief over it, and the behavior will cease. Or maybe not. Kids made fun of the dirt-eating boy all the time, and he just kept scooping the stuff into his mouth with a smile on his face.

Current Color: When I asked her what her favorite colors are, she said black and purple and blue. But I think she is just saying that to copy her big sister. (Although when I stupidly said this comment aloud, it was greeted by outraged tears and much foot-stomping denial.) I think her true favorite colors are purple and pink.

Current Links: She isn't on the computer much, but she plays a lot of Internet games on Chris's phone, like The Cupcake Game and The Fairy Game and The Dora Game. (Do you sense a theme?)

Current Fetish: Hmmm...this one always stumps me. I think it's the word "fetish." It conjures decidedly un-preschoolish images in my mind. But let's see...I guess the one that drives me the most crazy is her "actually" fetish. For example, I will ask if she wants a waffle for breakfast, and she will say no. Then, approximately 30 seconds later, she'll say, "Well, actually, I do." Or we will pick out a book for bed, get all snuggled in, and then on page 10 she will declare, "Actually, I want to read a different book tonight." Or I will make her a sandwich for lunch, and she'll take two bites and announce, "Well, actually...I wanted soup." She always emphasizes the word "actually" in this passive-aggressively hostile way, like she's doing so just to drive the point across that SHE OWNS ME. The only other fetish I can think of is leggings. The girl will not wear anything but leggings. Period. Oh - and she's pretty much obsessed with her Nintendo DS and Xbox's "Rayman" game.

Current Outfit: Blue dress with multi-colored flower/asterick thingies all over, pink striped leggings and black boots.

Current Drink: Lately, it's all lemonade all the time. We drink sugar-free Crystal Light, which is basically just flavored water, so I consider this a major step up from constant orange juice.

Current Wish List: She talks often about swimming in a pool. Every day, when the sun is out and it's even remotely warm, she asks if we can go to the pool. I explain to her that the pool is not open yet, and then the next day, she asks again. She has swim lessons every Saturday, and at least one point during the day Sun-Fri, she asks if today is the day she has swim lessons and can swim in the pool. We are in the process of (hopefully) buying a house that comes with an above-ground pool, and while I am thrilled about finally owning our home - and in particular, this home - for a multitude of reasons, I get most excited imagining her joy when it sinks in that she has a pool in her own backyard.

Current Triumph: No more pull ups at night! She's been potty trained for almost two years, but we haven't been able to get past wearing a diaper at night. I wasn't stressed about it at all - her sister was the same way. We worried about it a little bit with Emma, but one day she just didn't seem to need them anymore and that was that...so I figured it would go similarly for Sophie. Of course, in almost every other situation in which I've assumed the second daughter would behave just like the first daughter, I've been dead wrong. But in this case, I was actually right! (Cue the band, folks. That's worth a few crashing symbols at least.) Sophie inexplicably started staying dry all night a couple weeks ago, and she hasn't had a single accident since we tossed the pull ups for good. She is ridiculously proud of herself for this...as she should be!  

Current Bane Of Her Existence: She hates when people laugh at her. It's a problem, because she does a lot of genuinely funny things and can't seem to decipher the difference between when someone is laughing with her and someone is laughing at her. From her perspective, it always feels like we are mocking her and she gets very upset and demands we stop. So we've gotten in the habit of turning our faces and stifling our giggles so she doesn't see, which to me feels more like mocking her than just laughing openly, but it keeps her happy. She also complains of a stomachache almost every day, which both breaks my heart and worries the hell out of me. They don't slow her down; she doesn't act sick. But on an almost daily basis she utters the words, "My stomach hurts." I don't know if it's what she is eating, or anxiety, or something more than that. I've been advised that if she doesn't seem to be in actual physical pain (ie, doubled over, not eating, throwing up, etc.) then to let it go, but I'm starting to wonder if I should take her to the doctor. I just hate to open up that door of various tests, etc, if we don't need to. If anyone has any suggestions for this, send 'em my way please!

Current Celebrity Crush: Right now, the Easter Bunny

Current Indulgence: Slushies

Current Excitement: She can't wait to go to real school. Of course, I've explained to her many times that she won't be old enough for kindergarten for over a year, but I don't think she gets it. She is also very excited to be allowed to chew gum when she turns five and to grow her hair long.

Current Mood: Unpredictable. She's grown moodier as she's grown older. She can be so happy and light and silly one day, and then grumpy and whiny and tantrum-y the next. It's hard to predict and even harder to control. But at her core, she has a kind and loving nature. Right now we are just trying to weather the storm and live for the sunny days.

Currents: Emma

Current Books: Emma is a voracious and enthusiastic reader, just like her mama. (Yes, I'm proud. Deal with it.) Right now she is reading Ramona and her Father. She just finished the first Sisters 8 book and loved it. Chris and I bought her the rest of the series as a gift for getting ALL A's ON HER REPORT CARD FOR THE ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR. (Yes, I'm proud. Deal with it.) When the books came in the mail, she squealed and paraded the books around the house like trophies. She is also heavily into the Rainbow Fairy books and received many for her birthday. She has her own library card and basically reads whatever she can get her hands on.

Current Music: The latest requested downloads were Justin Bieber's "Overboard" and Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow." She loves pop music, anything she hears on the radio when riding the bus. She still loves Ke$ha, which somehow makes me feel I've failed as a mother. (I'm not a prude, and I let Em listen to a lot of mindless pop music that makes me feel like my brain is bleeding, but the woman actually spells her name with a dollar sign. For that reason alone, I will never pay for any of her music. Ever. But I digress...) She also likes Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Katy Perry and Kelly Clarkson. She doesn't like boy singers because they sound "dumb." (Justin is the exception because, "Duh! He sounds like a girl." Which...is true.)

Current TV/Film: Her favorite TV show right now is "Good Luck, Charlie" on the Disney Channel. For movies, she likes her same princess movies - Tangled currently tops the list - but she also likes going to the movie theater a lot. We recently saw Kung Fu Panda 2, and Aunt Jayme took her to see the new Judy Moody movie. She seemed to really enjoy them both. On her summer list of movies she wants to see are A Dolphin's Tale and Mr. Popper's Penguins. No interest at all in Cars 2: "Yuck. That's a boy movie."

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: The only thing that really comes to mind is that she still shakes her body with excitement, which always looks to an outsider a bit like she's having a seizure. At this point, I don't know when or if she'll ever outgrow the habit.

Current Color: Pink. Always and forever, I fear.

Current Links: She plays games on Nick Jr., and she likes to print out activity books and word ladders and coloring sheets from various kid-friendly sites.

Current Fetish: Hmmm...well, she likes to have her nails painted, but only in a pattern. The latest was three pink, then two red. She also still refuses to wear anything but dresses, unless she is going to camp and has no choice. The other day she wore her friend Olivia's high heels to the park and got a terrible blister on her heel. When I pointed out that high heels are not really appropriate footwear for the playground, she replied, "But Mom. I want to look BEAUTIFUL. Even when I am hanging from the monkey bars."

Current Outfit: yellow and green polka-dotted sundress

Current Drink: After recently coming back from the dentist and being told that juice is not good for her teeth, she is big into green tea. She really likes her dentist and actually listens to what she says. In other news, I am considering going to dental school.

Current Wish List: Oh my...how much time ya got?

1. An ipod
2. High heeled shoes
3. Her hair to be as long as Rapunzel's, "or maybe just to my knees because I don't want to get bugs in it."
4. Acting classes (I mentioned that maybe she could take a class somewhere once school starts again. She then told my friend Whitney, "Mommy is going to let me be an actress in the fall.")
5. BOOKS!
6. Disney World
7. To drink soda on a regular basis (I plan to solicit our dentist's help in nipping this particular wish in the bud.)
8. Ice cream from the ice cream man in the park. Daily.

Current Triumph: She is starting to memorize some of her multiplication tables, and she's super excited about it. She isn't as solid on them as she thinks though. Yesterday she screeched, "I know my times!" Then she told me 2x3=4 and 4x3=11. Her Daddy taught her how to float at the pool Saturday, and she was bragging about it as if she'd won Olympic gold. Although again, she overestimates her prowess a bit. For her, success constitutes staying above water for approximately 10 seconds before becoming submerged and choking on chlorine. Still, it was definitely a triumph.   

Current Bane Of Her Existence: Probably Sophie, honestly. She is remarkably patient with her little sister most of the time, but Sophie is definitely able to drive her crazy like nothing else can. (And frankly, Sophie's been a whiny pain lately, so I can only sympathize with Emma's dilemma.) It doesn't help that Sophie adores Emma and mimics everything she does. Em also despises sunscreen and tangles in her hair.

Current Celebrity Crush: Lady Gaga. Teddy from "Good Luck, Charlie." Miss Ruth, her camp counselor. (Maybe not a celebrity, but definitely a crush.)

Current Indulgence: Mint chocolate chip ice cream cones from Oberweis, Coke (only on her birthday and New Year's Eve), and Fun Dip.

Current Excitement: She's very excited to be in camp, and to have her first field trip to the zoo. She is also excited to see all her grandparents over the summer, and to go to Ohio with the Dippels. She is excited about writing in her journal and reading her books and staying up late and having sleepovers with Olivia and coloring the perfect princess picture and eating Wolfy's for dinner and going to the pool. Emma gets excited about a lot of things.

Current Mood: She's still moody, but she is also maturing. Emma is full of life and imagination. She is capable of extreme goofiness and revels in being silly. She is a loving, affectionate seven-year-old girl who still thinks nothing of making up a song called "I Love Mommy" and singing it to me every night before she goes to sleep, or shouting "My Mommy rocks!" in the park when I spin her fast on the tire swing, or grabbing my hand to hold as we walk down the sidewalk together. I know her demonstrativeness is bound to go away as she gets older, which makes me treasure every snuggle and "I love you" all the more. In short, I'd say her mood lately is very, very happy...and she makes those around her very, very happy too.
 

Currents: Sophie

Current Books: The latest is her pop-up alphabet book, but it changes all the time. Consistent choices include look-and-find books and the Brain Quest series. She likes anything interactive.

Current Music: Right now, the two songs she requests the most are Maroon 5's cover of "Pure Imagination" and Sean Kingston/Justin Bieber's "Eenie Meenie." It's hard to get her to listen to age-appropriate stuff because she wants to listen to the same songs her big sister likes, although she did ask for "the bee-nana song" (ie, the "Ralph's World" theme song by the Banana Splits) approximately 15 times this weekend. Also, she still gets a kick out of  Pete Seeger's "I Had A Rooster." She and Emma giggle like mad at the part where the baby goes "AWK AWK AWK." (For those that don't know the song, it is pretty funny.)

Current TV/Film: Her two most-requested TV shows of the moment are "Peppa Pig" and "Wow Wow Wubbzy." As for movies, both girls really dig Tangled. Sophie still asks for Thumbelina regularly, but it recently disappeared from our house under mysterious circumstances. Only after I told Chris how upset Sophie was by the movie's absence was the DVD suddenly "found" under the TV console. Now Daddy's a hero for finding it, and Sophie is euphoric to have her beloved film back. Chris claims complete innocence regarding the entire situation, but I do remember the man once claimed that listening to Thumbelina's voice made him want to commit suicide. Just sayin'.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: I caught her the other day licking everything she walked past in the grocery store. Wall, steel, Lunchables, bologna packages, ham slices, chips display, diapers. So weird. Usually she's content to just touch them. I don't know if you'd call this a "pleasure," but one weird thing she just stopped doing is taking off all her clothes to go poop. Not pee, just poop. She also really likes holding a cough drop in each hand when we ride in the car. Why? I've no idea. 

Current Color: She loves purple, pink, green, blue. Bright, happy colors for a bright, happy girl.

Current Links: She likes watching videos on Nick Jr's site, especially lately because we just survived three weeks with a broken TV. She also enjoys watching Emma play games. She can't quite get down how to navigate the mouse herself, so computer gaming for Sophie is currently a spectator sport.

Current Fetish: One fetish that she has unfortunately adopted from her older sister is the determination to wear nothing but dresses. I keep rotating between the six dresses she owns while gazing painfully at the three drawers full of clothes that go unworn. She also continues to have a weird obsession with washing her hands. If we let her wash unmonitored, the exercise always ends with every hand towel soaked and flung on the floor amid a huge puddle of water. As embarrassing as this is to admit, I often don't insist she wash her hands after going to the bathroom because I don't want to deal with the hassle of pulling her away from the sink as she shrieks, "But I not done. THEY ARE STILL NOT CLEAN!"

Current Outfit: Blue striped sundress

Current Drink: Orange juice. Morning, noon and night. She just had her first dentist visit, and we got a lecture on the orange juice fixation. We are trying to put as much water into the concoction as we can, so right now it's at about 70% water/30% juice, and she hasn't complained. She will drink plain water, but only from my water bottle. Sometimes she endures lemonade or fruit punch, but only if it is a Capri Sun. One time I actually got her to drink chocolate milk, but it must have been during a lunar eclipse because my success has never been repeated.

Current Wish List: Sophie really, really, really wants to go to a carnival. Specifically, she wants to go to a carnival with cotton candy and a ferris wheel and a kiddie roller coaster with a dragon on it. We plan on going to Indiana Beach this summer, so hopefully that will suffice. She also wants to go to her friend Juliana's house, even though Juliana's parents have never invited us. Apparently Juliana said something about it at playgroup, and now Sophie asks about it every day and tells random strangers at the post office, "I going to Juliana's house to play today. Not Emma. Just me." Also, this weekend she announced to Chris and me on separate occasions that she wants to go to Red Lobster.

Current Triumph: Sleeping in a big girl bed! She loves loves loves loves loves her new bed. She loves to snuggle on it, jump on it, sleep in it. She gets into bed the same way every time - standing on the foot end and leaping into the air, landing on her pillow face first. Yes, she has a pillow...and a sheet and blanket, too! This shift is huge because she never allowed a single thing in her crib, ever. She even sleeps with a stuffed animal now. She got a kitten beanie baby that she named Cutie, and that seems to be her go-to snuggle. Unfortunately for my heart, she also enjoys taking Cutie around the house and hiding the kitten in unusual places. The other day, I opened up my purse to find a small, furry, gray, rodent-looking thing stuffed inside, and I was so startled that I screamed and threw my purse in the air. Sophie explained that it was only Cutie taking a nap, but it took at least 30 minutes for my heart rate to come down.   

Current Bane Of Her Existence: Eating dinner. No matter what we make for dinner, she only nibbles. She just doesn't seem very interested in this particular meal. Yet she always wants dessert, so there's the rub. Dinnertime has become a constant negotiation of how many bites she needs to eat in order to obtain dessert, and the process often ends with screaming and tears. (Sophie sometimes gets upset, too. Ba DUM bum.)

Current Celebrity Crush: Taylor Swift and Hello, Kitty.

Current Indulgence: A York Peppermint Patty or Fun Dip.

Current Excitement: She's very excited to go to the pool now that it is officially summer. She asks to go "schwimming" every single day. She is also looking forward to seeing Gigi, Paw Paw, and Grandma Kitty in July.

Current Mood: Generally happy, but moody. She is usually sweet and kind and eager to please, but if she wakes up on the wrong side of the bed, watch out. She throws, hits, screeches, and dissolves into tears very easily. When she goes down that road, there isn't much to do but wait it out. But for the most part, she is the light of our household, and our lives.

Currents: Sophie

Current Books: Pinkalicious, Purplicious and Dora Christmas Carol. She adores being read to and often enlists her sister for this service if Mommy and Daddy are busy. She is starting to memorize books she has heard repeatedly and then "reads" them back to herself, which is super cute.

Current Music: She adores Laurie Berkner, and her greatest hits CD is probably Sophie's favorite. But lately we've been listening a lot to a Christmas mix I made, and her favorites are Glee's version of "Jingle Bells," "Jingle Bell Rock" by Rascall Flatts, and "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas." Another favorite CD is the soundtrack from "Jack's Big Music Show." For contemporary music, her two favorites remain Beyonce's "All The Single Ladies" and Rihanna's "Please Don't Stop The Music."

Current TV/Film: She's all over the map with movies. She just told me her current favorites are "Cinderella, Snow White and Elmo." She also loves Strawberry Shortcake anything, Toy Story 3, and (still, but not as obsessively as she used to) Thumbelina. Right now the girls are watching "Frosty The Snowman" on TV, which is a holiday favorite along with The Grinch. Sophie's favorite TV shows are "Wow Wow Wubbsy" and "Max and Ruby," but she also really likes "Kai Lan," "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," and "Powerpuff Girls" like Emma.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: As disgusting as it is to say, she really loves picking her nose. And, sometimes, even eating the boogers, which I've caught her doing gleefully more than once. She also likes to lick things like windows and walls. Her favorite window to lick is the one at the gym that encloses the pool. She'll put her face right up against the glass, wave to all the swimmers, and lick away. I cannot express how much this grosses me out. I'd rather watch her eat boogers, frankly. Another guilty pleasure is drooling. She sleeps in the same corner of her crib every night, face down with her butt in the air, and in the morning I find her laying in a pool of her own drool. She sometimes puts her hands underneath her mouth and then wakes up with red, cracked, bleeding hands. I have no idea why she does this. I've asked her several times, and the only answer I get is, "Because I want to."

Current Color: She doesn't have a particular color she likes over others, at least not an obvious one. Although whenever she plays "Guess Who?" with Emma and has to ask which color Em's character is, she always starts with blue. Clothes-wise, I think she looks really good in dark purples and browns.

Current Links: She still asks for "monster funny" once in awhile, which was what she dubbed the Muppets' "Bohemian Rhapsody" video on You Tube. But other than that, she is really never on the computer.

Current Fetish: Hmmm, this is a tough one. She's 3, so she's very particular about things, which can often come off as fixations. ("Fixation" is a synonym for "fetish" according to my Microsoft Word thesaurus - aren't I resourceful?) She won't go on the potty unless she is stripped completely naked from the waist down; she has to be the one to hit the start button on a movie or she won't watch it; she insists on reading every page of a book, including title/dedication/copywright pages; she is incapable of being away from the house more than five minutes without a snack; etc. As for an object of obsession? Well, she adores her favorite snuggle, Little Bat. (See pic.) And she's definitely crazy about orange juice and cheese - she can't get through the day without either. But in the last couple of days, her favorite thing in the world is the dollar bill she got at the grocery store the other day.

 

Current Outfit: Brown footed pajamas with red, pink and white polka dots.

Current Fragrance: Honestly? Sophie pretty much always smells vaguely of pee. Even right after the bath, when I've lathered her with lotion, I swear I still catch a lingering whiff of it. But if anyone can pull off the whole urine-odor-thing, I suppose it is Sophie.

Current Drink: Half water, half orange juice. Water on bottom, juice on top. Shake and serve. Do not EVER vary from this concoction or severe tantrums will ensue. If no orange juice is around, she will sometimes drink apple juice or fruit punch. Occasionally she will deign to drink water, but only if it is from Mommy's water bottle. Milk is 100% off limits and will never pass her precious lips.

Current Wish List: Sophie doesn't really wish for things. She wishes for events: to go to Indiana, to go to Florida, to go to St. Louis - basically, to see a grandparent stat; to have someone read a book to her; to have Mommy or Daddy "come sit in the living woom wif me"; for Emma to come home from school and be with her; for Sophie to be able to go to school and be with Emma; to go see Daddy at his work; to go where Mommy talks in the microphone so she can see Debby and Beckham and get a treat; to go see friends at the gym; to go swimming in the pool. (This last one she asks for every day, and every day I explain that the pool is not open in the winter and we'll go when it is warm again but it will not be warm again for many many many days. And she nods her head and says okay and then asks me the exact same question the very next morning.)

Current Triumph: Putting on her mittens and boots by herself; brushing her own teeth (and by "brushing" I mean sucking off all the remaining toothpaste from the brush after Mommy or Daddy has gotten every tooth clean); being big enough to grab onto the handle above the window in the back seat of the car; learning all the words to "Jingle Bells"; counting to 20 (although always forgetting the number 16); washing her own face in the bath; writing her own name with my hand guiding hers. 

Current Bane Of Her Existence: Naps. Love/hate relationship, definitely. Sometimes she comes to me before 10am and says she is tired and ready to go to bed. Other times, she screams in her crib for two hours and refuses to go to sleep. She also hates darkness when she sleeps. She insists we keep her bedroom door "big open" at naps and bedtime, and if for some reason we ease it partway closed during the night, she wakes in the morning hysterical about how the mean monsters and dinosaurs are trying to eat her. 

Current Celebrity Crush: Strawberry Shortcake. Snow White. Powerpuff Girls. Laurie Berkner. The usual.

Current Indulgence: Other than orange juice and cheese? "Cheese from the deli," a regular grocery store request. Chili cheese fritos or barbeque potato chips. Tangerine or blue raspberry dum-dum pops. York peppermint patties. Plain m&ms. Strawberries. (I include this because it's the only fruit she regularly asks for, but they are out of season and so expensive that I can't justify buying them right now. So, for this time of year, an indulgence.)

Current Excitement: Well, Christmas...of course. This is the first year she really gets it, so she's asking a lot of questions about Santa and presents and all that stuff. She's also very excited to go to Florida over the holidays. She is looking forward to seeing Grandma and Grandpa Kitty, but the two things she can't stop talking about are the airplane ride and going swimming. Every time we see a plane flying in the sky she points and asks, "Mommy, is that the airplane that takens us to Florida?" 

Current Mood: Happy. It's Saturday morning, her beloved big sister is home and playing games with her, and life is good. Sophie is a pretty happy kid. She definitely has a temper, and she has her share of bad days, but for the most part Sophie is full of joy...and it's infectious.

Currents: Emma

Okay, I'm totally stealing this whole idea from my friend Genevieve. (Thanks, Gen.) So, here is Emma at six and a half years old. Sophie will follow soon.
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Current Books: At the moment, she is reading Junie B. Jones, Boss of Lunch. She loves the Secrets of Droon series and recently finished all the Judy Moody books. She is deep into chapter books and reads way beyond the level typical for her age.

Current Music: Tis the season, and she's really digging Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You." She still loves that dumbass "Tik Tok" song by Ke$ha. (And no, that's not a typo - the girl actually spells her professional name with a dollar sign, which is just another in a long list of reasons why I can't stand her.) She also loves Taylor Swift's "You Belong To Me" and "Love Story." And Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." And Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream."

Current TV/Film: She just saw The Wizard of Oz and it was love at first sight. She also digs the Barbie movies and recently discovered Home Alone. For TV, it's all "Powerpuff Girls" all the time around here.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Pushing her sister's buttons. She loves to make faces at Sophie or whisper things to her when she thinks I'm not paying attention. She does not do this to entertain her sister (I wish!); she does it to get a rise out of her. When Sophie then starts screaming at the top of her lungs and we ask Emma what happened, the answer is always, "I don't know." Or sometimes she shouts "I didn't do anything!" before we've even asked what's wrong, which is always a dead giveaway that she's guilty as sin.

Current Color: Always always always always...pink.

Current Links: She likes to go on Nick Jr.'s website and use their drawing pad. At school she visits sites like Study Island during computer class. That's about it. Oh - I also show her some of the songs from "Glee" online. Of course, "Teenage Dream" was her favorite.

Current Fetish: Her diary and her notebook. She has to have something with her to write or draw in wherever she goes. She carries her notebook in her backpack...she used to carry her diary too, but it was stolen at school and complete devastation ensued, so she doesn't take it there anymore. She typically uses her notebook for songs and pictures, and she records her dreams in her diary. I am so happy that expressing herself artistically has already become such a vital part of her life.

Current Outfit: Today she wore a patterned sweater dress with red tights and her beloved black ankle boots. 

Current Fragrance: Hmmm...this is tough. Emma always smells like Emma to me, a fragrance impossible to describe yet so unique that I would recognize it blindfolded. I will say that she has some nasty sleep breath first thing in the morning, which just started happening in the last year. Gone are the days of sweet baby/toddler breath all the time. I think it's because she sleeps with her mouth wide open, just like her Daddy. She chews watermelon Trident on the bus every morning b/c she's such a bear to wake up before school that I can't get her to brush her teeth.

Current Drink: Orange juice or chocolate milk. Sometimes green tea or apple juice. Once in awhile Gatorade or this special passion fruit blend she loves. She covets Sunkist, but I will only let her have it on New Year's Eve. (The rest of the year we have a strict No Soda policy.)

Current Wish List: Sunkist, to rule the world, to stay the night at her friend Olivia P.'s house "all the time every day!", no more homework, to sleep in on school days, to have parents who don't tell her what to do, to get Tivo season passes to "Hannah Montana" and "iCarly" (I flatly refuse), to live in Indiana.

Current Triumph: She recently lost her first tooth, and although I'm not sure this technically counts as a triumph, she sure treated it as one. She was prouder than I've ever seen her. She also got all As on her first quarter report card and received a blue Honor Roll ribbon. She was narrator in her class play Spiderella, and she just mastered how to fast forward through commercials on the TV. Gosh, what else? I feel like she experiences little triumphs every day. Her ballet teacher told me she's a natural and should be taking classes at the Joffrey (which I will sign her up for immediately after winning the lottery); she was one of only 16 kids in her entire school of 1500 students to be selected by a casting director to audition for a national Lunchables billboard campaign (she didn't end up booking the job, but she had a ball at the photo shoot); and she now knows how to do double digit subtraction and is tackling basic algebra in math.

Current Bane Of Her Existence: When Sophie or I ask, "Did you have a fun day at school?" Apparently this makes Emma so mad that she wants to hit us, as she so bluntly explained to me in the car yesterday. She also hates wearing pants.

Current Celebrity Crush: Hmmm...she doesn't really know of many celebrities. She's still grappling with the knowledge that actors on TV are real people with real lives separate from the characters they are playing. Same with music - she doesn't connect the voice singing to an actual person; to her, it's just a voice. I showed her a picture of Taylor Swift on the cover of Entertainment Weekly and she was horrified that that was the person responsible for some of her favorite songs. I believe she said that Taylor looked like a magician. (In Emma's defense, Ms. Swift was dressed up in a tuxedo.) I guess her biggest "crushes" right now are probably Santa and the Tooth Fairy. She also loves Jack Black. He guest starred on episodes of "Yo Gabba Gabba" and "iCarly" and Emma declared him goofy "in the best way."

Current Indulgence: She has a wicked sweet tooth and will go after almost anything sugary. Some of her favorites are Fun Dip, Oreos and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Current Excitement: She is very excited to go to Florida next week. She also gets excited when she creates what she declares to be the "perfect" picture; when I let her watch "iCarly"; when we go get donuts for breakfast; when Daddy lets her play his Nintendo DS; when she gets to stay up past her bedtime; when Aunt Jayme babysits; going to the movies or a play; and when Mommy doesn't have to go to rehearsal and can put her to bed.

Current Mood: Grumpy. Em yelled at me three times during the walk back from the bus stop. Right now she is in her room writing "I will not scream at my mother" 25 times. We'll see if it works.