The Independence Of An Almost Two Year Old...

Rachel is so full of joy. She is constantly running through the house smiling and laughing. She brightens everyone's day that she encounters. In addition to being so joyful she is also VERY independent. Last week she very loudly gave up sitting in her booster chair. She just decided one day that she is a big girl and much too old to sit all tied in. This has made for some interesting breakfasts. Usually I don't eat breakfast so I am busy doing other things. For some reason this makes her think that it's OK to just get up and walk all around the house with her food. Today she decided to be such a help. She and Jaden took a bath while I was finishing getting ready. She was done much earlier than Jaden...probably because she thinks he takes up way too much of the tub, and decided to get out. This time at least she asked for my help, because sometimes she just gets out and starts running, dripping wet. So, back to this morning...I got her out of the tub, dried her off, got her dressed and did her hair. Meanwhile, Jaden is still in the tub. Well, he decided that the water was getting cold and he wanted to get out. Actually, the water had been cold for some time, he just didn't care. So Jaden got out of the tub and wrapped up in a towel and I went back into my bedroom to finish taking the sheets off of the bed. I hear Jaden laughing and I get curious. Back into the bathroom I go and there, sitting in the draining tub is Rachel, fully dressed.

What was she thinking?? It's a good thing that we weren't in a hurry to go anywhere. So, needless to say, she is already on her second outfit of the day.

Jaden is as funny as ever. There other night we had some friends over, two that he knew really well and one that he only kind of knew. As they were getting ready to leave he wanted to give some hugs and kisses. (He is a very affectionate kid.) So, first he gives Anna a hug and a kiss. Then Nick. Well, he gets to Zack, the one that he only kind of knows. He gives him a big hug and then backs up. "You're kind of hot," he says. Now we all knew that he meant that Zack's temperature was very hot, but it sure did sound funny.

Gretchen has taken over the house. It sure didn't take her long to master crawling. My new found joy is vacuuming the house...every day. She crawls everywhere and gets whatever she wants, or should I say gets into everything she wants. At least she always has a smile on her face while she's doing it. Well, at least during the day...nights can be a different story. She will start sleeping through the night, she will start sleeping through the night, she will start sleeping through the night...