What are the girls up to lately?

I'm feeling the need to write tonight so here comes another post...this one is more newsy though and more about Avery and Lily. These girls are growing up before my very eyes. Avery actually spent most of the day today in big girl panties!!! Woohoo Avery! She had a tee tee accident late in the day and then said to herself "It's ok Av-er-y, it's ok." I may have written this previously, I'm not sure. But Lily will sit on the potty, sometimes a tiny drop of tee tee comes out, but more often than not a little toot will come out and Lily will look at me and say "Where's the frog go Mommy?" Then she'll stand up and look into the potty for the "frog".

Along with wearing the big girl panties Avery has become more opinionated in how she dresses. Some nights she sleeps in her day clothes and wears pj's during the day. Sometimes she wears pj's two or three days in a row, we change them day to day, but she'll refuse to wear anything BUT pj's. I've heard from other moms that I should be happy that she at least keeps her clothes on at all! She also likes to put on leggings and then leg warmers and then maybe a pair of panties on the outside.

Both girls have started to do more imaginative play lately...they LOVE the show on PBS called The Big Comfy Couch and so Avery has decided that she is the main character "Loonette" and Lily is "Molly Dolly"...Namo and Mimi are "Granny Bonzo"...and Richard and I share the role of "Major Bedhead." It's so funny b/c I'll come into a room and she'll say "here comes Major Bedhead" or Avery will leave the room and Lily will way "Where'd Loo-nette go? I'm a gonna go find her." That's the other cute thing about Lily's speech pattern...she likes to play hide and seek so when she wants to play she'll either say "I'm a gonna go hide" or "I'm a gonna go count."

There has also been an increase in the level of sibling rivalry, although it is so mild I can hardly call it rivalry. Lily likes to hold little things in her hands...lots of little things. Sometimes it's a few Little People and a few pacis, sometimes it's all the Little People pigs or all the Little People dogs...usually there is a theme of the day as to what she's got in her hands. Needless to say she can get upset if her group of things is disrupted (this is also a component of her sensory issues...it's a coping mechanism that allows her to feel secure in her surroundings). So you can imagine how discombobulated she can become when Avery takes something from her. Well, the other night Richard was on the sofa with Lily after having fed them their dinner and Lily was holding one of their little dolls who they also refer to as "Molly Dolly". She had it in her hands and then saw Avery spot the doll and start advancing in Lily's direction. Richard said that Lily clutched the doll to her chest and started scrambling to get out from under the blanket and off the sofa as fast as she could, all the while saying "I'm a gonna get down. I'm a gonna get down. I'm a gonna get down."

Oh and if there's ever a game show for toddlers called "Name That Tune" Lily will totally blow any other kid out of the water. You can hum two bars of any song, I mean ANY song, even if she's only heard it once and Lily will tell you the name of the song. She can also recite the following bedtime prayer: "God in Heaven hear my prayer. Keep me in loving care. Be my guide in all I do. And bless all those who love me too." I will try to get an audio/video recording of this b/c just writing out the words hardly does justice to the cuteness level of this recitation.

I told Richard today and that both Avery and Lily got his memory genes (mine are awful...Richard's is amazing). He then proceeded to paint a picture 12-13 years in the future of Avery and Lily saying "Mah-um! I told you that five times already!" Oh boy, I'm in for it!

They also like to do stretches like Nina on The Goodnight Show and of course like Loonette on her clock rug...it's good for them though, I like that they like to do this. I'm thinking of trying gymnastics or yoga with them. Either activity should help feed Lily's proprioceptive needs because stretching gives a lot of input to the joints and muscles like tumbling does. We have recently added to our "sensory diet" tools...a great friend of mine made Lily the most beautiful weighted blanket (she makes them custom at VERY reasonable prices if anyone is interested let me know), a common and often very helpful thing for sensory kids to have, we've got 4 pounds worth of ankle weights, a large bouncy ball, a neoprene band, and a scooter board. Lily will probably be one of the strongest toddlers ever...she can really motor on that scooter board, and it's hard work! I tried it and it is fun, but man I can only do it for a couple of minutes. They both like me to chase them on it or sit on my back while I turn around in circles on it. The scooter board is good for Avery too as she works on her coordination.

Richard told me that Avery was making him bean soup the other day while out in their playhouse. He said all day long it was bean soup, not much else, just bean soup. Well he turned on the food network and lo and behold they're making Tuscan Bean Soup...he said Avery was completely mesmerized!

Oh, and we really have to watch our mouths around here. We don't curse but I have apparently uttered an "Oh darn it" a time or two b/c all of a sudden they're both saying that. So now I'm trying to change that to "Oh fiddlesticks" or "Oh pickle juice" (like they say on the Big Comfy Couch). So Lily says "Oh fiddlesticks." Then lowers her eyes and her voice and says in her best Mommy tone "Don't say darn it". My mom told me today they said "That's not my problem" oh dear! Where did they learn that one????