September Morn

Longstreet Farm September 2010

Besides the birth of our new cousin, our end of summer has been filled with events. We had our well visit and we are doing very well. Charlie weighs in at 23.4 lbs and 35 inches. A tall drink of water. Nori is 22.8 lbs and 33 ¼ inches tall. A petite powerhouse. We may be small in stature but we are big on personality. Charlie continues to be a lover of all motor vehicles. We went to a fundraiser this month called “Touch a Truck.” Needless to say, he was in heaven. He got to explore a fire engine, police car, construction equipment, a phone company van and an ambulance. Normally Charlie is the first one to want to go home, but on this day, he cried the whole way home. He is also an expert at direction and is the first to notice if I am taking a different way to a frequented location. He knows that Cinderella is painted on a store we always pass on the way home from the gym and will ask why we are not going home if I don’t go down that street. He knows that the Barnes and Noble has a train table and wimpers when we pass it (barely visible from the road) about his beloved trains. He began talking about “firetrucks” when we pulled into the parking lot of the doctor’s office. I had no idea what he was talking about until we entered Dr. Tavil’s waiting room, which, sure enough, had these two huge fire trucks that were in fact there at our last visit. Three months prior. He is still a little wobbly on his feet, but what he lacks in physical prowess he makes up for with intense concentration and critical thinking. I would love to be inside his head so I could see things as he figures them out.
Nori, I realize, is the daughter I have always dreamed of. When I would daydream about what my children might be like a picture of a determined, almost bossy, affectionate and show off kept popping into my head. I couldn’t get rid of it. And here she is, in the flesh. It is almost as if I willed her into being. But for as strong as she is, she cannot help but to fall for Bryan’s reverse psychology. If she does not want to do something, all Bry has to do is say he is going to do/use/eat whatever it is we want her to do/use eat. For example:
“Nori, time to change your diaper.”
“No Daddy.”
“Okay, then I am going to wear your diaper.”
“No, no, no, no! My diaper.”
And poof, her diaper is changed. It also works with her pre-potty training. Every time she uses the toilet she gets two M&M’s. If she goes in her diaper, Bryan eats her two M&M’s. I swear she goes on the potty just so he can’t have the candy.
So we continue to work on potty training and other skills I think may be missing out in day care or pre-pre-school while we run around town to zoos, farms, play dates and music class. Seriously, we don’t have time for pre-pre-school. We are having way too much fun.