What are the chances?

What are the chances that both girls would wake at the same time (or nearly the same time)?

Annabelle is a heavy sleeper (for the most part) once she's asleep and until the sun begins to rise.

Sophia has been sleeping one 4 to 5 hour stretch every night for awhile now. And, it is usually earlier in the evening when I don't get to enjoy that 4 to 5 hours of sleep myself. I know, I know, I should feed her every 2 to 3 hours until I'm ready to go to bed myself, but who wants to spoil the alone time I have when I get it?

So, what are the chances that both girls would wake up within less than a minute of the other?

Sophia woke up first with that hunger cry which was not a very loud cry this time around. And, Annabelle's noise maker is turned on, so I doubt that Sophia woke her.

As I walked to our room to pick up Sophia to feed her, I hear "I want my Mommy! I want my Mommy!" Annabelle has had a lot of bad dreams over the past week. She never had them until the entry that I blogged about previously.

So, I grabbed Sophia and took her to Annabelle's room with me to comfort Annabelle and feed Sophia only to learn that Annabelle needed to go tee tee, and she wanted me to help her.

I helped her climb out of bed, and we head for the potty. Annabelle wanted some help getting on the potty because she has really, really bad sores from her eczema on the backs of her legs. I told her to hold on a minute while I found a nice spot to lay Sophia (on the carpet in the middle of her bedroom). Poor second child!

I return to the bathroom to find Annabelle with her legs spread spraying a towel on the bathroom floor. She was crying as she did it. And, it was by complete accident. The towel just happened to be there from bath time. Thank goodness as that eased the cleanup! She seemed so upset that she hadn't made it to the bathroom.

So, I have a choice at this moment. I can either feed Sophia and leave Annabelle upset and crying or I can tend to Annabelle and leave Sophia crying because she's hungry. My heart ached as I left Sophia to cry. I know she's not going to starve nor remember it. As someone told me while hubby and I ventured to Amicalola Falls for a short getaway in March, I tended to the older child first in this case because Sophia won't remember, but Annabelle would remember if I completely ignored her and tended to Sophia first. Not to mention, it took less time to clean up Annabelle, change her diaper and pull back up her pants that did not get wet because we had already removed them before I left the room the first time.

I then asked Annabelle to go back to her bedroom while I grabbed Sophia. I sat in bed with Annabelle and nursed Sophia, and we all managed, and two of the three are fast asleep, at least for a little while.

Did I mention that hubby needed to go to the office this evening to get a little work done? Otherwise, I would definitely have recruited his help. Instead, I literally laughed at the situation at hand and kept my calm (this time at least)!

And now I'm off to bed myself hoping for that 5 hour window!

Weird

"Mommy, that guy looks weird," commented Annabelle today as a nice man (with a 12 year old daughter) conversed with us regarding teething tablets that apparently work wonders that can be found at natural health remedy stores. That last bit of that sentence is to remind me of these apparently wonderful tablets when "my little man" starts teething. With a temper like hers, she is sure to complain! The man was sure to tell us that he tells everyone he meets with a baby about these wonderful teething tablets, so they must work wonders, right?

Of course, we corrected Annabelle politely for her comment and told her that wasn't a very nice thing to say. She looked so sad after we corrected her because she didn't realize she had done anything wrong. Of course, I then had to explain that she didn't realize it was rude and that she hadn't done anything wrong since she didn't realize it was rude.

I got to thinking later that "weird" is a pretty hard word to actually understand the true meaning. But, I think she did understand what she was saying because he did look a little "weird."

Isn't it amazing the things a child knows that we take for granted? I mean she's three and a half years old! She didn't start really talking somewhat well until she was two and a half years old. In only a short year, she has picked up on the meaning of "weird."

Rude

"Mommy, you are being rude! Say you are sorry."

I've heard this a time or two lately from Annabelle. It does make me sad when I hear it because she realizes that my mood has changed and I've lost my patience with either her or her Daddy.

But, I am trying to look on the brighter side of it all. I do want to teach her that as human beings and God's children, we are not perfect and even Mommies and Daddies make mistakes. Since Annabelle was old enough to communicate with me, I have tried to apologize to her when I've been in the wrong and lost my patience. Just as we tell her that she is being rude sometimes, I have told her something similar to this. "Mommy lost her patience with you today and wasn't being very nice. I shouldn't have treated you that way, and that is no way to treat anyone. If I act like that again, please just tell me nicely that I'm being rude to you."

Perhaps that is why she called me out last time hubby and I were arguing. "Mommy, you are being rude!" (with an emphasis on rude). Why doesn't she tell him that he's being rude? Because quite frankly he is rude in the first place or I wouldn't have been rude back to him! LOL!

Zantac

Sophia has been on Zantac now for 48 hours to combat her gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and I think she is finally feeling a lot better. Dr. Colton had said it would take at least 48 hours before the medicine actually took effect. So maybe it isn't a case of colic after all! Yea!

I was reluctant to give her any medicine at all, but Dr. Colton assured me that it was safe and has been used now for over 40 years. That definitely eased my feelings.

Perhaps now I can enjoy my new baby girl! But most of all, perhaps she can start enjoying life herself without such pain and misery!

As for her temper, I suspect that will never change! I had my 6 week postpartum visit today. I took Sophia with me and left Annabelle with hubby. My appointment was at 2:00 p.m. Sophia ate at 12:15 p.m., so she was due to eat again at 2:15 p.m. She still eats every 2 hours during the day, but fortunately, she is an exceptionally fast nurser, so the meal frequency doesn't cause too much of an inconvenience. I walked into the doctor's office at 2:00 p.m., and Sophia was fast asleep in her car seat. I can count on one hand (probably 2-3 fingers) the number of times she has actually stayed asleep in her car seat after the car was stopped so I was not about to wake her! I left my urine sample and before I even flushed the toilet, she started fussing. Then I flushed the toilet. That was probably a mistake as it was extremely loud! She immediately started screaming bloody murder. When Sophia is hungry, she is hungry! She wants to eat right then and there, no exceptions! I exited the doctor's office to return to the waiting room with my screaming child in her car seat. I am sure that I frightened all of the pregnant women waiting to be seen. The administrative assistants were very accommodating and quickly found me a place to nurse her in a back office. Probably because she was frightening all of the OB patients!

Of course, if they hadn't been so accommodating, I would have nursed her right there in the waiting room. You lose all modesty when it comes to nursing a second child! And I remember walking through the mall during my teenage years and being completely disgusted by a woman nursing her child. Of course, I do think she was bearing all, but I would have been disgusted back then regardless. Now, I am completely pro nursing! And, why should I deprive Annabelle of time at the park because I have to nurse Sophia or deprive Sophia of breast milk because Annabelle wants to play? Of course, keep in mind, I do NOT bear all or any for that matter!

I miss him so much!

"Daddy is not coming home today. I miss him so much! He has to get some work done so he can spend some money." - Annabelle

Sidewalk Chalk Creations

Annabelle, Sophia and I visited McDaniel's Farm Park in Duluth yesterday just to get outside and away from the house. My parents joined us for a picnic lunch, compliments of Wendy's (and my parents).

Annabelle didn't want to leave my parents' house to go to McDaniel's Farm Park, and after we were at the park, she didn't want to leave to go back to their house. She is always pretty content wherever she is, but that can often make for a struggle just to get out of the door.

While we were at McDaniel's Farm Park, we played with sidewalk chalk. I was very impressed with Annabelle's creations.

Someone had drawn arrows along the trail path leading to the picnic tables for a birthday party held for someone. Annabelle noticed these arrows as we walked to the picnic tables, and she decided that she wanted to draw arrows of her own pointing towards the picnic tables. These are the arrows she drew. Not bad for a 3 year old!

And this is Annabelle's picture of Sophia as I asked her to draw a picture of Sophia. This is the first stick figure I think I have actually seen her draw. Do you see the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair and tiny, tiny feet at the bottom of the stick?

And, she decided to drawn a sunshine of her own after she saw Grandmama draw one.

I was very impressed with Annabelle's sidewalk creations! Of course, I have no clue how this compares to other kids her age, but she made her mommy proud. But, I do think her Daddy needs to draw with her more if she has any hope for any artistic talent. Stick figures are an accomplishment for me!

Peer Pressure

"Mommy, the tee tee changed its mind."

This is Annabelle's new phrase when she feels like going potty, runs to the potty and then decides that she doesn't want to go potty as she holds herself until she actually does use the potty.

I'm quite irritated with her at the moment. Since this weekend, she has wet her panties several times because she didn't want to stop and go potty. And, she completely wet the bathroom floor on Sunday for hubby when she didn't make it to the potty in time. This has not happened in a very long time. Not to mention, I have to actually ask her if she needs to go potty. She normally just goes on her own without any prompting from anyone.

I asked her yesterday who she got this from. "Molly. Molly tells Aunt Merefith that she doesn't need to go potty when Aunt Merefith asks her."

And people say that children should be exposed to other children through preschool to help them "develop their social skills." She only learns bad behavior from other children. How is that developing social skills?

Not to mention, she refuses to call me Mommy any more because "Molly calls Aunt Merefith Mama." Aarrgghh! I hate being called Mama!

I love that Annabelle enjoys spending time with her cousin Molly, and I do think that she needs to play with other children, but I have a new challenge ahead for me. How do I teach her that other children do not always behave appropriately and that she doesn't always have to act as they act? Peer pressure is already challenging me at 3 years old! I thought this was a teenage problem.

I wonder what bad behavior she has rubbed off on Molly and Adam?

Oddly enough, she doesn't seem to learn anything else from other children. I think it has something to do with Molly being older than her and Molly being quite the bossy child. And, I can say that because Molly's mom has said herself that Molly bosses Annabelle around. Annabelle is very, very bossy herself, but I think she looks up to Molly for some reason. Again, maybe because she is older?

As for my friends with younger children, perhaps you should keep your child away from my bossy child or they may develop bad behavior just from watching Annabelle since she is so bossy herself! Or, we can learn how to battle this challenge together.

Don't wake your sister

Following is a conversation held with Annabelle this morning.

Mommy: Annabelle, please be quiet so you don't wake your sister. She is asleep in the bouncy seat.

(I had just sighed with relief since Sophia never sleeps in the bouncy seat. She probably only fell asleep because her sister wasn't around to hug and kiss her and touch and squeeze her head).

Annabelle: I want to see!

Mommy: No, no Annabelle. Please stay away from the bouncy seat.

BOOM! Annabelle "accidentally" knocked the tray to her wooden high chair from the raised position down.

And, miraculously, Sophia only jolted a tiny bit and continued sleeping.

Annabelle: It was an axe-a-dent.

Nighttime Potty Training

I've had no interest in potty training Annabelle to stay dry at night even though she's been potty trained during the day for a year now. I am waking enough (every 3-4 hours) at night. I do not want to add another sleep interruption. But, I just left Annabelle's room because she cried out for me at 12:25 a.m. She was sitting up in bed when I got to her room, and she said, "Mommy, I need to go potty!"

Although I'm not interested in another sleep interruption, I am excited that Annabelle woke up on her own because she felt the sensation to go potty. That is huge success considering we haven't even been trying to potty train at night!

This may just be a coincidence, but we'll see where it takes us!

Probably to more nighttime wakings this week since hubby will be out of town tomorrow morning through Thursday! I can do this! I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. I know I can, I know I can, I know I can!

Here is to a week with home cooked meals every night for my daughters and me, baths every night for Annabelle, baths every other night for Sophia and loads of laundry treated and washed before Friday. All as a single mom (until Friday)! I am woman, hear me roar!

Just to see you smile!

Who remembers that Tim McGraw song, "Just to see you smile?" After I wrote this post, originally titled, "She's Smiling!" I decided to change the title as it made me think of hubby and our dating years.

Sophia smiled for the first time on Wednesday, May 19th for one of my good friends. Apparently, my children like to give their first smiles to others first. My friend was visiting Sophia for the first time, and Sophia decided that she liked her voice and her gold loop earrings more than me. ;) I even told Sophia just seconds before, "Now don't you smile for her Sophia." She's already disobeying me and she wasn't even 5 weeks old at the time!

Later that afternoon though, I snatched my own first smile!

Annabelle got one out of her Thursday morning (May 20th). Grandmama snatched hers Thursday afternoon (May 20th) by saying "A-E-I-O-U," and Sophia's Daddy grabbed his Friday evening while playing peek-a-boo with Sophia.

Grandmama took these pictures while we were at Washington Farms to pick strawberries on Thursday. It is hard to tell from these pictures, but I think she was actually smiling.

Grandmama pushed the button just as Sophia smiled at me.

And I then turned to Grandmama and said, "Did you get it?" referring to a picture of her smiling for me. Those first smiles are so hard to document on camera!

Dear Sophia,

I thought you would be 2-3 months old before you first shined that first smile since you've seemed more upset while awake than happy, but you took me by complete surprise. It was so awesome to see you actually smiling, especially since you've done a whole lot of crying since you were born. I guess you must feel happy and loved or you wouldn't have flashed those first smiles for anyone at the ripe old age of 4.75 weeks! You are already an overachiever. I didn't recognize your big sister smiling until she was 6 weeks old.

It is worth all of the hard work and lack of sleep just to see you smile! Sometimes you just smile with your eyes as you'll squint them when we are talking. You love a little game I play with you called "Knock, Knock." It goes like this, and you smile almost every time I walk my fingers into your mouth.

Knock, knock. (Knock on baby's forehead.)

Peek in. (Open eyes wider.)

Open the latch. (Push up the tip of the nose.)

And walk right in. (Walk fingers into mouth.)

How do you do, Ms. Chin-chin-chin? (Wiggle chin.)

Your big sister, Annabelle, and I will play "Knock, Knock" with you. She's actually the one who helped me memorize it myself because she remembered the words that I couldn't remember after we had put the book that we learned it from away. You aren't yet too fond of her playing "Knock, Knock" with you though.

I am looking forward to watching you smile all throughout your life. I hope your smiles will always be genuine and that you'll have more reasons to smile than cry in your lifetime.

I love your sweet smiles my little man, and I'm now looking forward to that first giggle! I forgot how much fun the first year can be.

Love,

Mommy

Pooped On AGAIN!

This is what happens to little girls who poop on their mommies.

They are promptly put in time out in the nearest tomato shipping box from Costco or Sam's.

This was the second major explosive poop that leaked all over Mommy. Liquid poop resulting from one little toot dripped all the way down my shirt onto my shoe and the floor! And, Sophia's diaper had literally just been changed, so it wasn't like she was sitting in a full diaper ready to leak.

The tomato box turned out to be the nearest diaper changing table. And, yes, the mean mom I am left Sophia to cry while I ran to the car to grab my camera for this photo op. Poor second child! She is left to cry longer than her older sister ever was left to cry.

I'm still waiting for her Daddy to get pooped on! Why is it always me? He's been home both times this happened, but I'm still the target.

Booger Cupcake

I love, love, love this picture! And, I'll give hubby credit when credit is due. He took this one! I actually did my best to not move and wait until he got home just so he could capture on camera this adorable little girl snuggled next to her mommy in the fetal position.

Picture taken on May 13th, 2010.

As for the title of this blog, it really has nothing to do with the picture, but I thought I could knock out two entries with just one. I started calling Sophia "My Little Cupcake" when we were in the hospital. Annabelle followed suit, and then preceded the nickname with "Booger." So, Annabelle now refers to Sophia has her "Booger Cupcake."

So, there is my favorite picture of Annabelle's "Booger Cupcake" and "My Little Man" as I refer to her. She just looks like a little man to me, so I started calling her "My Little Man" a few weeks ago.

Nightmare

Annabelle remembered her first bad dream last night. She started crying last night for me, so I went to her rescue.

I asked her, "Were you having a bad dream?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Do you remember what it was about?"

"Yes. I wanted to wish for cake, but I wished for pennies instead," she whimpered.


Huh? That's a bad dream?!?! Oddly enough, for her 3rd birthday, she told me that she had wished for money when she blew out her candles. Perhaps she's regretting that wish now?

Social Butterfly

I've noticed that Annabelle has really started to come out of her shell and open up a lot more. She is turning into quite the social butterfly. She did not get this trait from me as I was always very shy all throughout grade school. And probably painfully shy until high school.

My very first job as an order taker and order filler at McDonald's shaped me the most. Yes, people, I worked at McDonald's! And, my best friend took pictures to prove it. She thought it was quite hilarious to see me dressed in those ugly dark gray pants and teal polo shirt with a matching teal visor. I, on the other hand, literally tried to hide from the camera. I was sort of roped into taking that job when I met the store manager at a career fair. I was trying to find a job as a temporary office assistant at the ripe old age of 15 years old. Of course, no one wanted to hire a 15 year old except for fast food restaurants. I tried to dodge his phone calls too, but he was all too nice, and I all too nice myself to say no. And, I wanted to make some money. If I could track him down now, I would write him a nice letter to thank him. That job shaped me tremendously.

It was much different back then though. You know, in the old days! I'm not so sure I would encourage Annabelle to work in fast food these days (well, Chick-fil-A may be alright). I don't think her experience would be quite the same as mine, and I would definitely worry if she decided to date any of the boys she met while working there. My parents should have worried then! The boys I dated that I worked with at McDonald's were literally all losers and scum bags. Thank goodness I wasn't as stupid as my parents thought I was. Naive, yes, but not stupid!

So, anyhow, enough about me. But, the child with my anal retentive personality (poor Annabelle) seems to be a little social butterfly.

On Friday, we ventured to the "airplane park" for the very first time since Sophia was born. Woo hoo! And, Annabelle found a little girl her age to hide with her while I was literally in the middle of counting when we were playing hide-n-seek. I heard her telling the girl to hide because Mommy was counting and was going to find them. I climbed the stairs to the top of the playground set to find both girls laying on the ground, Annabelle with her head buried into the wood and Julia looking at me smiling. And, yes, that is Annabelle's way of hiding sometimes. Doesn't it make sense that no one would find you if you are laying on the ground in the middle of a floor with your face to the floor? She didn't want to let that little girl get away. Julia's mommy had called her to eat lunch, but Annabelle was encouraging her to count with her while her mommy hid.

And, then, she was the little mommy at the block party on Friday. She was the oldest, and she found it necessary to watch over all of the other children. Some of the moms were joking that they were going to have her come and babysit next week.

And yesterday, she made friends (or so she thought) with another little girl probably twice her age at the Chick-fil-A playground. She followed that little girl all over the playground. She would say, "Let me show you [this or that]," or "Let's do [this or that]." I felt sorry for the poor girl she was following, but it was very cute to watch.

So, my child who I thought was just like me is still anal retentive with a social side. You go girl!

My Perfect Angel

She's my perfect angel! My perfect angel for the doctor. My perfect angel for her trip to the doctor to discuss her excessive crying. Below is my picture to prove it!

And my perfect angel around anyone I've even told about her excessive fussiness and crying. We went to a block party on our street this evening. I've discussed Sophia's colickyness with our next door neighbor and another lady I had met while walking a few evenings ago. Would you believe that Sophia slept in her Daddy's arms the entire time (2.5 hours) and didn't even make a peep?!?!

Who is this child? I only know the one with the horn in the middle of her forehead. The child who looks bright red all of the time because whenever I see her face, she is screaming. When she isn't screaming her head is buried into my chest because she is attached to me in the Baby Bjorn or sleeping against my chest or sleeping in her Pack-n-Play at night.

I know it could be worse, but I really want to get to know her personally. I want to look into her sweet and curious eyes. I want her to see me smile so she'll give me that first smile. I want to know that she needs me and loves me. Right now, those feelings do not exist.

Dear Sophia,

I hope this discomfort you seem to be feeling will end soon. I hope it is just acid reflux as the doctor suspects. I hope we can solve this easily without waiting the magical 3 months for the colic to end. For I hope and pray that it isn't colic because 3 months is way too long to wait. It is way too long to not know you when I have you here to hold, cuddle and love.

I still love you though, despite your crying, my sweet and fussy girl.

Mommy

Counting Toes

Hubby, if you can tell me these are just as good (if not better) than any professional's photography, then I'll consider not spending so much of your hard earned money on professional photography of my children. Don't forget how many kids I want before you comment.

Sleeping Baby

Relief at last! Well, for a few minutes. And, who doesn't love a picture of a sleeping baby, and a sleeping baby in the fetal position at that? Of course, I think I like the temper picture better though as it shows the true personality of my Sophia. The temper is what I am going to remember most about Sophia's early days.

She's gotten so big! During Annabelle's first year, I shed many tears because my baby was growing up too fast. The emotions are no different with Sophia. Why can't they stay tiny for just a wee bit longer?

Spit Up

"I spit-a up on the carpet Mommy."

"I spit-a up on the floors."

I look at Annabelle to find that she has literally spit on my carpet and hardwood floors.

Lovely! The things Annabelle is learning from her baby sister. Shouldn't this be the other way around?

Temper

Do you see the horn in the middle of Sophia's forehead? It comes out when she is really, really mad, which is pretty much all of the time these days.

These will be the only types of pictures you see of this child, at least for now, until this madness ends! My ears are ringing, and the screaming is not ending, unless of course she's in the Baby Bjorn.

She's still really cute though, even when she's mad.

Why am I afraid that she is going to be my child who hits and bites and slams her head violently against the crib?

And since Annabelle is a spitting image of me (temperament wise), Sophia must get her temper from her Daddy! Because we all know that I don't have a temper at all, right hubby?

Meet Joey

I've changed my mind. I think Sophia is definitely colicky. This is the only way during the day to soothe this child. She will not stop crying! I'm not so sure she likes me too much. Or maybe she likes me a little too much. I think she would have stayed in my belly for another 3 months if she had been allowed. She is cursing that doctor (right along with me) for breaking my water without an explanation first.

So here is a picture of little Joey and her mama kangaroo because this is how we spend our days and nights until bedtime. She can literally be crying at the top of her lungs for an hour straight, but just as soon as I put her into the Baby Bjorn, she stops crying, instantly! Amazing!

Colic?

My "easy" baby as I had earlier posted is not so "easy" any more. I think using the terminology colic is probably a bit extreme, but if Sophia is not snuggled next to her Mommy ALL of the time, with bedtime being the exception, she is fussy, fussy, fussy!

Thank goodness she still sleeps awesome at night and nurses like a champ! She's finished nursing in usually 10 minutes, 20 minutes tops. That is amazing as it used to take Annabelle (in her early weeks) 45 minutes to eat, and that was assuming she latched on right away.

As for traveling with Sophia, I think we will be staying home a lot more. But for now, our travels won't include venturing more than 10 minutes away. If you want to see this baby grow, you are going to have to come and visit us for now. And, yes, Grandmama and Granddaddy, that includes the two of you! She does NOT like riding in her car seat. If we are fortunate enough that she'll actually fall asleep when the car is in motion, she will surely awake if the car slows down even for a second. Keeping the car in constant motion while living in Atlanta is far from easy!

She woke up from her newborn stage shortly before her 2 week birthday. Her fussiness started Thursday of last week.

But, as of yet, I haven't found that two are any harder than one. I know, I know, I'll be eating crow next week or in 2-2.5 years, but for now, getting out the door in the morning is slowed down by the one and only, Annabelle. And, the bedtime struggles are all the same. Nothing has changed in that respect!

Go ahead ask me...do I still want 4 kids? Yep! I still do! Does hubby? Probably not. But he has to want to try for that red-headed boy, right? Of course, I'd be happy with a house full of girls. Much poorer, but definitely happy! And, he's always sworn that if we had 3 kids we couldn't stop because that just wouldn't be an even number for riding the rides at Six Flags.

As for now, I'm going to enjoy this time with Sophia when she actually does want to snuggle with me. And I'll say a little prayer that this is an indication that she's going to be an "easy" toddler since an "easy" baby stage isn't looking too promising!

As for why I think she's fussy. I think her tummy is really hurting. She is quite gaseous! She'll fuss at night while she is sleeping on my chest, and her little legs will just tighten and move up and down. But after she relieves herself with her little man toot, she is fine. Poor baby!

Mt. Laundry

This is what happens when a new little one enters your somewhat organized life. The life that was finally keeping up with the laundry on a daily basis. Yes, daily basis!

I forgot how much babies explode out of just about every diaper to stain every outfit imaginable. And to Sophia's defense, she doesn't poop nearly as much as her older sister did at her age. But, when she does, you better watch out! It is time to try out the Huggies on Sophia since the Pampers are obviously not doing the trick.

P.S. This is the girls' laundry hamper only! Okay, so a few of my shirts are also mixed in because we all wear the same colors, but you get the picture!

Miss Tattletale

This is Annabelle's week for tattling, tattling on herself!

On Tuesday, she reported that her cousin Molly and her climbed into the Pack-n-Play in our bedroom this past Saturday. All 72 lbs of them! Into the bassinet part of the Pack-n-Play which is meant to hold a whopping 20 lbs at most!

I wasn't sure how to respond so I told her that Mommy had told her that it wasn't safe to climb into the Pack-n-Play because she was too big for it, and she may hurt herself and Sophia.

"Why did you do that?," I asked.

She replied, "Because Molly was in there and she told me to."

"Did you tell her that she wasn't supposed to be in there?"

"Yes."

"What did she say?"

"She just looked at me."

"Well, you know better than to climb in there Annabelle. You shouldn't have done that."

"I know. I just shouldn't have told you."

Do what? Where did she think that one up? Like she's 16 years old! I just shouldn't have told you? Oh my, oh my, oh my! A glimpse into the teenage years.

That is when I had to explain to her very carefully that it was important for her to tell Mommy things that involved the safety of herself or someone else. I don't want her to tattle on her friends for everything, but some things are important for her Mommy and Daddy to know.

And boy, the things she learns from her cousin Molly! Should I mention that Annabelle is now claiming to be afraid of the dark after this weekend? I asked where she learned that one from. "Molly," she replied.


Then today, she told on herself twice! How do I respond to this? Do I discipline her for these actions or just politely thank her for telling me so she won't hide things from me?

She climbed in bed with me this morning after I heard her exit her bedroom about 5 minutes earlier. So, I asked her, "What did you go and do this morning when you first woke up?"

"I went and snuck a piece of candy."

"You did?"

"Yes, from my little tea pitcher."

I swear we have candy laying around all over the place, but she has always asked me before she helps herself. I've never quite understood it, but it has worked until this morning. She has a little toy tea pitcher that she placed some Easter candy in one day while she was playing.

As for the sneaking, I have her Daddy to thank for that new trick! Of course, he meant no harm at all, but he told Annabelle the other night that they would "sneak one more book," and Mommy would never know. That is until she tells on herself. She doesn't miss a beat, does she?


And then the last one for today goes as follows:

"Mommy, did you know that I stuck gum under the table like those little kids had done at that restaurant?"

"You did?"

"Yes."

"When did you do that?"

"A long time ago. Would you like to see it?"

"Yes, I would."

And, sure enough, there is old blue gum stuck to the bottom of our dining room table!


In the last week, she also told me that she cut my favorite blanket! And, sure enough, she did! She couldn't find where she had cut it to show me, but hubby found it that same evening. And, now, my favorite blanket is shedding feathers.

Who said girls weren't destructive? They are just a little bit more discreet about it. That is until they tattle on themselves!

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My Girls

Annabelle at age 3.5 years with her Build-a-Bear, Princess Jasmine, and Sophia at 2 weeks and 2 days with her Build-a-Bear from Molly and Adam.