But Sometimes It's Fun

Don't get me wrong- for the most part Connor really is a great kid, even if he feels he's never done anything wrong in his life. For example, when he's not "accidentally" torturing his sister, he is very loving towards her. They share lots of hugs and kisses, and they do play together a lot. But I can't resist pointing out that most of their play involves taking whatever toy the other has, with force if necessary.

Another thing they do together is dance. As I've mentioned before, dancing is big at our house. Chloe started her dance career with a simple head nod, then added a twirl, and recently has decided that she, too, must breakdance. Her version consists of lying on her back while kicking her feet in the air and laughing hysterically. Like Connor, I think she imagines that she's doing the spins she sees on TV. I won't tell her any different.

This seems like a good time for a general Chloe update. In her own special way, she's a horrible eater. Unlike Connor, she'll try anything you put in front of her. But for some reason, she is just barely able to feed herself. She has no interest in utensils. She will give the fork one chance to get food into her mouth, then she goes straight to "hand in the food" mode. But instead of shoveling the food into her mouth, she starts wiping it through her hair and on her clothes. It's amazing that she's as big as she is, as she clearly has no real knowledge of how to get nutrients into her body.

But if you give her something un-smearable, like a cracker or a chicken nugget, she will put that in her mouth. Unfortunately, she'll put as much of it as possible in her mouth. One recent outcome of this practice was the application of the Heimlich Maneuver by her teacher. So we've started cutting her food into really, really small pieces and giving it to her a little at a time.

She talks a lot, but doesn't really say much. She's got a few words: "hi/hey," "meow," "oof oof" (=woof woof=dog), and "baby" are big, and she has only-parents-can-understand-her versions of "thank you" and "cheers." On the flip side of that, she's at a point where she can totally understand us, and will follow simple directions or smile with recognition when we correctly guess what her wild gestures represent. Her "Hey!" is most often used when holding a phone, as she is practicing for her teenage years by having a phone to her ear as often as possible. And then she pitches a full-on fit whenever the phone is taken from her. (I knew the teens would be hard, I just didn't realize we were measuring months rather than years.)

She's all about her "lovies," a word I never knew when Connor was a baby (and one I still refuse to use regularly). She relies heavily on her pacifier, one specific baby doll, and a pink blanket that Beth made for her. It's sweetly neurotic.

Both kids are going to be great swimmers. Connor will jump in and take a few awkward dog-paddle-strokes towards whatever adult is waiting for him, without the aide of any floatation devices. Chloe sticks her face in the water and blows bubbles any chance she gets, and also loves to be dipped completely into the water by her dad. (Her mom is too skittish to play that game.)

I spoke too soon regarding Connor's inability to show remorse. He was extremely distraught and apologetic today when he broke my nose. As you would expect, it was just an accident, but it hurt like hell just the same. I'm not sure who screamed more, me or Connor. Fortunately I don't have two black eyes, and my face isn't swollen, but did I mention that it still hurts like hell?

In summary, there's never a dull day around our house. I love my kids very much, but sometimes I really just need a nap. Or maybe an ice pack.