Paigey

Spring Break is almost over, and with it will likely go any chance to sit down and write. So, to keep up with by blogging-only-on-holiday trend, I've got some catching up to do.

This blog originally started off as Reese's online baby book. When Paige came around, we changed the name, and I vowed to try and keep things 50/50. I quickly fell prey to all the pitfalls of juggling more than one child: taking fewer pictures, getting less sleep, and just generally being busy. The result is that I feel like I haven't done justice to capturing the essence of our sweet little one online for posterity. Boo, bad mommy.
So, without further ado, a few updates on Paige.

* At Paige's 2 year check up I will admit that I checked the "I have some concern" box when it asked me about her language development. Why wasn't she speaking in complete sentences yet? I wondered. The answer of course, "Because she's not like your slightly up tight older daughter who does everything early." But still...I was a little worried. In the time since, Paige has made tremendous gains in her speaking skills. She definitely has a lot to say, and she says it with a lot of personality. "Oh gosh!" is one of her favorite interjections, and she SINGS constantly. I don't remember Reese picking up on songs as quickly as Paige does. She also "reads" books much better than Reese at this age. She will pick up any book she likes and narrate a sweet story to her self about each page based on the pictures.

* It is well known in my family circle that the younger sister is by far the wittier one. It is true of Kim and I, and it also rings true of Paige and Reese. How is a 2 year old witty you may ask? Well, for starters, she's already mastering the art of the comeback. When her sister laughed at her for having food all over her face, she very calmly and seriously put down her silverware, stared at her sister, and said,
"No, you're a bean face!" While she left Kevin and I in hysterics, she calmly went back to her meal.  She's always quick to add a joke into any conversation, and when she can't find the words to break a serious mood she'll just as easily use body language to get a laugh.

* If Paige makes it to kindergarten without loosing any baby teeth due to injuries I'll be amazed. Just last weekend she took a dive off the couch onto the coffee table. I cradled her in my arms waiting for her nose to  start gushing blood, or a bruise to develop. In the end, she was left with some small scratches between her upper lip and nose which will inevitably scar since she wants to ingest any ointment we try to apply.

* Paige is very certain to tell people who her parents are. "This is MY mommy." or "That is MY daddy." leave her lips regularly. Maybe this is a school influence? Maybe she's just trying to distinguish between the other moms and dads she sees dropping kids off? At any rate, I do sometimes wonder what people think when she talks about "my dad" in front of other people. (eg: "Is my dad at work right now?" --as opposed to the other man I've fathered children with?)

* There are NO MORE diapers in my house!!   Go ahead and read that again.  And now cue the choirs of angels.  Potty training success is mine, all mine. I'm going to relish in it and burn my diaper bag in triumph. (Ok, I'm donating it to another new mom, but symbolically I picture it consumed in flames as I hand it to her.)  Attempting to potty train Paige before our trip to Boston seemed like a disaster in the making, so I had vowed to use Spring Break as a potty training camp. But just like everything else Paige does, she decided she wanted to use the potty one day at the end of January and there hasn't been much looking back. I think being in school helped our situation this time around. Without me there to obsess over the successes and set backs, she had a pretty laid back approach to it. (Minus the two weeks of anxiety about pooping in the potty--which we overcame one evening when I refused to help her into her princess pajamas until she went to the bathroom first. Cruel? Maybe, but it worked.) The only draw back? Now, when I do laundry I have heaps of colorful tiny panties that I have to sort through, but I'll take it.