Alas I've returned

from Washington, DC, my office, no where...

So many things have occurred since I last wrote. Christmas, a trip to DC, my birthday, New Years, museums and the zoo in DC, the trip back from DC, back to work for me, back to pre-school for Morgan, Kenna falls asleep on her own. The list could go on, but then I wouldn't have time to get to what I wanted to tell you.

Breaking the silence to share a cute story.

Mike went to his parent's house today. While he was there, his parents successfully convinced him to bring home their unused dog food, dog biscuits, and water bowl. The dog food was in a short metal trash can. It looks just like the one we use as a diaper pail. I don't think the dogs would actually mind if we confused them.

Since Kenna learned to take the lid off of our old dog food container a few days ago, Michael decided to put all of the food into the trash-can to try to keep her out of it for a few more days. I think it took about 25 seconds for Kenna to casually stroll over to the container, remove the lid, extract a few pieces, saunter over to Hyena's bowl and deposit them with a gleeful giggle.

As she excitedly returned to the can to do the trick again, her father realized his defeat!

As if that were not enough, she also found great delight in the new dog water bowl. The old bowl, was just that a bowl. Nothing fancy about it. We pick it up, add water, and return it to the floor - unless Kenna is awake in which case we put it on the counter. The new water bowl has a reservoir that will only need filling occasionally. The downside is that it's a bit big, heavy, and awkward to put on the counter. After only a couple of growls (from Dad) Kenna was willing to leave that alone.

So what gems can be gleaned from this experience...never assume that anything is safe with a toddler in the house.

Daily changes

You know you always think that infants grow so fast, and then when they're toddlers you realize that all kids no matter how old really change daily.

Morgan now has empathy - at least for her sister, sometimes. Previously when Kenna was crying Morgan would run to her saying "It's OK Kenna, Morgan's coming." Or some other equally cute words that sound rather like what I say regularly. Or she would ignore it completely.

In the last few days, when Morgan hears Kenna crying, or just fussing a little, she says "Momma pick Kenna up. She's crying; she needs you." Or "Momma, Kenna needs some more milk." She is beginning to realize that Kenna's cries mean something and that Momma can and even more importantly should fix it.

Speaking of daily changes. Kenna now takes about 5 steps before she falls down. She occassionally will walk away from me to some inanimate object, but mostly she's still walking between Mom and Dad. She is pretty darn proud of herself when she does walk between us. Often I think she's even more proud when she walks from the couch to the chaise lounge.