The girls' week

Current mood: happy

It has been a crazy and chaotic week here in the Lewitt household as I tried to take care of the kids and study for a huge Spanish test that took place today. I am so physically and mentally drained and have been dragging all day.

The kids are doing well. Abby is pulling up more and more each day. Her favorite thing to do anymore is to stand up leaning her belly against our ottomans playing with whatever is on top of them. The only problem with this is that when she falls she wails. You would think that she didn't have any cushion on her backside with the screams that come from her little lungs!

She now has a game that she engages people with when she's in her high chair. I call the game "Tick Tock." She'll put her left ear to her shoulder until you mime her and then she'll shift to the other side. This can go on for awhile. It's adorable but of course I cannot capture it on video because she freezes when she sees the camera. It also reminds me of an old blonde joke that goes something like this...
"How do you kill a blonde?"

"How?"

"You put spikes on her shoulder pads!"

She loves her time in the play room at the Y. She has many other children her age that she plays with. It's funny to see them all scooting around while they play together. All you see from the outside is a sea of bald heads with feet in the air as they inch around on all fours (or in Abby's case worming on her tummy). They have a Jumparoo there that she loves. It is a freestanding version of the Johnny Jump Ups that hang in doorways. Of course we have a Johnny Jump Up, but it is practically unusable in our house as our doorways are too high for the length of the strap and it doesn't reach close enough to the floor.

Lexi has been a little angel this week despite a cold that both she and Abby are fighting. They've both been on meds for it. Anyway, Tuesday morning Stefan got her up and ready for school (a welcomed break from Mommy who has been doing this solo for 3 1/2 weeks). She reminded him that she needed "nose medicine" and when he went to give it to her, she told him that I always give her a little bit more because he had only given her 1 tsp when she should have 1.5 tsps.

Yesterday, I braved the grocery store alone with both girls. This is usually a daunting task, but Lexi made it super easy on me. She walked along side me the whole time - never straying. When we were getting food for Abby, she helped out by picking whatever I pointed at and putting it in the cart. At checkout, she put whatever she could lift on the belt. When we got home, I put Abby in her high chair with a snack and the dogs outside so that I only had Lexi underfoot. The phone rang and I spoke with the caller as I unpacked the loot. The next thing I knew, Lexi was unloading the bags and putting the things that she knew where the went away and asking where the others went that she didn't know their place. This was a tremendous help.

Lexi's manners have been superb this week, too. She's saying her pleases, and thank yous, and even adding in excuse mes when she coughs along with a few yes ma'ams and whatnot. I worked with her a little bit earlier in the week, but I have a feeling that it wasn't just my influence. I suspect they are probably stressing manners moreso at school, too. Today she wore a dress to school and I told her that to do so, she need to make sure that she sat like a lady even when sitting "criss cross applesauce" during circle time. She dropped to the floor and folded her knees together to one side and pulled the dress over her knees. She knew this without me telling her. I was impressed.

Today, she and I were taking a walk with Abby in the stroller. Again she stayed by my side the entire time (an unusual event since she usually strays to rock collect). We were strolling along when she spotted some dandelions in someone's yard near the sidewalk. She picked one only to have the filaments float off into the air. I explained that when I was little, I used to make a wish and blow on it. She then picked another very carefully so as to not have the seeds take off again. She walked with her back to me and I heard her say,

"I wish that I can see Mary again and that we can still be friends."

This broke my heart. Mary is a sweet little girl that used to live in the house behind us. Her mom, Diane, and I became pretty good friends about 6 to 8 months ago. Diane's husband/Mary's Dad is in the army and has since been stationed close to Diane's hometown and they moved last month.

After our walk, Lexi came home and drew a picture of Mary. She asked me for a frame so that she could place it on her bedside table so that she will never forget Mary.

So sad....


Anyway, that's our week in a nutshell. I'll post tomorrow with a Lexism provided she gives me some material to work with tomorrow.