Toddlers are so much Fun

So Ansley has noticed that boys are different from girls. A couple of weeks ago while Jerry was getting out of the shower she reached out and tried to examine this difference. He of course freaked out which made her cry. I however thought it was hysterical!! Ally was just a little older when she first noticed. I was babysitting for a friend who happened to have a boy and while I was changing his diaper she asked me what was that? I told her it was his penis and she went on about her business. I though wow, that was easy. A couple of days later she comes running from our bedroom to inform me, "mommy, mommy, daddy has a peanut too!" Jerry didn't find her describing it as a peanut too funny but I thought it was hysterical then too!

The Special Gingerbread Man

So tonight as we were finishing up with dinner there was a knock at the door. It was our neighbor Jeff with a plate of gingerbread cookies he and his wife Ally had made. I took the plate and thanked them when I realized that there was something extra special about one of the gingerbread men. Jeff said he made it special for Jerry. Thanks guys the cookies were GREAT!

Play Time

So this evening the girls actually gave me a few minutes of peace and played in their enormous playroom of toys. It may have helped that Jerry and I have been telling them that if they don't go and play we are going to buy gym equipment and make it our play room but whatever works. They actually played, TOGETHER! No kidding and NO screaming! It was GREAT!! They called me downstairs to see their tower of blocks which they we so incredibly proud of. I'm pretty proud too, but not of the blocks :)

Christmas Fun!

Tonight we finally decorated the tree and the rest of the condo. The tree has been up without decorations since last weekend and it has been just killing Ally to not be able to put the "acorns" on it. Who knows where that came from. Ally loved putting up the glass colored balls but liked to put them all together. With a little coaxing and some quick moves by mom and dad we were able to spread some of them out. Ansley loved looking at the random box of ornaments. I had told her one was something I had made when I was little like her so for every one she pulled out of the box she asked, "yours when you were little mommy?" She wasn't much into actually putting them on the tree. More into handing them to Jerry and sometimes me to place. When she finally did get one to stay on the tree she was so proud. "Look I did it, I did it!" It was sad that Ally had forgotten a lot of the decorations, many of which she made. I guess that's what happens when you skip a year of decorating with your own stuff. It was a fun night of decorating, listening to Christmas music and talking about the Savior. The girls are super excited now. Ally keeps asking if it's Christmas Eve yet. Not quite, thank goodness because mommy's no where near ready!



Here is Ansley earlier in the day working with her sissors and glue. I swear this child would occupy herself for hours.

Another Wiggly Tooth!

Today Ally came to me with the cutest question. "Mom why are all of my teeth wiggling out?" Tooth number 2 is loose!

It looks promising

So today was a fantastic day. Ally woke up, got dressed, brushed her teeth and cleaned her room all without me saying a word. She was quiet at first (probably embarassed about the nights events) but warmed up quickly when I complimented her on being so big and getting ready herself. "Are you proud of me mommy?" "Yes Ally I am!" We had a long talk about what I expect and why I was upset with her last night. She really is a good kid and wants her dad and I to be proud of her, she just has a serious problem with testing the limits lately. I can only hope that this morning is a taste of some relief that is to come. I love my kids to death I just can't stand them sometimes. What I try to keep reminding myself is that what drives me crazy about Ally now will be what is so great about her as an adult. She doesn't take no for an answer and is an expert negotiater. Oh my sweet little Ally you are a wonderful soul but you are only 5 so for now can we pipe it down a hundred notches?



This afternoon we took advantage of the nice weather and went with our neighbors Ally and Ben to the park in Manchester. The girls had a blast. It amazes me how much they can do. Ansley isn't afraid of anything and will climb and slide all day long, even the biggest, highest slides. Ally is actually getting some serious upper body strength and can do the monkey bars. I love nice days.

A challenging day!

So I think everyone knows by now that Ally has been slightly difficult lately. She thinks she is an adult and wants her way in everything. She talks back constantly and I am really at my wits end. The only thing that seems to have an affect on her whatsoever is screaming, which I hate. I was talking to a friend (Thanks Claudette) who suggested that maybe I should try ignoring the bad behavior. Tonight as I was trying to get the girls to settle down for bed I had my very first opportunity to try it out and I have to say I am quite hopeful. As I was trying to say our goodnight prayers Ally just refused to settle down. I started and she would interrupt. I asked her to settle down and started for a second time and again I was interrupted. So in a final attempt I reprimanded her and began. Same thing. I stopped, kissed each of them goodnight, told them that I would be saying my prayers by myself and that they were free to do the same and turned out the light. It was at that point that the fiasco began. Ansley was unaffected but Ally broke into hysterics. "No we have to say the prayer, I can't go to sleep, I will be quiet I promise!" And so the bargaining began. I went in and quietly and calmly (which was quite hard) explained that we hadn't been able to be reverent so we would have to say prayers separately but that we would try again tomorrow night. The ironic part being that Ally usually says the prayer before bed and is more than capable of saying a wonderful prayer on her own. She wouldn't stop the hysterics though and when she found out that bargaining and screaming and crying weren't going to work she tried to make me mad and began yelling from her bed. "AHHHHH, I don't like you! You are so mean!" I still kept my cool and didn't say a word. I could hear Ansley telling her to be quiet though which was quite funny. So no response with mean words let's try being nice. "Mommy?" "Yes Ally." "I love you." "I love you too Ally." "Can we say the prayer now?" "No Ally we will try again tomorrow." What came next was Hilarius. "UGGGG, you're awful!!!" I couldn't help it. Downstairs cleaning the kitchen I broke out laughing to myself. Really, awful, where does she come up with this stuff? "I don't love you anymore!" To which Ansley replied, "I love you mommy!" "I love you too Ansley!" Thank goodness for 2 year olds. Ally never used the word hate through the whole ordeal (which I thought was nice.) This went on for over an hour in that exact order, bargaining, yelling and screaming, the I love yous and then back to the yelling and screaming. I would occasionally tell her "I love you Ally" but would not negotiate with her. There will be no more negotiating with the terrorist!! My favorite part was definitely "You're awful!!" I wish I could have recorded it. The way she screamed it was priceless. She eventually went to sleep, thank God. Poor Ansley went to sleep amidst the hostility. Hopefully she realizes in some small way that I mean what I say. I guess only tomorrow will tell. Until then, Ahhh, peace and quiet, it's mommy time!