the good stuff

I feel the need for a ranting post coming up soon. Just to show that I'm not entirely a negative Nellie, I thought I'd share a bit about what's awesome right now.

*The kiddos really are BFFs. He calls her Yaya, and she calls him Mano. I think I am going to use these for their bloggy names, since I have been struggling to come up with something to call them. So from here on out, baby girl is Yaya, baby boy is Mano. Until I change my mind again.

*Yaya is my little daredevil and loves slides. Even the steep one in our backyard that allows her to catch some air. She tries to turn everything into a slide, like the little foot on our trestle table, or a sleeping mom.

*They have discovered Elmo and are OBSESSED. You know those old clips of teenage girls screaming and jumping when they see the Beatles getting off a plane? That's what Yaya did the other day when she woke up and discovered she was still wearing her Elmo jammies.

*They play a little game that I call "nap". Yaya lies down on the floor on her belly and says "night night". Mano brings a blanket over and gently drapes it over her, then sits beside her and rubs her back while she pretends to sleep.

*Any time I place food in front of him, Mano gives a very dramatic Oooooooo, as if I have just brought him something tremendously exciting and delicious. It makes me feel good about my cooking.

*Although they are entering bit of that toddler "I'm going to be picky about what I eat just because I can" phase, they are still pretty good eaters. Mano could probably polish off an order of tandoori chicken on his own, and Yaya seems to have a taste for spicy food and good olives.

*I think Mano has a few crushes at daycare. On the drive home, he'll say things like "Gia pretty" "Adhya pretty", referring to the girls in his class. I think we are in trouble.

*They look out for each other. If you give Yaya one of something, she will say "Mano" until you give her a second one that she can bring to her brother. When it's time to leave daycare at the end of the day, Mano always brings his coat and his sister's coat. He tries to help her put it on, with very limited success.

*I think Mano had aspirations to be a janitor. He loves mops, brooms, swiffers, vacuums and steam cleaners. If you give him a baby wipe or tissue, he'll start dusting the furniture.

*We did everything wrong with sleep in the beginning. The kids were nowhere near sleeping through the night. About a month and a half ago, we finally decided it was time to make changes and things have been going really well. There have been, and I know there will continue to be setbacks but overall the change has been phenomenal.

*They kiss the pictures of dogs in their books.