So very busy

but here are some things that have happened lately.

1. Easter

She was all over that Easter action. She got a basket with a chocolate bunny. She hunted eggs inside the house. And then she hunted eggs outside on the lawn. And then we played finding eggs for most of the rest of the day.

She also got some Cadbury Creme Eggs, but let's not tell her about that, 'cause Daddy ate most all of them.

Then there was coloring eggs.

So! Much! Fun!

2. Sibling Rivalry with Her Hands

So she's been kind of roleplaying with her hands, making them talk at each other.

And lately they've been getting in a lot of fights about taking turns and who gets to do what. Which is odd, since why invent a sibling rivalry if you don't need to??

3. Scooby Scooby

She's been exposed to Scooby Doo at the gym (which provides child care when you work out and sometimes for longer periods for date night).

She still isn't very comfortable with anything that has more than a modicum of tension, so we've been having to answer a lot of questions about why people would be mean to Scooby and why they might want to hit him, and whether or not he'll be okay. This is difficult since we've no idea what episode she saw.

The pizza, candy, T.V. and movies, and--to be frank--the other children she's exposed to at the gym on date nights are all good arguments in favor of continuing private school through junior high (and beyond?).

The Headstart people came by the other day, apparently desperate to enroll new students. It would, as they emphasized, be free, FREE! Tempting. But as her mother points out, free isn't free: there are always hidden costs involved.

(There are hidden costs involved with having her at such a loving, polite, nurturing school as well: she can get kind of anxious when playing on the playground with children who haven't been socialized to be solicitous of others and wait their turn.)

4. P.S. she loves you.

She's still sleeping well in the grand scheme of things. But not as well as she used to with the binkie. She no longer asks for her binkie at night, but she sucks on her hand and takes longer to fall asleep.

And now that binkie isn't offering constant succor, she turns more often to us, with a series of delaying tactics and rearguard movements meant to keep us in her room as long as possible until she finally falls asleep.

Once we do manage to extricate ourselves from her room she'll almost always call out: "Mommy! Daddy! Guess what? I've got something to tell you!!"

"What is it Sophie?"

"Um, um, I love you!"

"We love you too."

"Um, um, sleep tight!"

"Sleep tight, goose."

"You check on me in five minutes?"

"We'll check on you in five minutes."

"I love you!"

"We love you too."

"Good night!"

"Good night!"