Big Helper & 1st Time Out

I always say 'I need to blog that!' whenever the kids do or say something I want to remember, the problem is that I can never remember when it comes time to blog. I think I need to write them down right away or there's no chance of it getting on here. So, just a couple things to mention this week.

Nate: He is becoming such a big boy! He helps out a lot more-example, today when I was changing Maddie's diaper and didn't realize she pooped and was not set up at all for a poopy diaper, I asked Nate to get me the wipes and he ran over and got them.  He also loves to help unload the grocery cart onto the counter at the store. He's talking a lot more too.  You probably have to be around him as much as I am to understand most of it, but he's really trying to communicate a lot more.  I love whenever he sees a shark in a puzzle or book, he says 'shark' and then 'ah ooh wah eh ah o o' (like in Finding Nemo. Cracks me up. I thought for sure when asked what sound a shark makes he would respond with this chant, but the other day when I asked he just bared his teeth. I guess he knows sharks don't really make sounds!

Maddie is doing great, of course!  She loves to eat and is still generally a happy kid.  Although the second she turned one we noticed her attitude changing.  She now gets pretty upset if she doesn't get her way.  She is starting to throw these little fits, kinda funny.  She is still pretty easy to manage though because she is easily redirected. She understands so much! I don't know if I just didn't give Nate enough credit at this age, thinking there's no way he understands what I'm saying, or if he was just more stubborn and didn't want to comply.  At the end of the night I tell Maddie to grab her blanket and her Cat in the Hat (or now it's her new stuffed dog, Violet) and she will go over and grab them and go to the stairs.  The other day I smelled poop.  I asked them both who pooped because someone stinks!  Maddie went over to the diaper bin and pulled out a diaper and gave it to me.  I checked, and sure enough, she was the guilty party! I couldn't believe she knew exactly what I was saying! So now that I know she's understanding us, there is also the downside of it as well, at least for her.  She was hitting Nate on the head a few days ago.  I told her to stop.  She looked at me and then started hitting him again as a smile spread across her face.  So she got her first time out.  She was not happy about it for about 3 seconds and then thought it was fun and stood behind the gate laughing.  Great. Not the response I usually look for when I'm discipling but it was pretty funny.