Parenting: It's all low lows and high highs

It's been kind of rough going lately in my attempts to be a good and patient parent to my spirited 4-year-old girl. I'll spare you (and my future self) the details, because this post is all about the pick-me-up. Tonight after I told her two bedtime stories, she said with deep wistfulness and some sadness, "Mom, when I grow up I want to marry you." 

"Oh!" I said, feeling tremendously grateful that she still wants to be with me at all. "I'd love that." 

"Do you know when you grow up, if you marry someone outside your family, you have to go live with them," she said, with obvious worry. 

"Well, really we can only marry people outside our family," I said. "But you can live with me as long as you want, even when you're a grown-up." 

Then she murmured something and rolled over and went to sleep. 

Pretending to sleep

It's a quiet game, once they're settled down.

Is there enough for two?

The boys

Isaiah brought some of his army toys downstairs for his bath. Levi plopped right down to play with them.

Sylvia climbs a cliff

Levi’s baby

Levi's little game

The first game Levi invented was a total surprise. He was perched on my left hip one day (when he was first newly a hip baby), and he just swung himself around and grinned up at my face. It was hilarious. He still does it occasionally, even though he weighs about 28 pounds now and it changes my center of gravity. 

A couple of weeks ago I was kneeling on the floor playing with him when he ran behind me, put his little hands on my back, and then he waited. Finally I realized I was supposed to peek at him over my shoulder. He giggled and danced and leaned slightly the other way so I'd peek at him over my other shoulder. I love this game. Every time he does it I feel him practically vibrating with excitement, waiting for me to look over my shoulder. 

But I think I might have accidentally ended that game today -- because I started reaching behind me and lifting him onto my back and tickling him, which he totally loves, of course. He'll probably want to do that every time instead! I can't believe how fast these little things come and go in a baby's life. 

A conversation we've had a few times lately, with slight variations:

Levi: Stuffens!

Me: No, sweetie, we're not watching Doc McStuffens right now.

Levi: NO! I WANT WATCH STUFFENS!

Me: Levi, want to build a block tower?

Levi: Okay!

His latest vocabulary:

Ster! (I want to go upstairs/downstairs)

Beck! (I want to read a book)

Snoonie! (I want a smoothie)

S'okay. 

Tum. (I want to do that one more time.)

Turn. (I want a turn.) 

Chock-it (I want chocolate - or - I want chalk)

He's actually really good at turns all of a sudden, if you explain to him in the moment that he and Sylvia are going to take turns at something. (If you don't explain it, he fights hard to keep her from getting to do what he wants to do!)

Morning run

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Levi gets Sylvia in on the act

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Heeeeeey.

Levi and Sylvia have been sick all week. They were feeling great today even though they're technically still contagious, so we took them out of the house to go to a home renovation fair, figuring there wouldn't be many kids there or any toys to get all germy. But Sylvia did helpfully announce to one vendor, "My brother and I have hand, foot, and mouth!" 

Styling Marty’s skirt

Stripes need more stripes.

Things Levi can say

(Mostly in a guttural voice with great projection)

I got it!

I did it!

Soccer!

I want play! Soccer! 

Supper! 

Recent Sylvia comments

"That's a galaxy of birds!"

On Levi's use of crayons: "He's not a genius of coloring."

On Mom's outfit of sweatpants and sweatshirt: "You look absolutely stunning!"

Climbing

She just keeps going.