New and Important

Lillie's like a bubbly soda that swirls around me constantly as I care for my littlest Matilda.

I can see a progression. Matilda turns in to that (2) who turns into that (5) and then she turns into that (7). Milestones anticipated, reached, and then forgotten, suddenly in the past.

Like today, Lillie started something new. It's called possession. And imaginative play. Actually it happened last night in the car on the way home from Cafe Rio. She had a little frog and and a little dog in her hand and she did a nonsense voice for the frog followed by a nonsense voice for the dog.

And bam. She's older, and a little smarter. Today she carried a collection of toys with her, certain ones that mean something to her. She moved the group with her wherever she went. This is new and important just now.

Matilda moved from a newborn, to a newborn with acne, and past acne and onto those little heat-sensitive red dots on her skin. She doesn't go cross-eyed anymore. She doesn't slump over like a noodle anymore. She hears things in her sleep and they actually wake her up now. Little things, moving her toward some other kind of baby. The type that eventually rolls over and sits up.

And the older girls are... amazing us every step. They cause various degrees of frustration, complication, joy, elation and stress. But most of all, it's things like the conversation they had with my brother Jared over the weekend that leaves my mouth agape.

It was 7:40. I told them they had exactly 20 minutes of (non-fighting) play time up on Grace's bed and when that time was up, it was time to sleep. No complaints. I left the room. Jared went in there a few minutes later, the star uncle that he is, and made some light conversation with them. Were they having a good summer? Were they excited about school?

Finally Grace said, "Jared, you're WASTING our playing time! We can't talk anymore." He laughed. He  walked out and before the girls continued playing he heard her say, "Now that THAT'S over...".

Just hilarious. And kind of mean. And grown up. And unbelievable. Not very polite. But really really funny.