Independence Day

Sure, it's not July 4th, but that doesn't stop K2 from finding new ways every single day to establish her independence. We knew right from the start she was going to be hard core, and she has yet to prove us wrong. Her latest feat is climbing out of her crib, and while that is not unusual for a child about to turn 2, in typical K2 fashion she uses no help to get it done. Not the crib bumper, not the stuffed animals or toys she drags to bed with her, not even the nearby dresser that she could potentially use for leverage. Nope, she just heave ho's herself over by throwing one leg and then hoisting herself up over the bar. I know this because I told her to show me and K2 is never one to back down from a challenge. She even likes to stop midway through the maneuver to play "bike" -- she straddles the main bar of the crib and holds on to the sides and "revs" the engine. Poor little thing is desperate for her own trike. Or Harley.

So now we are in the fun stage where we have to worry about her leaving her room 15 times during the night and fighting going to bed or down for naps. Fun. But oh, isn't she a joy. She makes me laugh about 20x a day, and makes me want to pull my hair out at least 10x. She's definitely a 2-year old, but it seems funnier this time around than it was with K1. Not sure why that is - probably because K2 has such a wicked sense of humor. Auntie J loves to comment on her funny faces, so I've put in a few pics of K2 at her best.









K1, always the big brother, loves to boss and push and shove and alternately comfort and protect. One of my favorite tactics is when he wants something, he'll come to me and say "BK wants..." BK is the name he uses for K2 (short for Baby K, his nickname for her) and if he wants a snack he'll tell me BK is hungry or if he wants to go outside he'll say BK needs to go to the park. Pretty sneaky that one - apparently he's decided BK gets more of what she wants than he does.

Today we just sort of lounged around for the fun of it - all three of us are trying to recover from colds and despite my initial misgivings I realize there is nothing wrong with spending a day looking bad, hanging out on the couch, watching a bunch of tv and letting all the rules go. In fact, I rather fondly remember a time when B and I were engaged and spent an entire weekend laying around on the couch watching one bad TV movie after another. Sure, we made a lot of fun of ourselves, but in the end, I look back on that day of leisure with a sense of wistfulness. You've got to grab those lounge moments when you can. As evidenced by the photo, the kids had no problem seizing the moment.