In the Basket

Gotta Sing

Gotta Dance

Breakthroughs

Fair Warning: Some of this post may fall squarely in the category of More Than You Wanted To Know. But what the heck, it's been a banner month at Casa de Tusselwupper and I'm going to share.

Señor Gib:

• Got his bottom left incisor on March 29 and top left incisor on April 5.
  
• Says "kah-kuh," which can mean sock, duck (quack, get it?) or cracker, depending on the context. Cracker was Roxi's very first word, so Rob and I are wondering if nature or nurture is responsible for our children's early addiction to flat breads.
  
• Calls cats "aaah!" and dogs "ooo!" and is genuinely smitten with animals. He blows kisses to the neighbor's dogs - these are the only unsolicited kisses he gives.
• Throws balls. With gusto.
• Throws fits. With tornado force.
• Tries to keep up with Roxi by dancing with wild abandon.
• Likes to play in toilet water and climb on furniture/boxes/people/anything. Once a danger boy, always a danger boy.
• Carries books over to Rob and I for us to read to him.
• Tolerates being watched by our lovely babysitter.
• Is no longer nursing, and as a result, or maybe just because the stars have aligned, he ...
• Is finally, finally sleeping through the night. THE WHOLE NIGHT. And ...
• Waking up at 6:30. A REASONABLE HOUR.

Señorita Roxi:

• Is constantly pretending to be someone or something else, particularly characters from The Muppet Movie, Finding Nemo, Sesame Street and The Wizard of Oz, as well as Diana Ross, Linda Ronstadt, Rudolf Nureyev, Brett Favre and Tyler Hansbrough. 
• Puts on "entertainment shows" for her preschool teachers almost daily. These shows often feature Roxi as Linda Ronstadt and her friend Carter as Fred the Mosquito.
• Elaborates on the truth. Not to achieve selfish aims (though the child will do whatever it takes to get a glass of juice), but because it's more fun. For example, the other day Roxi was telling me about how the groundskeeping crew at her school was trimming the grass and also the peppermint and chocolate plants.
• Tells Rob and I that she's "really disappointed in our behavior" when she's upset with us.
• Knows no strangers. She confidently introduces herself to people she's never met, asks their names and remembers them ... even weeks or months later. She greets people she knows with, "Did you miss me?"
• Plays with - and not just next to - her friends, of which there are many.
• Is as patient as one could expect with Gib, who naturally wants to be doing whatever she's doing whenever she's doing it.
• Has developed a fantastic independent streak. She picks out her own clothes, dresses herself and ...
• Poops in the potty. You know, WHERE POOP BELONGS.

So you want to know how we're doing? We're all sleeping and pooping properly. What could be better?