Locked out, hit the ball, methodical playing, and not on my belly!

Quite a few cute things have happened the last few days, but I have been unable to post due to strep throat (yuck!!). Finally feeling much better, so decided tonight was a good night to post the last few days' events.

LOCKED OUT

I do corporate tax for a living - meaning that the tax deadline is September 15th, and I hardly ever get Labor Day off. This year was no exception. I went into work on Monday, even though I was not feeling great. This was the first onset of my strep throat symptoms, but since we were so far behind, I needed to go in and get some returns prepared. Jeremy stayed at home with Brooke while I was working. I get a phone call around noon from him. He was panicked. He asked me where my parents were, I told him that I did not know. He told me that he went outside to get something and heard the door slam. Apparently, Brooke had slammed the door, and then locked it. He had no way to get in because all other doors and windows stay locked at all times. I asked him if he wanted me to run home from work and open the door. He told me that he didn't want to wait 20 minutes for me to get home. During this conversation, I could hear Brooke screaming and crying through the door and over the phone. She was obviously traumatized, but a crying baby means a breathing baby, and the sound of her crying was actually a relief. So, Jeremy's way of opening the door: going through the drywall. He went through the drywall in the garage and into the laundry room, and reached his hand around to unlock the door. Took a total of about 5 minutes. Here is a lovely picture of the handy drywall patch work:



Now, Brooke looks at the door and says "Daddy fixed it".

HIT THE BALL

Grandma and Grandpa (my Mom and Dad)took Brooke to go see Aunt Paige play volleyball on Wednesday night. They taught her to say "Hit the ball, Paige". So I keep asking her "What do we say to Paige when she is playing volleyball?". She will turn around and say "Hit the ball, Paige". She gets so excited to say it too! Apparently, she likes to watch Paige play for a little while, but since her attention span isn't that long, she won't sit through 5 games. Either way, it's fun for her to watch her Aunt Paige play college volleyball, and Aunt Paige loves having a little cheerleader come along!

METHODICAL PLAYING

Aunt Mimi dropped Cecily off for a little while this evening so she and Ava could check out a few houses. I was so glad to be able to watch Cecily so that the two little ones could have some one on one time together. They both played really well together and had tons of fun. However, I noticed a difference in personalities while watching them play. Cecily has a huge imagination! She will take a toy and use it in a way that it was not intended. She would take a dog and put it in a basket and say that she was going on a trip. Brooke on the other hand, will only play with toys the way they were made to play with. For example - she won't take a farmer and have him play in the house. She knows that the farmer only plays on the farm - and the farmer stays there. Her imagination has not blossomed yet - but watching her play with toys and the way she plays with them, makes me realize that she likes things a certain way. All of the pieces and parts to one toy don't necessarily have to be all in one place, but she won't play with a piece that doesn't belong with that toy. It cracks me up - mainly because it's so much like me. I only see things the way they were intended to be used. Jeremy can take a broom and make anything out of it and play with it for hours. Me, a broom is for sweeping....and that's it. Makes me wonder if this child will have any creativity like her father....or will be more methodical like her mother. Hard to tell for sure, but at this time, I am betting on more like her mother.

NOT ON MY BELLY

About two weeks ago, I was washing Brooke's hair, got it all nice and sudsy, and had tons of leftover suds on my hands. I took it, showed it to Brooke (to which she said "A Mess"), and then wiped it onto her belly. She really didn't do much, other than wipe it off. The next bath night, I did the same thing, then the next, then the next. Well, tonight, I put shampoo in her hair and was working up a nice lather. She told me "Not on my belly". I started to laugh. So after my hands were all nice and sudsy, I acted like I was going to put it on her belly. She told me, "No Mommy, not on my belly" and then tried to move away. I again moved towards her. She said "No Mommy, wash it off". This child really does not like a mess anywhere. Can we say OCD??? :)