Parenting: It's not for the faint of heart.

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. No, not Fifty Shades of Grey (unfortunately), but parenting blogs and books.

These kids. I tell you. They are both ridiculously smart, stubborn, curious, strong-willed, thick-headed little people with their own agendas and ideas. It's cute, most of the time. But sometimes, well... I have that problem (or 3) that I just can't seem to get past without some moral support.

Jack. I've written tons about him- he's got an amazing sense of humor and a little smart-ass side (a la Justin Crosby.) Example: today at naptime, he laid in bed tossing and turning for an hour, complaining about how "I'm NOT TIRED. Why are you trying to make me go to sleep? My body says NO!" and finally: "I'm *so* over this!" (Oops. I think he got that one from me.) So, off we went about our day with no nap. Of course by 5:30pm he was a train wreck, but what are you gonna do? I can't force a kid to sleep.

He wants to do everything himself. He wants to know "but WHY?" He's really into brushing his own teeth (546 times a day), playing Candy Crush on his iPad (he's pretty good), and swimming. He's really swimming now: strokes, breathing and all. He can't wait for the diving board to open again at our pool so that he can jump in the deep end by himself. We have battles of wills daily - and usually, he wins. (See this article. Very funny. Very true. And I don't know how many times a day I say "HURRY UP!" Oops.)

He's also taking karate. He LOVES every second of it. 

Caroline. Oh my goodness. She's on a train straight to Crazytown (or she's sending ME on a train straight to Crazytown!) She's a climber. Jack was never motivated enough to climb- he could run at this age and that was good enough for him. Caroline can walk, physically, but she refuses to because she prefers the crab crawl. She can now climb up onto the toilet and into the bathroom sink. She can climb up on the bench at our dining room table and onto the table. And don't even get me started on stairs or the top of the sandbox or the kiddie table we have outside. She's crazy dangerous. She goes down slides at the park - the BIG slides - headfirst on her belly without another thought in the world. She eats every.thing. Food yes, but also rocks, sticks, dirt, flowers (had to call Poison Control yesterday because she ate an entire Peony leaf), chalk, nuts, berries, etc etc etc.

hmm. This tunnel scares me. No thank you.

Crosses her feet just like her Daddy.

I mean really. 

Each one alone? Okay. Together?? A HOT MESS.

Chowing down on some Chick Fil A.

Hanging out with Louie at a friend's Cinco de Mayo party. She loved this dog, even his drool.

Thinking: "I can scale this bench. Is Mommy looking?? Darn."

A small taste of her abilities. 

She's a screecher. When she's happy she yells. When she's mad she yells. It sounds kind of the same, even to my Mommy ears. Jack loves to play tackle and tickle with her, and she adores it (and him.) She splashes big splashes in the tub. She loves the pool. She drinks any water she can find, including puddles on the sidewalk. She does a yoga pose where she puts her head in between her legs and her butt in the air, and giggles hysterically at herself. She wears zip-up sleep bags to bed, and she tries to walk in her crib in them, yelling loudly when she gets too tangled up to move. She can clap and wave. She loves the fridge and the dishwasher, and the second she hears any door open she makes a beeline for it. I'm constantly pulling her out of places and rooms and things she shouldn't be in. For being such a calm, contented baby, she's now a VERY BUSY little girl who is ALWAYS on the move and ALWAYS into something!

She's good-natured and very happy. She laughs, most of the time with a binky in her mouth. It's so cute. She eats more than Jack and her favorite thing is meat (so strange.) Chicken, pork, turkey, beef, steak, shrimp, fish...she loves it all. She will clear her plate of meat before she even touches her fruit or macaroni. Weird!!!

Jack and Caroline have done great sharing a room. Jack loves his tent bed and being in a room with her. He's content with his star nightlights and taggies, and he actually sleeps through the night 90% of the time now. (SUCH a blessing.) She's up more during the night lately, but I'm not sure why (one of the things I've been reading.) Teeth? Needs less naps? Wants to party at 3am? Hmm.

I'm so enjoying watching her grow up. I can't wait to hear what kind of things are swimming around in her head. I'm sure she's going to be just as entertaining as her big brother.