The Littlest Hypochondriac

Don't even think about brushing up against Stella. If you do, it may send her straight to the freezer... for an ice pack.

Or, if no ice pack is available, she has been known to use a bag of frozen vegetables.

You see, Stella is a world-class pint-size hypochondriac. Every scrape, scratch or bump will result in either an ice pack or a bandage. Then she will limp around or whine for a while. Until she forgets that she is supposedly hurt.

She'll even make up an infirmity if it'll help her in some way. Today she told the teachers at Beansprouts that "my mommy is a doctor and she would not want me to take karate if my knee was hurting". Oh brother.

Day Two, Number Two

Marni stepped it up tonight by pooping for the first time in the potty. 'Nuff said as some will think this is all pretty gross.

Tinkle Time

As Marni's 3rd birthday approaches it has become toilet-training time.

For the past couple of days she's been walking around the house with no diapers on. But every time we put her on the potty, nothing comes out. Until tonight.

Breakthrough!

Just before bath time I asked her if she needed to pee. She said yes, and so we went to the potty. But this time, she actually peed! "Daddy, something's coming out!", she exclaimed.

And away we go.

Birthdays as Weapons

With Stella and Marni's birthdays just a month or two away, the girls have started to use their respective birthdays as leverage to get what they want from each other.

For example...

If Stella wants a toy that Marni is currently playing with, then she will tell Marni to give her the toy or else she will not be invited to her birthday.

Or...

If one of the girls pisses off the other, then you may hear "You are not coming to my birthday party!".

The second example (punitive) is more often used by both girls while the first example (extortion) is usually only used by Stella.

Overheard #15

This one melted my heart.

I was talking to Stella about something she wanted (I'm not sure what it was). I offered her a solution and she lit up and exclaimed to me "Daddy, I love you so much because you listen to my feelings!".

Pankcake Madness

Sundays are often pancake day.

The girls get in line early in order to help daddy make the pancakes. They eagerly wait in front of the green bowl for the ingredients to arrive. Once we add the mix, the oil, the milk and the sun (egg), then it's time for each girl to get a chance to stir it up.

If there's any batter left in the bowl after mixing then it's time to cook the pancakes. While waiting for the cooking part, each girl gets a little container of chocolate bits to munch on.

The photo included here is the "line" that forms in the kitchen as they await the fresh, hot pancakes. Kinda looks like they've been camped out overnight.

Stella's First Snow Day

A blizzard passed through last night and deposited 8-12 inches of snow on Brooklyn. In a very rare occurrence, New York City canceled public schools for today. WTF!

Bathing Suit Night

In the dead of winter we decided that it was time to make sure our bathing suits still worked. And so Bathing Suit Night was created. Please note that Stella insisted on this pose. And then insisted on several others (not included here). Please also note Marni's look of incredulity.

Rest assured... all bathing suits were fully functional and awaiting their first 2009 trial at Stefanoff's pool.

Overheard #14

The word "actually" popped into Stella's vocabulary more than a year ago. As in, "Actually, I don't want to eat my peas". It seems to be a popular term for many of the 4-year-olds that Stella hangs out with. It made me smile to hear it when Stella started to use it. Now I'm smiling again as Marni has picked it up.

It's not unusual for Marni to say something like, "Actually, I want apple juice".

It's a small thing, but I just wonder where it all started from.