The other day, I was…

The other day, I was lying down on the couch, and Kavi started doing something naughty, something she knew she wasn't supposed to do. I can't remember what exactly -- it could have been drawing with markers on her face, or hitting something with something else, or swinging from the curtains like a monkey. And I said, "No, Kavi, don't do that." And she came over to the couch, petted me very sweetly on the head, and said, "Go to sleep, Amma. Dream a nice dream." Nice try, little girl.

Yesterday, Anand climbed the first step of the stairs. Oh no. And he likes to hang on the rickety gate to the basement stairs. Now I am using packing boxes to contain him in the living room, and he does not appreciate it at all. The new rental is all on one floor, which will be a relief.

Kavi has progressed in her tv watching. Caillou reigned for years, but then was abruptly ousted by Go, Diego, Go, followed by Wonder Pets. And now, it's all about Team Umizoomi, all the time. I was initially annoyed that the boy (dressed in blue) got to build all kinds of cool things with his shape power, and the girl (dressed in pink) only got to decorate with her pattern power. Look -- you too can grow up to be an interior designer! But it turns out that patterns aren't just for making pretty -- they're using them more interestingly than that. Figuring out the next color or number in a sequence, for example. Patterns are pretty cool, it turns out. So we can indulge this obsession a little longer.

Although their songs are not as catchy as the Wonder Pets songs. Which may be a good thing, since I haven't seen a Wonder Pets episode in close to a month, but the theme song is still running through my head. We're not too big, and we're not too tough, but when we work together, we've got the right stuff!

Anand loves food -- pretty much any time he's upset, you can calm him down with a piece of bread to gnaw on. Comfort eating. I know we're teaching him bad habits for the future, but like mother, like son. I do love bread.

One other fun bit about Umizoomi is that there's a robot character with a belly screen, which gives me an excuse to flip up Kavi's shirt and search for her belly screen, tickling all the while. She laughs and smiles, but then fairly quickly orders me to stop. And I wonder sometimes where the line is on body integrity. Part of dealing with small children is that you're handling them all the time -- you have to. If I didn't physically hold Anand down during his diaper changes, there would be poop everywhere, because that boy cannot hold still for more than two seconds. So you get used to the physicality of that. And they love being thrown up in the air, or swung around, or grabbed suddenly. Mama's got you! I think they love both the sensation and the surprise of it. Which is all fine, and we stop immediately whenever they say stop -- no one is forced to give a hug, or a kiss, or be tickled here once they say no. But often that means you've crossed the line a little bit first, unknowing. It worries me.

And speaking of ordering me to stop, we're working on politeness. But while Kavi will sometimes indulge us with a "Can I have some X, please?" [we don't even try for may vs. can], her preferred mode of instruction is, "Do it!" Naming her queen of anything was a big mistake.

I am waiting for three things: for Anand to sleep through the night, for Kavi to finish potty training (we're mostly there, but are still doing way more laundry than we would like), and for the two of them to start playing together. My life will be immeasurably better when that happens -- or so I think. I told my mother this yesterday, and she laughed and said that I'd come up with some other excuse [for my stressing out] then.

Hmph. Parents.