Baby Ava is 4 months old and she’s starting to break out on her own. She started to hold her own bottle. She can’t do it every time but she is on her way.

Way to go girl! Love you!

Kenna has been learning about consequences and choices lately. I give her credit, she’s got strength.

Kenna hasn’t been a fan of eating her food. She picks at her plate for 20 minutes and then asks to get down. We’ve tried a number of approaches and nothing seems to work. So the other day I threw down the gauntlet. I told her she had 10 min to finish her food or she was going to bed for the rest of the day. It was about 2:00 in the afternoon. It was going to be a long night for her if she didn’t eat.

I counted down every two minutes. The food sat on her plate. Eight minutes, no progress, 6 minutes, no progress 4 minutes, a tad bit of progress, but not headed in the right direction. At two minutes, she started to get serious, but by that time it was too late. There just wasn’t enough time.

Time is up!

I inform Kenna she is off to bed. The breakdown begins. I am eating it she argues. Not in ten minutes, I argue back. The crying intensifies. In the end I made it simple. You didn’t finish your food now you are paying the consequences. Off to her room she went.

Kenna is testing the boundaries and she is trying to figure out when we’re serious and when we’re not and she is good at it. She’s a natural sales person. She asks why, is quick with an answer and argues her position well.

In spite of the discomfort and difficulties we have to stick to our guns.

A few days later, Kenna was picking at her food again. Like last time, I gave her ten minutes to finish, 8, 6, she starts eating, 4,she’s making much better progress this time, 2, 1, she makes it under the wire.

There is no doubt in my mind things were different this time, because I held my ground last time. Kids will take you to the limit. The good is . . . you set the limit.

Big day for Elle. She officially has her first ski pass.

way to go Sugar!

Ellen and I went to Mexico last week and had her brother Chris stay with the kids.   While we were gone, we would check in using video chat (iChat) so we could see the kids and they could see us.  It makes it more fun than just a phone call.

During our first call, Chris was sharing with us how difficult the girls were to put to bed on the first night.   He said they were pretty much a nightmare; crying, screaming, putting up a fuss and not listening.  He said it was total mayem until he finally “put his footdown” to get control of the situation.

Planning her strategy:

Just as he was finishing his description of Kenna’s blatant disobedience, Kenna marches down the stairs, looks into the computer at Ellen and I and says: “Uncle Chris hurt my feelings last night”  Yup, no hello, no hi mom, no hi dad, just right to the point: Uncle Chris hurt her feelings.

Brilliant!   Kenna is 3 and she already knows how to subtly play peoples emotions.  No remedial manipulation such as denial of her actions, or smoke and mirrors, like “what do you mean” or “not exactly” or “I don’t know what he (Uncle Chris) is talking about”, she just went straight to her feelings and how Uncle Chris is the one we need to be upset with, cause he hurt HER feelings.   Man, that is some serious upper-level manipulation.  You don’t normally start seeing that level of manipulation from kids until they are at least in double digits.

I’ll tell you what, if this is just the beginning, we’re in deep trouble.   Kenna is a ball of energy, with a mind that doesn’t stop.   So, now our challenge is staying one step ahead of that mind of hers.

We’re surprised she hasn’t told us Santa isn’t real, and that she is disappointed we have undermined her trust of our family by perpetuating a lie of a holiday fictional character and therefore owe her more presents for participating in such a deceptive hoax.   Ugh, were in trouble!