Abby begged me to take some pictures of her and her sister in their matching monkey pajamas.

So, bright and early one morning, we came downstairs before the sun had barely peeked up above the horizon and goofed around the living room for some fun photos.

The world of princesses is one I'm not terribly familiar with. Little girls getting all dolled up with crowns and tiaras, pink frilly dresses, and high-heels, parading down run-ways.

I missed out on it, not having been into girly things - not even dresses - when I was growing up.

There really is a HUGE industry out there geared towards the stereotypical little lady and we're just starting to get a peek into how much of a draw that is.

Starting at age 4, the birthday parties start getting divided. Boys and girls start having separate parties. I'm not sure what the boys are doing, but the girls are having an amazing time playing princesses - getting dressed up, having their hair and make-up done, and looking pretty.

I'm not going to offer my opinion yet on how I feel about the obsession these girls are developing for looking beautiful, 3 and 4 year olds wearing heels and make-up, etc. For now, my daughter is enjoying time fostering friendships and she is learning a lot of great social lessons, including self-confidence. For example, it's just as cool to sport sneakers with her princess gown as it is to have sparkly ballet slippers that everyone's ooh-ing and aah-ing over.


I admit I cringed when I first realized princesses had taken over our house - at least that's what it felt like. However, we have also discovered so many opportunities have opened up for us to talk to Abby about things like judging things on appearances alone, friendship, kindness, duty, responsibility, stereotypes, and much, much more. So, princesses on the brain hasn't been bad at all.

A friend of mine works at a local children's bookstore called The Bookies - a great bookstore by the way - and she recommended a fantastic princess book to Abby called Not All Princesses Dress in Pink. I love this book, which celebrates individuality in a highly appealing, brightly illustrated, fun-to-read story. The princesses in this book don't twirl around in dresses and heels all day, but enjoy getting dirty and stinky playing sports, running around with dogs in the rain, gardening, fighting monsters, or working with tools. But, they do it all wearing a sparkly crown!

Anyway, sparkly crowns, painted fingernails, and fluffy, twirly dresses are all the rage for the preschool girls these days and we keep feeding the industry as these little girls enjoy playing princesses in extravagant salon birthday parties.

They are having an excellent time and there's no harm in letting them role-play along with their friends and be little girls so long as we, as parents, help them understand that the real world is not like fantasy.

We're driving home from daycare and I am heading East on C-470, a major highway in the Denver area.

Abby: Mom, you need to slow down. That was a yellow light.
Me: What? This is a highway, there are no traffic lights.
Abby: Yes, there was. I saw one. It was yellow and you didn't slow down!

It was rush hour, so on-ramps had yield lights flashing for traffic control.

Me: Oh, no, Abby. Those lights are not for us. If there is a yellow light for us, I will slow down. I promise.
Abby: Only GREEN means go! YELLOW means go slow!
Me: I know, Abby. Thanks.
Abby [through rear-view mirror, I see she's got her hands on her hips]: I am NOT happy with you! You need to start listening or you will have to stand in a corner when we get home.

====

Last week I took the girls to visit the Wildlife Experience - a little interactive museum and activities center. Abby was being such a good girl that I decided to give her a treat from one of the best donut shops in the area. Unfortunately, because this was such a great donut shop, it was 12:30 PM and all donuts were already sold out.

Abby: That's ok! If we pass by another good donut store, we will stop, all right? Does that sound like a plan?
Me: That's a deal, Abby.

We drive home. No donut shops along the way down that stretch of I-25. Later, we met up with friends to visit the Buddy Center - a pet adoption center - just to visit some adorable animals. On the way, we pass the gas station right outside our housing community.

Abby: Look, we're passing by a donut store!
Me: No we're not.
Abby: Yes!
Me: What are you talking about?
Abby: THAT is a great donut store.
Me: The gas station convenience store?
Abby [after a pause, huffily]: Are you telling me that THAT is NOT a great donut store?!
Me: YES!
Abby: We'll ask daddy when he gets home. Whatever he says [goes]!

That night, I relayed our conversation to Paul and he gave Abby credit for winning the argument because she somehow remembers visiting that convenience store with Paul over a year and a half ago and seeing fresh Krispy Kreme donuts there.

Kayleigh turned 9 months old and had her well-baby checkup last Thursday.

She no longer minds long car seat rides and can entertain herself rather well. It is a lot more fun to venture out of the house now that she doesn't scream as soon as she is buckled in the car seat. Unfortunately, she has completely outgrown the infant car seat and is ready to move up to a convertible. We will wait until Abby is able to be in a booster and then just have Kayleigh use Abby's current seats; there is no reason to buy new convertible seats when Abby is so close to being upgrading to a booster (age 4).

Kayleigh is also not as sensitive to the slightest wet diaper anymore, which helps car trips immensely as well.

She has said her first "ba-ba," her first "ma-ma," and to Abby's delight, her first "abba!" She waves when you tell her bye-bye. She chatters non-stop most of the time and loves to sing and have you hold her up to dance.

She can hold a crayon and draw with it, rather than putting it in her mouth immediately.

Kayleigh takes 2 30-minutes naps during the day and goes to bed promptly at 8:00 PM at night, getting up at 11 and 4-ish to feed before waking up around 7:00 AM. Her schedule is pretty much set and we've adjusted to it. However, we would like to wean her off of one night-time feeding and I talked to the pediatrician about it during her check-up. He suggests weaning her off her pacifiers because the last thing she recalls before falling asleep is sucking. If she comes up to a light sleep in the middle of the night and can't find her pacifier, she will become fully awake and will cry for us. Sounded reasonable. So, since that night, Kayleigh has not had her pacifier except for a few times to calm her down, but never to fall asleep with. We have not gotten a single complaint. She falls asleep just fine. She may stir at random times, but will chatter and fall right back to sleep. Yet, at 11 and 4-ish, she will inevitably cry for us, fully awake, demanding a feeding. So, I think she might actually just be hungry.

Abby and Kayleigh have started to play together, teasing each other, calling and responding to one another (Abby will squeal at Kayleigh and Kayleigh will match her sound and pitch exactly, then both girls will burst into laughter).

She is creeping along furniture, crawling her funny crawl everywhere and over everything. She can climb up stairs, but not down.


She certainly is more stubbornly focused on trouble than Abby ever was - going after power cords, lights, outlets, cat toys, cat food, cat water fountain, the cats!

After getting her two bottom teeth at 5 months, her upper two front teeth are finally making their appearances (1/15).

She dropped a bit in her height and weight percentages, but no one's worried. The doctor believes we might have caught her just before a growth spurt, so we have that to look forward to.

Only the Hep B shot was given, but she had her finger pricked for a blood test for anemia. We didn't even get a whimper for the shot, but the finger prick was unnecessarily deep and looked pretty painful. Plus, the Band-aid she received really frightened her.

Overall, she is doing great.

This one has been going around on e-mails for a few years, but every time I see it, it makes me smile.

Enjoy!

==============

The following was found posted very low on a refrigerator door.

Dear Dogs and Cats: The dishes on the floor with the paw prints are yours and contain your food The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate does not mean that it is suddenly your food, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the top of the stairs is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It Is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space that you are taking up, is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine/feline attendance is not required.

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door:

TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:

(1) They live here. You don't.

(2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture.

(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.

(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly.

Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

(1) eat less,

(2) don't ask for money all the time,

(3) are easier to train,

(4) normally come when called,

(5) never ask to drive the car,

(6) don't hang out with drug-using people;

(7) don't smoke or drink,

(8) don't want to wear your clothes,

(9) don't have to buy the latest fashions,

(10) don't need a gazillion dollars for college and

(11) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children.....(*_*)

Holiday Program 2010 from Cecilia Newell on Vimeo.