Honesty is the best policy?

I recently babysat my friend's kids for an afternoon.  While I pondered how to respond to Lydia's compliment, Kenzie clarified things.

Lydia: Wow, I'm impressed.  Everything's so organized.  Most of the houses I go over everything is messy.
Me: Ha, thanks.
Kenzie: Well, our house is usually really messy, but we clean it up when we have people over.

Thanks, Kenzie!

Kenzie Takes on the Shamu Express

Kenzie really wanted to try a roller coaster when we were visiting the theme parks in FL.  The Shamu Express at Seaworld promised to be a "just-thrilling-enough first coaster."  It was just as fast as any adult-sized coaster, I learned after our ride.  It was short, though, and that was probably the only saving grace for McKenzie.  Watch as her face goes through various stages of terror.

 After the ride, Susan asked her if she'd like to do it again.  Her answer was a resounding, "NO WAY!"

Conversations with Kenzie

Me: We need to call Adam and sing happy birthday.  We missed him yesterday. 

McKenzie: I told daddy that I would remember, but then I didn't remember.  I guess I should have said I would try to remember.  'Cause, if I said I would remember and then I didn't remember that's....bad.  I guess. But if I said I would try and then I forget, then it's okay.

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Kenzie was confused when I told her I needed to work on an assignment for my grad class.

McKenzie (mockingly): Mommy, how to you write a paper?

Conversations with Kaia

Kaia: I really, really don't like mean monsters.
Me (laughing): Okay.
Kaia: 'Cause monsters go roar and I don't like roaring things when they roar. ROAR!!!

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While we were in Florida Dustin and went out one night to see Blue Man Group.  Dustin's mom stayed with the girls.  She thought the girls were asleep (it had been quiet for quite a while).  Then she heard Kaia at the top of the stairs.  "Nana!" she yelled.  Susan came around the corner to find Kaia standing proudly at the top of the stairs wearing her favorite skirt (the one she went bed in), her sparkly shoes, and holding her hands up to display the many colors of nail polish all over her  fingers.  Before Susan could react she said, "I need a headband."  Clearly she wasn't concerned about getting into trouble.  Susan put her to bed in her pack n play and told her she was sad that Kaia had used the nail polish without asking her.

In the morning Kaia showed me her nails (fingers and toes just covered in polish) and said sadly, "Nana was not happy to me."

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At Disney World the girls were on a high meeting princesses and other characters.  It was 10:30 and we were preparing to leave.

Kaia: I want to see a fairy!

Me: Oh, honey, it's so late.  They are probably sleeping now.

Kaia: But we can wake 'em up.

20 minutes later we found Tinkerbell and Rosetta signing autographs.

Kenzie: Mommy, and you thought they were asleep.

Touche. 

Opposites

Watch the girls eat a cookie and you can see how vastly different they are.  McKenzie carefully eats the cookie, leaving all the m&m's for last.  She always does this, saves the best for last.  In fact, she'll eat so much of the cookie that she will be full and decide to save the candies for later.

Kaia, on the other hand, eats the best first.  She picks each m&m off the cookie, eating as she picks.  Then, when the cookie is depleted of candy, she'll take a bite and, if it's not a particularly chocolaty cookie, she'll leave the rest on the counter.

Their cookie-eating methods so mimic their personalities in other areas it's astounding.  Kenzie, the patient, thinker with a plan (who sometimes misses out on the best of things because she's so careful), and Kaia, the impulsive, act now/think later monkey with no plans for what will happen in the next instant (who often gets into trouble due to lack of foresight). 

How can two people, raised under the same roof, be so, so different?

A Girl's Gotta Accessorize

Kaia loves to wear skirts. And dresses.  And headbands.  The girl is a little fashionista.  For the first time in her life there is something that really matters to her.  Up until this point, there was no discipline technique that got her to listen.  Now, we have the skirt.  When Kaia tells us "no," we take off her skirt.  If she doesn't cooperate at bedtime, she doesn't get to wear a skirt to bed.  If she isn't playing nice with Sister, no dress.

It's the craziest parenting idea we've ever used, but it usually works.  If we tell her she has "one more chance to make a right choice" or she doesn't get to wear a skirt, she listens.  If she does something particularly egregious (i.e. hitting Kenzie) we take away skirt-wearing privileges and she DOES NOT like that.  It's nice to finally have something that works.  

Her skirts are so important to her that she can't pick just one to wear each day.  She changes her skirt or dress four, five, six times a day.  I moved all her dresses and skirts to an easily accessible drawer so she can go into her room and change whenever she wants. After each wardrobe change she will go admire herself in the full-length mirror we put up just for her. Every once in a while there is a skirt or dress that she wears all day..and all night...and all the next day.  When it is time to send that outfit to the laundry it can be distressing.

I don't know how she became so fashion-conscience.  I'm certainly not.  But it's a pretty adorable trait.  She's our crazy, defiant, adorable, smart little model.  Love that Kaia Boo.

She thinks everyone looks better with a pretty headband.

Conversations with Kaia

Kaia (seeing a bag of m&ms in my car): Can I have candy, mom?
Me: I don't want you to have any in the car because I don't want chocolate all over the place.
Kaia: It's not going to be ALL on the place, just a little on the place.

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Kaia has to say sorry so frequently now that she's adopted a catch-all phrase to cover any wrong doings. 

Kaia: "I'm sorry. I won't do that again."
Me: What are you sorry for, though?  What did you do?
Kaia: Something I'm not posed to do.

Her apologies are completely meaningless.  How do we get her to actually feel sorry?

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Kaia (from her crib): Mooommmmmmmmy!

Dustin: What do you need honey.

Kaia: Can you get me my baby?

Dustin: Why did you throw it out of the crib?

Kaia: I didn't.  She did it all by herself, Daddy.

Dustin: It doesn't work like that.

Kaia: *laughing*

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Kaia: Daddy, you're the best daddy in this whole house.

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