“That’s my mom!”

The funniest, cutest thing happened today. It felt like a harbinger of things to come. I walked downstairs (in my PJs) and found Davinder, Austen and (double take) another little kid sitting at the kitchen table eating noodles. Apparently, Austen and our next door neighbor Avvanna were having such a great time outside that they headed inside to eat a little and play with toys. As I stood staring –and saying, “Uh oh, I better go get dressed if Avvanna’s parents are coming soon to pick her up” — Austen chirped, so cutely, “That’s my mom!”

The girls played so well together. Austen was in a good sharing mood. Hopefully her teeth are feeling better. Austen sure loves hanging out with other kids (from teenagers down to toddlers).

L.L.F.R.

Resentment

Austen seems to no longer be as forgiving as she used to be when punished. After a big battle of wills with Mama (like this morning when Austen wanted to wear her new sparkly shoes out into the rain), she’s defiant with Mama the rest of the day. Lots of hugs and sympathy (“I hate to see Austen crying”) at dinner seemed to help a bit. Recently Mama had lightened up on the empathy and started laying down the law when Austen started acting very spoiled, throwing too many fits about silly little things (e.g., which corn chip Mama handed her) and not sharing well. Everyday adjustments must be made.

ABCs

Austen’s really getting the hang of letters. She see letters and associates them with words begginning with them. “A is for Apple. A is for Austen.” “T is for Tiger.” “S is for star.” Her interest in the alphabet used to be only the song, now she’s starting to associate letters with objects.