Last week we took away Tehilah’s bottles and started giving her sippy cups. The first several days were difficult, but not she is fine with it. We got a six pack of cups in many different colors and her favorite thing to do is to try an use all six different ones in one day. She’s quite good at it. She will get one filled up with water, then leave it in her room. Then she will request apple juice, which she’ll leave in the den. The lunchtime requires another cup of water… Etc. We have also started giving her real plates instead of plastic. She’s doing fine with it.

Well Ben is now getting up on all fours and schooching backwards. He hasn’t figured out the forward motion thing yet, but I’m sure it is not far away. Last night he wouldn’t stay asleep unless he was nursing the whole night. Poor Julie! She’s a trooper. He refuses to take a pacifier. Any suggestions?

Now I bet you asked yourself what dundydunning is didn’t you? I would guess that 99.99% of everyone who reads this doesn’t know. Well, that may not be true considering that my readership is probably 25% (at the very least) family and they (at least my father’s side of the family) will know exactly what dundydunning is. Forty some odd years ago, my Uncle Robert used to wake his two brother’s up by straddling them in bed and bouncing up and down on them why screaming ‘dundydun! dundydun!’ Well, this was something that my father taught me and being in favor of passing on family traditions, have taught Tehilah. She loves to come and dundydun her Dad, even if it’s not the right time for him to wake up. Viva la tradition!

Now back to the subject of disciplining Tehilah. She is now old enough that we send her to her room. Whenever she goes in she closes the door and starts crying these big fake alligator tears. After a few minutes we let her out. She has also learned to say “Sorry Ben” when she gets too physical with him. She will say sorry when told to, but she knows that she is admitting wrong doing when she apologizes and she doesn’t like it. So it is “Say sorry or go to your room.” She usually, but not always, chooses to say “I’m sorry Ben.”

One last thought. Her speech skills are improving like mad. She can have a real conversation and can repeat anything back to you. I was barbecuing yesterday and she kept asking “What you doing Dad?” I told her I was going to cook meat on the fire. So all day she was walking around telling anyone who would listen (and quite a few who wouldn’t) that “Dad cooks with fire outside.”

She is such a Daddy’s girl and I love it!

Wow. Tehilah has learned how to share. This past Friday evening she and I went for a walk and ran into one of her best friends. Tehilah had a little baggie of snack treats and she shared them with her friend, piece for piece. I was so proud of her that when we got home I gave her a special piece of chocolate and Julie and I told her that we were very proud of her sharing and that she is such a good big girl. Saturday we had lunch guests (the same friends we had seen the night before) and Tehilah let her friend sit in her booster seat without any fuss whatsoever. She also helped set the table (one of her favorite activities).

Benjamin… The last two nights he had decided that 4:00 a.m. is morning. Even if he nurses and has a supplemental bottle, its not good. It takes him two hours (or so) to get back to sleep. If only he would take a pacifier, but all he does is chew on it for a moment and then spit it back out. Does anyone have any suggestions?

One more thing about Tehilah that I’m so proud of, her speaking ability. She is now able to string together four and five word sentences. “Daddy Look! Two Cars! (I guess technically that that’s two sentences, but you understand what I mean.) She has picked up a phrase from me, “I’m busy!” When we ask her to do something she doesn’t want to do she says, in complete seriousness, “I’m busy!” It cracks me up every time.

Oh and did I mention that we have started potty training in earnest? We got a ‘bog girl potty’ that fits over the regular commode. She can put it on and take it off by herself. We also got her pull up diapers. She uses the potty at least once a day. We still have to ask her, she doesn’t tell us when she needs to ‘make’, but we are getting there. Spring is finally here so its not too cold for her to be sitting on her potty for a while waiting for something to happen.

Anyway, I’m off on vacation until next week. “Talk” to you guys then.