Caro

Caroline's now 2 1/2 years old, which means she's 2 1/2 years crazy! Very much a "big kid," but also very much a toddler.

She DID potty train successfully - it was great! There WAS some extra laundry, she had a couple #1 and #2 accidents, but fortunately nothing was too terrible (even the #2 accidents; while not fun, they could have been much worse). And best of all, since she took it upon herself to potty train, there hasn't been any cajoling or bribing or threatening, she is very proud of herself and loves to go potty. This does not mean I'm a good parent. Hey, I like to think I'm a good parent, but I think potty training success has more to do with the kid than the mom so I'm giving CAROLINE pats on the back, not myself. We are so pleased with her success!

Caroline and I were sitting on the porch swing watching Patrick ride his new bike and inside we heard Eli start freaking out (which he does if he can't figure something out in 2.5 seconds). Caroline marched herself inside to announce to Joe, who was cooking dinner, "Eli being a turd muncher!"

Sometimes nicknames are longer than given names; for instance, Caroline is something Carolee-aroline and Patrick is Fafi-Kadhafi. It sounds middle-eastern, which is kind of inappropriate, which is exactly why it stuck. Caroline's full-time nickname is Poony, which is also totally inappropriate (and if you don't know why it is, I'm not explaining), which is exactly why it stuck. We use their nicknames far more than their given names, though, even when we yell at them. Some people get very formal when their kids are trouble, calling them by their full name (including middle, if they have one); we keep it loose and call them my totally inappropriate nicknames while loudly informing them to knock it off. At any rate, Poony... er, Caroline has started calling Patrick "Fafi-adafee," leaving off the K. It's the cutest thing and sounds much more endearing, and less middle-eastern, when a sweet little girl is saying it as she looks for her big brother.

She's very into wearing pajamas at the moment, and her favorite are from Paul Frank. She loves that monkey! So often getting up and "dressed" involves just getting from one set of PJs to another.  And I'm okay with that.

Everything is "I do it!" which I try to let her have as much control over as possible, even if it means me un-doing something so she can do it herself. Turning the sink back on so she can turn it off herself. Shutting the door so she can open it herself. Putting the shoes back that I picked out so she can get them herself. Turning off the light. Clearing the microwave. Unzipping the jacket. You get the gist. Joe is much less relaxed about this and more often than not it turns into a battle of wills, but I think sooner or later he'll catch on that you can never win a battle of wills with a girl. And if you do, she'll resent you, and we all know girls can hold a grudge WAY longer than a guy. So just let her re-zip the dang jacket.

On the baby/toddler side, she still can't pedal a tricycle so she's stuck scooting around after her brothers as they zip around the neighborhood on bikes. She still goes limp and throws a mean tantrum if she's not getting her way. She still wears a diaper to naps and bed. So she's still growing, but she's so enjoyable each day in all these fun and funny ways! We love our biggest little girl.