Amelia's softer side.

Recently I've noticed that Amelia is becoming more sensitive and maybe even a tiny bit empathetic. She listens to mommy and daddy better and is a good girl most days.

For example, after having bought Amelia peanut M&M's the last two times we went to the store I was dreading the checkout line at Safeway. As soon as we got to the cash register Amelia started eyeing the candy, so I said to her, "No M&M's today, but you can still ride on the carousel." I was completely ready for a tantrum but instead she stood quietly for a minute, thinking about the situation and said, "But I can still ride the horsey." She understood completely and was very good about this small restriction on her diet.

While mommy trimmed bushes Amelia came up to her sheepishly and said, "I crunched a snail." "Oh," I said to her, without further comment. She then added, "I feel bad about it." I thought this was extremely sweet and told her that it was okay if she stepped on a snail by accident.

Amelia is also getting good about playing with her sister and sharing a little bit (the evidence is here). Diana is also becoming more sociable every day and she's also very close to crawling. Recently daddy and I have noticed Diana up on her knees as if ready to take off. Sometimes she rocks on her knees a bit, but mostly she realizes this is a good idea, but doesn't know how to proceed from this position (being on her hands and knees).

Of course, that doesn't mean the baby doesn't get around. In fact, it's nearly impossible to do a good job changing Diana's diaper. As soon as she's out of her old diaper she twists and fusses to get over onto her belly. Once she's there, she's on the move. She has even started escaping her room and slipping out into the hall at bed time.

Bottom line: the girls are great. They've been so well-behaved that mommy has even been able to complete some household projects like hanging a towel rack in the master bath. I can't know for certain, day-to-day how much (if any) time I'll have to do housework, but I try to get chores done around here one piece at a time.

Lisa