Not Quite

There are many skills the kids are beginning to learn.  But they haven't exactly mastered them yet.  Allow me to explain...

The kids can stash and retrieve their own water cups in the fridge on command.  I say on command only because they can't yet open and close the refrigerator door (thank goodness!).  Unlike her brother, who puts his immediately in the "wefwidgawaiter", Addison often takes her own sweet time putting it away in the "fridgalator".

Caden is learning to communicate beyond basic wants and needs.  For example, today when I told him we were going to the library he said, "Ga-da ge no book".  (Translation:  "Caden will get new books.")

Both kids, left to their own devices, can empty things with frightening speed.  Trouble is, they don't empty the things that would be helpful, like the dryer, the dishwasher or the trash.  Want to know how many wipes come in each package?  I didn't either.  Until I had to clean up every last one of them and stuff them back into the wipes box this morning.  Check these guilty faces...

Want to know how hard it is to clean spilled rice from the beautifully-staged-to-play-office play table?  Hard.  I destroyed the office set up to hand vac it up.  At which point Caden dubbed the vacuum a toy not a tool.  I'm fairly certain some of his messes are made solely to see the vacuum make an appearance.

Need to go to the bathroom while you're responsible for the kids?  Don't.  You'll come back to empty bookshelves.  Complete with all the book jackets pulled off.  And books being used as steps.

The kids can use little paper cups (like the size of those we used back in the days of "swish 'n spit") to eat Cheerios.  However, our little man can get a little overzealous with his chomping.  I had to remove his cup yesterday when I realized he was ingesting it along with the Os.

Sand?  They love it. Which is a big improvement over last year, when Addison wouldn't even sit in it without holding one leg up in the air.  Trouble is, they like it so much they tend to bring it inside with them.  In their pockets, their pant legs, their socks and shoes, and jackets.  So much sand has made it into our playroom that it's gotten stuck under the foam puzzle/play mat and has begun scratching the floor when it gets moved.  And do you think the stuff will vacuum up?  Nope.  Sand, hair, dust... it's like static cling on that foam.  So guess who got to spend a large chunk of nap time today hand washing the entire mat?  Not fun.  Not fun at all.

Oh, and dressing skills... the kids are getting the hang of it.  They like to practice zipping and unzipping, putting their shoes/socks on and taking them off (they're more successful getting them off) and stepping into and out of pants instead of having to lay down to put them on.  But getting the hang of it is a double edged sword.  Caden now sees getting dressed as a choice.  He simply sees me coming with a shirt in hand and he starts...  "No, no, no, no, no, no."  Or he pulls it off as fast as I can get it on. Some days it takes all morning just to get dressed.  And Addison, she sees getting dressed as a personal challenge.  After all, one pair of pants might not be enough.  

Yep, we're making progress around here.  The one-step-forward-for-the-kids-and-two-steps-back-for-mom kind of progress.  But I am not frustrated.  Today I have actually found myself laughing at these sweet toddlerisms instead of reaching for the extra cup of coffee as I muttered under my breath.  Because soon enough they will have mastered these skills and more.  And we will be into other kinds of messes.  Screaming matches over who gets to choose the tv channel.  Science experiments with household products or hiding from me in a department store (Lord, please let these genes have skipped a generation).  And I will be wishing I had some paint to clean up...