Good Thing, Bad Thing

Good Thing: Martin working at the Bookstore during the between-semester rush.
Bad Thing: Martin getting let off early every night, making me wonder if it's really worth it. Of course I like having him home for that extra time, but still.... hmmm.....

Good Thing: Laura Smith brought us a tin of Christmas goodies this afternoon!
Bad Thing: They're almost gone already! Whoops!

Good Thing: Anja went down easily at 7:00 tonight! Miracle!
Bad Thing: If she'd stayed up a little later (as she usually does) I could've finally met the guy my sister-in-law is dating! Grr!

Okay, that's about all the Good Thing-Bad Things I have for tonight. Someday soon I'll get a picture of Anja playing in the laundry basket, and then post it in comparison to one of her this time last year when she was tiny and we would put her in the laundry basket because we thought it was cute.

I'm finding this whole parenting thing to be a lot more fulfilling these days. I finally feel like I'm actually DOING something. For so many months it seems they are programmed to learn by taking in everything around them, no matter what you do or don't do. Sure, I've always read her stories. Sure, I've always talked to her. But I always felt the teensiest bit silly doing all those things when she was just a blob of newborn, or asleep, or basically non-responsive. But now! Now we tell her things and she seems to listen, or at least I can see that she is learning specific things. I feel so much more like a parent when I'm able to say "Dangerous" and take her away from the outlet before she sticks her fingers in the holes than I did when I was just snuggling her and changing her diaper and nursing her. I mean, of course I felt like a mother, but it was different. That was just me doing things. Now we interact! It's great! We eat our lunch together like real people now. She has her plate, I have my plate; sometimes we share, sometimes we don't. She knows how to ask for what she wants. I think I'm going to like this toddler thing--tantrums and all!

And she throws the funniest tantrums... If I upset her, she'll put her hands over her face and lean over and wail into her hands. It's hilarious! She's so dramatic! And slightly silly...

Also something she does that is sort of cute, but actually much more annoying, is that she INSISTS we sing "Jingle Bells" ALL THE TIME in the car. Meaning, we can't stop for conversation between renditions. We have to be singing it CONSTANTLY. And we cannot change songs. Oh, no! Anja only wants "Jingle Bells" and she wants it all the time. Luckily, as soon as we leave the car she doesn't care what music she hears. It's just a car thing.