Overheard

When I was upstairs searching for a bandaid for my finger, which I had just cut with my very sharp tomato knife, I heard Hannah say, "Naomi, Mama cut her finger. We should pray for her. Dear God, please help Mama's finger to heal quickly. Amen."

More questions

H: Dada, would you like to fight a winter-starved bear?
M: No.
H: Why not?

Snow

fell overnight here. We had 2-3 inches this morning when we woke up. Michael's bus was cancelled, so he's working from home today. Hannah and Naomi were both very excited about the snow. Hannah wanted to go out on the deck and play in it, and Naomi, of course, wanted to do whatever Hannah was doing.

So I got them bundled up and into boots and sent them out on the deck. Naomi lasted about 90 seconds. She took a few steps into the snow, developed a very concerned look on her face, took another few steps, looked in the window at me, and came back to the door to get back in. Hannah stayed out for about 15 minutes.

Maternal instincts

have begun to show up more and more with Naomi. She has 2 particular stuffed animals that she loves: Tigey and Bear-Bear. Yes, you guessed it, a tiger and a bear. Both Tigey and Bear-Bear are treated like babies -- held, loved, put down for naps, and given very extensive stroller rides. Sometimes those rides seem a bit dicey, what with the speed and the rounding of corners, but they have so far made it through all of them.

Bear-Bear was lost to us for a while, having been accidentally left behind at the cousins', and it was somewhat traumatic. Luckily we still had Tigey. We've been reunited with Bear-Bear, though, and now Naomi is making up for lost time, wrapping him in blankets, holding him, swaying gently and singing lullabies to him.

She needs iJet

Hannah's been listening to Little House in the Big Woods on tape lately. She loves the Laura books, as she calls them. Michael's been reading her the whole series at nighttime, and they're on The Long Winter. We're about to find out how Almanzo and Cap did during the blizzard. It's very suspenseful.

However, the tapes of the first book are great quiet time listening, as far as Hannah is concerned. She's listened to them over and over and will say things like, "Mom, do you remember the time when Grandpa was chased by the panther?" Since I had forgotten that one, she retold it to me.

This morning, Hannah mentioned that she thought we should visit Wisconsin -- it's where this story is set, you know. She thought for a minute, then came this exchange:

H: Are there any wars going on in Wisconsin?
M: [trying not to laugh] I don't think so.
H: Are there still bears?
M: Probably.
H: Well, we'll just have to make sure we're not out after dark.

Saturday

was painting day here at the homestead. We had some great help and got a whole bunch painted. Consequently, our house STANK. So, since both the girls' room and our room had been painted, I thought it best to vacate the house overnight. We went to a hotel that's about 5 minutes from the house.

To Hannah, going to a hotel is one of the biggest treats life has in store. Everything there is fun and interesting. We got a CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST!!! this morning and we got to GO SWIMMING!!! in the POOL!!! Of course, the level of excitement meant that she took about an hour to fall asleep last night and was very cranky after swimming this morning. In fact, we had a 4-year-old's meltdown on the way out of the hotel.

This didn't change the fact, for Hannah, that a hotel is a huge treat. It might change her parents' minds, though.

Toddlerhood

is a time of great contradictions. Sometimes Naomi's screaming at the top of her lungs, throwing herself backwards, and making as much trouble as possible. Sometimes she's saying "Hi!" in the friendliest voice, throwing her arms around my neck, smiling a great big smile, and making herself as cute and agreeable as possible. It's tough to keep up sometimes.