Meljo

[ Marla took this pic of M and A. I think it is too cute!]

Not much new here in the big city life. Enjoying the rest of the summer and enjoying the cool nights and loud locusts and crickets at night! Work is going well, not too much new there. We are all doing well with nothing much to update on. I haven't posted in so long I thought I had better post something.

Alex stories<><><><><><><><><>

The talking back has begun. And way before I was expecting it, and in a way I was not expecting it to happen...Whenever T and I say something sternly or in a voice other than the one we typically use she will look down, stick out her bottom lip, make her chin to quiver, and say, "Don't talk like that to me, mama" or "that hurts me, mama, don't say that to me" in a very sad, hurt little voice. Sometimes she can squeeze tears out or sometimes she does without. She has also just begun to say "I AMMMM" if I tell her something she is already doing or in the process of doing, i.e. I say, "finish your dinner" and she says, "I AMMMM!" and the list goes on with that one---I thought that didn't come until they were around pre-teens!! And now when we catch her out of bed at night and we go in to her room she'll make up an excuse as to why she was out of bed, excuses like, "my feet are cold, mama" or "my knees hurt". When I check on her after she is asleep I will find her in a completely different getup than the one I put her in hours before and in the morning there is always a very interesting reason she gives me for outfit change! She seems to be getting a bit wilder. Sometimes she goes from thing to thing to thing I think I may lose my mind sometimes. She pressess my buttons well at times, but it is usually only when she's bored. Oh, and yesterday she told me I was old...but not Grandpa or daddy--they are "young" like her. Nice.