Breakfast, Anyone?

So we've been doing some rearranging in bedrooms since the news of our baby boy. Miss Priss is now in a twin bed, and Devil Child is out of the crib and into the toddler bed. (I know, way overdue.) Still in separate rooms for now. We figure they need a month or two getting used to their new beds before we dare put in them in a room together. Devil Child has surprised us each night by actually staying in her bedroom. And for the first week or so, she actually wouldn't even come out in the morning until I went in to get her. It was really cute. I could hear her talking in the early morning hours, but I wouldn't go in until about 7:30 or 8:00, and there she would be, still lying in her bed.

We've got a lot of changing to do in the baby's room to get it ready for a boy. We'll take down the pink flower ceiling fan and replace it with a white one; we need to get new bedding for the crib and new drapes now since pink and purple butterflies and flowers won't really work anymore. I'd like to paint the baby's room and the girls' room. It's going to be a lot of fun and SO different getting ready for a boy.

Miss Priss has been growing up so fast lately. I am so exhausted in the mornings, it's hard for me to get out of bed when she does, and she's been doing a great job of not bugging me. She'll ask if she can watch cartoons or have an apple or a yogurt, and then head downstairs and help herself. I just love that she asks. But about a week ago, there was no asking for anything, and no sounds of her even being up and about. I dragged myself out of bed and checked the bedrooms first. Miss Priss was gone, and Devil Child was still in her bed. I picked her up, changed her diaper, and we headed downstairs. Miss Priss was waiting for us as she eagerly announced, "I made waffles!"

I looked over into the kitchen to find she had somehow gotten the frozen waffles off the top shelf in the freezer (not too hard), popped them into the toaster (didn't know she knew how to work that), and had climbed up on the counter to get three little plates down (off of the highest shelf in the cupboard!). There were our waffles, one on each plate, sitting on the counter and getting cold. Should I have been upset that she got into things she shouldn't have, or glad that she's now capable of actually making breakfast for her and her sister while I can get more sleep? Honestly my first thought was, "Thank goodness she didn't go for the syrup."

My little baby has come a long way since the days of me waking up to find craft paint all over the living room ottoman, makeup covering her face, a head drenched in lotion, or the time I found her sitting in her room licking peanut butter off of a five-inch CutCo butcher knife. Or so I thought.

This morning she came into my room to ask if she could have a yogurt. Now, I knew Devil Child was up, too, and would have to have whatever her big sister was going to have. I also knew that she would make a huge mess eating a yogurt all by herself, which I don't mind, but I knew I wasn't awake enough to be there to clean her up, which meant she would get down from the table with yogurt all over her hands and face (and probably all in her hair, too), and touch who-knows-what in my nice, clean house. On the other hand, I went to bed last night at 8:00 due to a raging migrane, which still wasn't gone. I was NOT getting out of bed yet. So who cares that I was going to have to clean up a little yogurt off the walls and the carpet?

I drift back to sleep, sort of, and when I again open my eyes, I hear ... nothing. No cartoons on, no fighting or screaming, no laughing or playing. Crap. What are they doing? So I head downstairs to check out the damage, hoping against all hope that my "responsible" four-year-old has been making breakfast and taking care of her baby sister. Too much to ask? Of course. I find them huddled together on the kitchen floor. There are tiny red balls everywhere. What in the world? When they hear me, they startle as they turn around. SOOOOO guilty. They've found the Halloween candy, and helped themselves for breakfast.

Miss Priss has a chocolate ring around her mouth. And my sweet little Devil Child has yogurt (now dried) all over her face and hands that has helped the Nerds (those little red balls I saw all over the floor) stick to her cheeks, chin and fingers. Oh, and a sucker hanging out of her mouth. Should I have taken a picture? Of course I should have. But remember that I have a headache and morning sickness (which has suddenly come back this week). So I pick her up and put her straight into the sink where I remove her pajamas and begin to wipe her up while ordering Miss Priss to clean up the rest of the candy.

As I retell the story, I think of the slight disappointment I felt in Miss Priss. Here I thought she was "growing up," and becoming more able to make better decisions. And then I think of the sadness I'll have when she really does grow up. And I'm grateful, once again, that she's just a toddler, and still my little girl.

***Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I'm sure you can all imagine the scene.***