Good thing I didn't make a resolution to post more in 2011, eh?

I had forgotten how hilarious the almost 3 year old age is.  Here's a conversation we had at lunch a couple of weeks ago:

Me: "Anna, put your grilled cheese down on your plate!"
Anna: "It's a grilled cheese HAMMER!" *continues to bang*
Ben: *snorts and leaves room*
Me: *thinks that Ben's cooking can't possibly be that bad but it really did sound like a hammer on her plate...*

Another food-related incident occurred when I made a fontina-ricotta lasagna with white sauce.  Rachel was suspicious but ate it all and declared that she loved it!  Anna took one look and announced, "I don't like it!" without even taking a bite. We ignored her and continued to eat. A few minutes later she repeated herself and I let her know that it was fine if she didn't like it, but that was her dinner. Within seconds, she had taken a bite and announced, "Wait! I DO like it!"

But not all hilarity springs forth from the kitchen table. The bathroom (or lack thereof) provides plenty of fodder for bad jokes too.  A few nights ago, Anna was playing in the bathtub with a crocodile and an elephant.  The dialogue?  "Oh no! You're in Windsor! I'll rescue you!"

Anna started wearing underwear this week.  I think that it's going better than potty training Rachel did.  Then again, I've blocked much of that time out of my mind for the sake of my (in)sanity.  When we're home, I've tried to just have Anna in a top and underwear, which sucks for the heating bill but makes for less laundry.  The other day, I let her watch a show on the couch.  I sat her down on a waterproof mat (LOVE those Kushies changepad mats!) and left the room for a few minutes.

I came back to find her sitting in wet pants, thankfully still on the mat.  Our conversation went something like this:


Me: "Anna, is there anything you want to tell me about that wet spot on your pants?"
Anna: *looks down and thinks for a moment* "It's really, really wet!"

We have thankfully progressed (?) to her telling us right after the fact that she has to go to the bathroom. We put up a sticker chart the other day and she gets to put a sticker on for each time that she actually does something in the toilet. She gets chocolate chips just for trying though.  I had forgotten that she is counter height, so I have to remember to put the chocolate chips away before she helps herself! When she fills up a row with stickers, she will get a little prize. There are 6 rows on the chart and I increased the number of boxes for the last few rows. I'm hoping that by the time she's filled up the page she will be more or less trained although that sounds suspiciously easy so it probably won't work.