Talking, talking and more talking

That's what is new with us. Roxanne is basically a little person now. She has almost no baby left, except when she lets us hold her and pretend she is a "little tiny baby" and demands her lullabies. She is getting more and more opinionated (and sometimes oppositional) and she is turning out to be pretty bossy. She LOVES to talk about Ben or Josh getting time out, and if I tell either of them not to do something, she echoes me, yelling at the perpetrator. Her and the boys are so cute together though. They are just like siblings. Which is also true of the love/hate dynamic. Roxanne has gotten very fond of chasing Ben around yelling "I want to give Ben a kiss!" and Ben running away from her yelling "No! No! No!" Sometimes I intervene, but mostly I just watch and laugh... But then there are moments like today when I was leaving work and Roxanne pointed up to Ben on the front stoop of his house (he was seeing us off) and said "You want to come with me, Ben?" and Ben then had a fit when his dad made him stay on the stoop. He kept saying, "Want to go with Roxanne!" Ah, young love.

Roxanne's love affair with Boo Boo is stronger and stronger. Boo Boo has turned out to be a wonderful addition to our household. She's extremely easy going, and let's Roxanne smother her with attention. When she's had enough, she disappears down into the basement, and finds weird remote spots to hide, like the bottom of Roxanne's old exersaucer that is stacked on some boxes. Our basement is totally a mess... Perfect for a former barn cat. So far, she hasn't expressed any interest in going outside, and for now, we are content to let her stay in. I think the basement is what makes the big difference. We can leave her litter box down there and it's totally inoffensive. In any case, we are all in love with her and her chirpy little meows. She might be the nicest cat I've ever met. Seriously. We really lucked out!

On Sunday, we drove up to see Sarah and baby Rosalie. Roxanne was surprisingly smitten with the baby. She kissed and kissed her, and kept petting her head. Her favorite thing was to point to all of her parts and say "Little tiny baby nose! Little tiny baby elbow!" and then point to her corresponding part and say "BIG nose! BIG elbow!" She went over most of the babies visible parts like this. She is really into opposites lately. We often talk about what "big doggies say" versus what "little tiny baby doggies say." But back to baby Rosalie... What a lovely little girl! She was so sweet and peaceful. At one point, I held Roxanne in my lap and we both held the baby, and Roxanne hugged and hugged her. She did get fussy at one point when I was holding Rosalie, and she hung on my legs and begged for a "snuggle." She is like that at work. She has a fine threshold for sharing me, but there are times she gets jealous. Ah, it's good to be mama. :)