Picture this...

I wish I could tell you about the huge fit Eloise threw yesterday. Recently, she has begun--on occasion, not all the time--to tell me "NO!" very forcefully when I ask her to do something. She knows she is not allowed to talk to me like this, but she's testing the boundaries. Yesterday she began the "NO!" thing, and I calmly repeated what I was asking her to do. Again, "NO!". This time, she pulled a bunch of her long blond hair over her face, as if to make the statement, "I am going to act like a savage beast AND look like a savage beast." I reminded her that she needed to say, "Yes, Mommy," with a smile. Result: another "NO!" and more hair over her face. This time I said, "What happens if you talk to me like that?" and she responded, somewhere from behind all that hair, "Spanking." I repeated my request once more. The hair was pushed away from her face to reveal a big, sweet smile, and she said, "Yes, Mommy," as if she had been compliant all along. I wish I could tell you about it, but it would best be told with a picture of the savage beast Eloise standing there obstinately with her hair over her face, and, alas, I have not learned to have my camera handy at all times. Had I kept the camera handy at all times, I also would be able to tell you about Evie and Eloise slowly walking around the upstairs with blankets over their heads and hands clasped together, humming "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" from The Sound of Music. They were supposed to be nuns, I think... And if I kept my camera handy at all times, I also would tell you about Miss Audrey's stunt yesterday. I set her in her bouncy seat in the kitchen and not more that three seconds later I glanced back at her and saw her sitting straight up. When I leaned her back into the seat, she immediately sat up again. Yikes! I think our bouncy seat days are ending!