little shopper

Today I experienced what must be the joy of raising two kids. Chloe spent the day with us at the lake while Dave worked on the wheelchair ramp that we're constructing at Uncle Denny's place. They played pretty sweetly together most of the time, but they did take turns deliberately aggravating each other. I saw Dennis go flying backward off the bed but did not see what preceded the event, and I heard Chloe say "Dennis are you okay?" and I ran in there as he was getting up off the floor/wall. Chloe looked at me and said "I didn't do anything to him". I just told them NO MORE JUMPING and made them leave the room. She is the more aggressive one, telling me to bring her this or wipe her hand, demanding the chair she wanted and the specific color of play-doh that was all hers. Dennis got in his digs as well, eating his Cheetos slowly and deliberately in front of her after she'd finished hers, snatching the block she was reaching for and using it on his own structure, hiding the little people character she was playing with when she turned her head, just funny little things they did to get on each other's nerves on purpose. For the most part, they were happy little campers. They used the potty often, keeping their pull-ups dry all day. They played well with the play-doh, and I learned how good I am at sculpting on the fly, making an elephant, a giraffe, a panda bear, a dog, a swingset, a slide, a tunnel, and a trampoline, fulfilling all their requests. They enjoyed banana popsicles together as a good-potty reward one time (I lost the M&M's). We played for over an hour in the giant rock pile outside Uncle Denny's place. We enjoyed a golf cart ride. We made a car wash out of blocks. It was a pretty easy day, actually.

Tonight after visiting Uncle Denny, we went to Whole Foods to do a little shopping. We let Dennis push his own little shopping cart around (so I've had my workout for the day) and immediately began loading it with his favorite things. He chose 2 different kinds of apples, a box of strawberries, a single sweet potato, a pineapple, a giant box of spinach, a make-your-own-marinara kit, a pound of frozen shrimp, a gallon of milk, and a box of tofu. We didn't keep all of it, but some things we did. He had a great time shopping, though I regret that I didn't get to look at anything! David picked out some nice things for us, though, being master of his own cart. We kept him out WAY past his bedtime tonight. Wouldn't it be great if he slept in tomorrow?