During every idle moment today I have thought about parallels between the spice trade, the opium trade, and modern pharmaceutical fixes for a sense of well-being.

I blame DavidS. Get out of my head, DavidS!

My friend's son at one outweighed his three year old sister. She'd always been a very delicate little thing (not in personality, though!) and he is just a very solid little boy. He was nearly 10 lbs at birth.

They didn't do the first-second behavioral thing, though. He's got a very agreeable personality (that sounds wrong. But he's just a sunny-sure-thing! kid.) I'd commented when the daughter was about 3 months old that she was a willfull little thing. That hasn't changed. She knows what she wants and woe be to those who would thwart her.

Jackie Mackie Paisley Passey

Oh, lord! I've been leading my life all wrong, and she's finally told me so, and that there's hope for me. I mean, I've never even been that fat!

There's no one on this earth more agreeable than Julia, provided she's getting her own way. Actually, she has a much sunnier, friendly personality than either boy. She's just a dickens.

When she moved from the crib to a toddler bed, she would run back out to the living room every night, and do a victory lap. Seriously. She was about 23 months. She'd have her hands in little soft fists, over her head, do a lap around the living room, then run back off to bed. We got so we'd just wait for it.

She's the kid you'd say, "No street," to, and then watch as she looked you right in the eye, as she stuck her toes out behind her, and put them just past the curb, into the street.

Miss P is the little girl I mentioned above. I do believe I've told the story of how I was just shocked and amazed at how advanced 3 years olds were these days because she could fire up the computer and browser and navigate to a nickelodeon site. And then, as my back is turned, I hear a very firm "Don't look at me Aunt Sara!" Whereupon I find her being a totally age-appropriate 3 year old, coloring the keyboard with crayons and markers.

Oh, lord! I've been leading my life all wrong, and she's finally told me so, and that there's hope for me. I mean, I've never even been that fat!

Dude, I am fat. And yet, I'm certain I lead a better life than that chick.

I'm certain I lead a better life than that chick.

Not having dropped out of college, probably. Gives you an edge.

Now I have to go read her entire blog, plus work, plus plan two lessons, plus feel royally sick.

I wonder if her life is this multi-faceted.

She's the kid you'd say, "No street," to, and then watch as she looked you right in the eye, as she stuck her toes out behind her, and put them just past the curb, into the street.

Emeline is this child. If we are out back, she wants to go up the stairs to B&E's house. Yesterday, she grabbed the railing and looked at me. I said, "No, Emeline. We aren't going upstairs." She started to smile and raised her foot toward the step. "Emeline. Mommy said, 'No"." She lowered her foot just a little bit. I got up, walked over to her, at which point she let go of the railing and sat on the step, hands clasped in her lap.

I wonder if her life is this multi-faceted.

She does have Attention Deficit Disorder, do maybe she THINKS she is that multi-faceted, but then forgets to do the stuff on her list.

I love that kind of spirit, in everyone else's children.