Class Clown

I think I've said it before, but I really am enjoying watching Kinley grow up.  I know it's opposite of most mama's, wishing to hold on to their babies and keep them small forever.  Don't get me wrong.  I loved Kinley when she was a baby too, but almost every day now I find myself being so proud and grateful for the kind of little person Kinley is shaping up to be.  (These moments however do not include when she's banging a kid over the head with a baby doll...Sorry Jax...We won't pretend it's all roses but still.)
I was trying to explain this to Andy over the last few weeks and the best word I could come up with was that she's just so darn sweet.  However anyone who's ever had a nearly 3 year old knows sweet really isn't a good descriptor.  Andy's gotten several good laughs out of me by saying "yeah she's so sweet" as she's doing something the exact opposite of sweet.  Then the other night I was recounting our day for him and telling him one of the silly things she'd said.  His response was that Kinley is going to be the class clown.  I literally almost fell off the bed laughing so hard.  That is totally it.  This child has so much personality you can't help but smile when you're around her.  Let's just hope I can keep that smile plastered on through the preteen and teen years.  ;)  God help us.
I really need to start a list of all the things she says.  I can't even remember what it was I was telling Andy that night.  It's a shame to forget them.
Here's one from last night.  We were heading to pick up dinner, and Kinley asked for a cup of milk.  We told her it was at home, and we'd be back home in just a minute.  She loves to ask/shout out which direction you are turning while you drive.  Like "Where are we going?"  "How do we get there?"  When you tell her we go straight, turn left then left, she shouts them out as we do each of those steps.  Well last night she says "daddy you need to do a zero and go back home."  It took us a minute, but our best guess is she meant turn around, make a u turn and head home.  It was almost as funny as Erin's 380.  ;)
And you know you are a slacker when your toddler starts asking you to take pictures of her.  I guess she's missing all the posing.  We've started having to bribe her to stay in bed because nothing else has worked.  We've tried Super Nanny techniques, a night light, removing light bulbs, maybe some good ole fashioned discipline, you name it.  (Another of those not so sweet or proud moments.)  If she goes to sleep without getting out of bed, she can have chocolate milk when she wakes up.  She asked me as I was reminding her of her prize in the morning if I was going to take her picture drinking it.  Silly goose.  But since most of you read this just to see her pictures, here's a couple.

This looks nice and sweet doesn't it?

 It was.  For about a half an hour.  We were trying to keep ourselves entertained while Andy finished up some stuff for work on the computer.  Apparently 30 mins was the limit to her patience.  Andy came out of the bedroom and rounded the corner just in time to be a witness to this:

Kinley saying "DAMN IT!!!"  She'd reached her frustration point.  She couldn't push the thing hard enough to make it work by herself.  For the record, I might have had quite a potty mouth in my past, but really I do not say those kinds of words anymore.  I might occasionally during an extremely competitive round of Mario Kart or when driving in really bad traffic but even those are much more subdued than they used to be.  It's been replaced with "Dang it."  Which still doesn't sound too nice coming out of Kinley's mouth.  But hey, you have to start somewhere.

We won't name names, but she might have gotten it from the same person that she heard this one from.  We came home the other night, and I had pulled some of my sewing stuff out into the living room to work on.  Kinley plopped her little bottom down on the couch and spread her arms out and said "What is all this crap?"  

Ha!  I wonder who says things like that when they first come home.  She is already trained to call me clutter bug.  

One more for the record, we don't smile or laugh about these things at the time they happen.  We've become quite well practiced at keeping a straight face.  She needs no additional encouragement.

On another note, she may actually be potty trained...for at least the next month or so until a new baby throws a wrench into it, but I'm going to remain optimistic.  It is ridiculous the amount of pride I felt those first few successful trips to the potty.  Seriously absurd.  Staying around the house for the holidays and during the snow and ice really helped.  She's still shy about going at school.  She says she doesn't want anybody to see her.  And she's Tinkerbell obsessed.  It's a struggle to get her to put on any other undies besides Tinkerbell.  Her sewing mama has tried to find some Tinkerbell knit fabric to make her some but has yet to find any.   The ones you can buy in the store are just so cheaply made and do not stay put like they should on little bottoms.  So let me know if you see any out there or even some t-shirt type material pj's that could be used to make undies.   I'm desperate.