Nesting

Leia is spending the week with us while dad is working and mom, Naia and Miles are in Sacramento, helping after the birth of a new cousin. It's been fun having her with us, but exhausting too. Her schedule has become our schedule; we get up when she does (8:00 isn't too bad for Dick, but it's the middle of the night for me!), nap when she does (hey, we're retired; we're expected to nap), and put off doing almost anything - reading, internetting, crafting - until after she goes to bed at night.In the last 20 or so years, I'd forgotten just how much energy a 22-month old has - and how cranky they can be when they don't feel good. With at least 4 teeth coming in and a nose that's constantly running, Leia feels pretty rotten. While she's still always in motion, she's taken to carrying around things that comfort her - her favorite blanket and her pink baby bunny.

Leia has always liked the bay window in our living room - using it as a dancing stage when Addy was here - but this week she's decided that the window seat is "her" place. Today she set up her little nest with a pillow, her blanket and baby bunny (of course), along with various books and toys. She'll read for awhile - dropping the books over the edge when she's done; rest for awhile - watch for airplanes - and check out the neighborhood. She's learned that if she says 'up' grandma will lift her onto the window. She knows 'down' but seldom uses it, preferring to climb over the arm of the couch to get down by herself (a trick she discovered just today). She could get onto the window the same way, but hasn't figured that out yet. Maybe that will be tomorrow's discovery.