"no" has five syllables

when someone asks me, "what's new?" i usually don't have much of an answer. but when you have little kids, something is always new--often something mundane that has moved to the forefront of the daily routine. it's almost not worth mentioning, and yet.

my days for the last few months have revolved around a very mundane task--one that so many of you find very simple. today we got into the car eight times and that means we were very busy.

after we get shoes and pants on {optional today, as it turned out}, collect all the beloved objects, and do the dance of the whirling wills, with all its complicated and ever-changing steps, we open the door and go outside.

the moment "car" is mentioned, Liv reminds me that she will need to "climb" into her seat herself. i don't say that she "wants" to climb in, just that she needs to. also she needs to buckle herself in.

given her need to do this even when she was too sick to smile--on the way to urgent care, even--i know that it's something she has to do, and so i suffer it. i suffer it. and she's getting a little better at it {when she wants to}, so i guess that's my reward. one day she will be able to open the door, climb in, close the door behind her, get into the seat and work all the buckles, just like Ally did...the day before she outgrew the car seat and moved into a booster.