Week with Kate

Emily says my most common visible emotion with Kate is frustration. I guess it's true, though I'd like to believe it's just when she sees me most with her (around dinnertime). She tests me, I get impatient with her, all that stuff.

So this week, with Jack at camp three days, I tried to avoid getting angry at Kate. I think I did OK; I feel like I didn't yell at her all week, which is something. I am not perfect.

Here were the memorable moments.

- Went to Leaping Lizards with her and Jack (on his one day off from camp). It's a big indoor play area, with slides and huge tunnels to run through and nets to climb. What was funny is that Kate has been once before, and I wouldn't think she'd necessarily remember it, but she's been asking for it lately and then all the way there she was singing, "We're going to Lea-Ping Liz-Ards,..." Jack must have been talking it up lately. Anyway, I think the first time we went there were isolated moments of tears, when Kate got trapped in some area. Not this time, especially with big brother Jack nobly leading her to safety on more than one occasion. There were a couple of other times when I believe he tried to hide from her; I'd see him run by, then her a few seconds later, trying to find him. I worked a little on my column for the magazine, then played some Skee-Ball with Jack and let Kate ride the merry-g0-round, and we headed home.

- Went to a toy store to get a birthday present for Jack's friend Dylan. Kate was pretty good; she grabbed the random toy here and there, I explained, no, we were just getting a gift for Jack's friend, and she was playful about it. "OHHHHhhhhh," she'd fake moan, then smile and go look at something else. She ended up being fascinated by this Thomas Train set arranged near the back of the store, making me sad we'd sold Jack's a while back when he hadn't cared about it any more.

- Pushed her on the swing in the back yard. I think she could do that forever. She laughs and laughs. And then I realize she can't do it forever when she suddenly says "I want to get off," almost in mid-laugh.

- Let her and Jack run through the sprinkler after camp. A big hit. My favorite bit is when she gets water in her eyes, cries for about 5 seconds, then continues running happily around like it never happened. She's an odd one sometimes.

- Went to the supermarket, again with both of them. Chaos. Neither wanted to ride IN the cart, both wanted to ride ON it. They clung to the side, or the front, argued over who got to hold the scanner, asked to see the lobsters, said they wanted to go get turkey at the deli. But Kate, I said, you never want to eat turkey for lunch, you always want peanut butter and jelly. And she said, "But can I just eat turkey here?"

And for most of the week, she was happy, and so was I.

- Irish cousins arrived today; one quick story. Kate wanted to play Hide and Seek with Abbey. "Abbey. You be the hider and I'll be the seeker. OK?" Abbey asked where she should hide. Kate said, "You hide...right here." She picked an exact place for Abbey to hide. Abbey hid there. Abbey said, OK, you should count to five. Kate, asserting her homefield advantage, said, "I am going to count to SIX." She walked 20 feet away and started counting. Finished counting, looked up, saw Abbey, and said, "I FOUND you!" Very proud of herself.

- Mikey read bedtime stories to Kate (Some Dogs Do) and Jack (not sure, I'll have to ask tomorrow). And finally the kids went to bed, so I could make sure I got it all down.