Naturally, just when I post something that provokes a huge response, I take to the road, drop off the radar, and begin to engage in that combination of drowning in cuteness and mind-blasting weariness that is taking care of my nieces. I had a chance to help my sister and my brother-in-law get some time to themselves, which I'm all for, and to spend time with the girls, but I did the thing I always tend to do: over-remember how cute they are, and under-remember how maddening they are. Still, the pluses always outweigh the minuses. I got good, quality time with Sophia for the first time, and, after her initial dismay and sobbing heartbreak in realizing Mommy (or even Grandma) was no longer there, warmed up to me more quickly than the other two had done when they were around 15 months old. In fact, she quickly became quite cuddly and soon I, too, was being called "Momma," not that this was terribly unusual for her. 
Grace was very eager to talk the science of birds, and was fond of tossing out terms like "ornithologist," which rather impressed me as she'd just turned six. She continued to display her kind of obsessive focus on whatever it was she currently enjoys by making me play hours of "Hide The Webkins" with her. Haley was more standoffish and quarrelsome, hating to lose at games and resorting to bald cheating to do so: her fearsome fours beat out any terrible twos I can remember. But that's just one more thing to go through: it was cool to see the way that Jim and Leslie patiently worked to challenge and correct this tendency in her, and when she was in a good mood, she was even quicker than Grace to run over and give me a good-night kiss. 
They are absurdly cute, and I'm enjoying every step of the way when I can see them, but there is still a part of me looking forward to them hitting their teens, when I'm more practiced at relating to kids.As to the earlier article, I'll keep trying to post things that strike me from the book, if there are people interested to such an extent. So far, I'm still saying the thing looks worth reading.
