GO . . . . Roadrunners!!

The Roulhac's Roadrunners (oh yes, my child's preschool has a mascot) recently held their Field Day, and, oh my goodness, Mimi thought she was Homecoming Queen. Since her little toddler class couldn't quite get it together to actually compete in anything, they were in charge of the opening ceremony parade. When the door opened I saw a group of shy little ones carefully taking steps down the sidewalk very unsure of what was going on. And then I heard someone say, "Look at the little blonde one with all the necklaces -- she thinks this is a race," and I knew it had to be mine. Mimi busted through the middle of the pack pumping her arms and moving her little feet as fast as her Keds would allow. And then she saw all her fans (Mommy, Daddy, Poppaw, and BeBe), squealed to the top of her lungs, and did a Forrest Gump, which was run away as fast as she could . . . and then run back to us . . . and then run away. You get the idea. Maybe you can tell from the photo below that her arms are a very important part of her running -- she always looks like she's the next Jane Fonda doing cardio when she runs.And she indeed had more leis thand anyone else because, well, she had stolen both Emerson's and Riley's. Little klepto. She appeared a little confused about what all the flags and games were about and didn't seem to care that her class didn't qualify to participate. She participated anyway . . . my favorite was when she "competed" in the tunnel race while another child was already in the tunnel. The four of us tried many times to contain her energy, and then a group of grannies on the front row yelled at me to leave her alone. Geez.
These two cutie pies are Mimi's friends Emerson and Will.

She has such a funny relationship with them that I guess seems to work in their own little toddler world. Mimi is so excited to see "Emmy" (as she calls her) every day, and has a nervous breakdown when she leaves for the day. Emmy is her favorite person at school by far, and she talks about her all the time . . . yet according to her teachers they don't interact at all while at school.
Will just turned two this past weekend and Mimi has been singing "Happy to you, Wee-all" since then. Clint's mom, Shug, had a bday Monday, and Mimi could only sing "Happy to you, Wee-all." I guess everyone's bday will have to also be Will's. Anyway, she and Will greet each other almost every day with a nice, firm shove and telling each other no . . . and then they get tickled and smile. Clint has actually witnessed Will (who is about twice Mimi's size) push Mimi and then she takes off and tackles him to the ground. Is this flirting? If so, they've got it bad.

I just can't get over how wild my pretty little pint-sized girl is. I spoke with my brother Bobby today, who has a little one just a few weeks older than Mimi. He lives in California and has been completely swamped with grad school and teaching for the past few years, so we have only gotten together once since having the girls. There is absolutely no denying he is my brother -- when he had long hair several years ago my dad accidentally thought he was me from the back! On the other hand, his little girl Oriana takes after her gorgeous Peruvian mother and has black hair, almond-shaped brown eyes, and beautiful olive skin -- she is also probably a foot taller than my little munchkin. The funny thing is that when Bobby and I exchange stories it's as if we are talking about the same child. They both love cartoons, vegetables, and being absolutely the wildest children at the playground . . . so I guess it runs in the Nixon family!

And for a baby boy Darby update since I already feel like I'm neglecting the pregnancy of my second little one (I hear this is normal so don't judge me too harshly!). He is kick, kick, kicking me nonstop. I'm pretty sure he might be the only child in this world that might be able to run faster than Mimi because he is getting in lots of practice in my belly. Mimi was fairly active when I was pregnant with her, but this little monkey has her beat already -- all hours of the day and night. I can already see distinct movements from the outside, which makes this all just a little too real. If it's a sign of what's to come, I'm screwed. Other than the gymnastics, my latest doctor's appointment was great -- good heartbeat and all is well. For the record, both my son and daughter have had similar heartbeats throughout, so whatever old lady wants to say fast is a certain gender and slow is another doesn't really know what she's talking about. The same goes for how I have carried them -- they've both been really low -- and the food cravings are similar, the sleep patterns, the length of my nausea, when I began getting more energy, etc. It's all very similar. The differences are subtle.

And I think everyone should copy and save this pic to add as your desktop background. I get a good chuckle everytime I open my computer:)

By the way, Miss Priss decided to completely surprise us by using the potty last night. We were at her friend Hadley's house, and Mimi found out that Miss Hadley, who just turned two, has just been potty trained. "Potty" was Mimi's word of the night after this, so Clint decided to place her on it after her bath. and Ta Dah! (one of Mimi's new favorite phrases) she did it. For this she was rewarded some M&M's or "nima nima nims" as she likes to call them. I know it's a little too early for all this business, and although she acted like she wanted to try again tonight nothing happened. That's fine by me because being potty trained is just one more step away from being a baby and, well, that just not something I'm ready for yet.