Little Miss Joss

Kids are The Great Mystery.  From the moment I found out I was pregnant with each of them, I pondered What They Would Do, but more importantly: Who Would They Be?

Babies often taunt their parents with tantalizing hints about their adult selves (or at least, that's what I'm assuming, but my oldest is only three... and you know what assuming does... anyway...).  I've known for a long time, for example, that Chaela is too bright for her own good, or my sanity.

But now Joci is old enough that the fog of babyhood surrounding her personality is dissipating, as well.  Here are a few things she has revealed to me:

1. Joci loves shoes.  There is only one pair that fits her, but she brings it to me every morning, shoving them towards my face while lifting her chubby foot in the air.  "Bf! Bf!" she insists, and how can I resist that?  It's very persuasive.

2. Joci loves clothes and accessorizing.  Right now, the girls don't have a dresser, so all of their clothes are folded and neatly stacked on their closet floor.  Every morning when it's time to get dressed, Joci makes a beeline for the bedroom and picks out her own clothes.  I am not exaggerating.  It all started with a pair of socks... now it's her entire daily wardrobe.  The kid can't walk, but she can coordinate outfits like a boss.

3. Joci loves chocolate.  In fact, Joci has a sensing device in her body similar to bat echolocation.  But instead of finding bugs, Joci finds chocolate, ice cream, and candy.  Woe betide anyone who thinks they don't have to share.  Unless you want to have your eardrums burst with her ultra-sonic banshee power screams, you give that child what she wants or put it away until she is in bed.

4. Joci won't take no for an answer for longer than 3 seconds (ignore Chaela picking her nose, we're working on it).  In this picture you see depicted the first Epic Battle between my second daughter and I.

Me: Joci, get away from the T.V.
Joci sits down.  Joci stands up.
Me: Joci, sit!
Joci ignores me.  I get up and pull her down by her pants.  She lands on her diapered butt.
Joci: Bf!
I sit down.  Joci stands up.
Me: Jocelyn!
Joci looks back and me and smiles.
Joci: Hi!!
Me: JOCELYN EVE!
Joci sits down.  Joci stands up.
Etc.

What does this mean for the Joci of the future?  Super model?  Probably not.  Sorry, honey, thanks to mommy, you probably won't break 5'5.  Fashion editor, though, or designer?  Could be.  Stubborn chocoholic on the formidable level of her Aunt Lindsay?  Almost definitely.

Joci, I am so excited to see the woman you will turn out to be.

Bonus pictures!

Perhaps where Joci gets her diva inspiration?

One of the most rewarding parts of being a mom is that my girls are friends.
Note the socks on Joci, she picked them out herself.