Things they just don't quite get yet

1. Bedtime = Bedtime NOT playtime/dress-up time/giggle fest time/reading every book on the shelf time/water time/bathroom break time/jumping on beds time/who knows what else time (ought to give you an idea of how things are going in the shared room - as soon as our camera is fixed, you'll have some great pics of them at 8:30, 9, 9:30, even 10 o'clock).
2. Hide-and-Go-Seek. Cooper played it with the girls the other day. Meri hid with him, giggling the whole time, and when Jell came seeking Meri would shout at her something like "ta dah." When Jelly hid and Cooper entered the room seeking, Jenelle would jump up and announce, "here I am!"
3. Waking up a snoring and pretending-to-be-sleeping daddy. Meri thinks it's hilarious but hits herself instead of him and wonders why he doesn't wake up.
4. "Eat one more noodle and you can get down." There was a two hour stand-off of wills the other day when Cooper decided Meri was old enough to have to eat more. My baby cried and screamed for her mama most the time. I left the room so as not to interfere. Regardless, in the end, my baby won.
5. Commercials. Every time they come on Jell says in the most dramatic tone, "OH NO! Where did the show go???!" This happens even if I am watching the news, which is not exactly her favorite show.
6. Carbonated drinks. Jell can't stand them. I'm okay with this.
7. Jumping. Meri is in that adorable stage still where she thinks she's jumping but neither foot is leaving the ground at all. I love it! Although she will fearlessly jump off of anything pretty successfully. It's the landing she needs to work on there. Jenelle, on the other hand, desperately wants to "get" jump roping. She tries to with belts, bandanas, headbands, anything she can find. Occasionally she succeeds in jumping over it once, which requires ample praise and congrats.
8. The world doesn't revolve around them. Good luck to us and everyone related on this one.
9. Building things. Jenelle loves to. Meri more resembles a wrecking ball than the man with the hard hat.
10. Trail mix. Isn't it just about picking out the colorful M & M's and leaving the nuts for mommy?
11. Helping. For example, it isn't necessary to stand inside the dishwasher to help take out the dishes. And taking out the dishes mom is putting in, isn't helpful. Or jumping in a pile of newly folded clothes isn't helpful. Or eating the blueberries in mom's bowl as fast as she can pick them isn't helpful. Sitting on mom's lap and pushing buttons on the sewing machine as mom is sewing, isn't helpful. Digging in mom's garden isn't helpful. Taking mom's clothes off the hangers so as to have hangers to play with, isn't helpful. Walking through the dust pile or even trying to sweep it into a dustpan (while really scattering it across the floor) isn't helpful. Pushing buttons on the keyboard while mommy is blogging isn't helpful. And as you all know, the list goes on and on. But probably the worst is the really, really cute smile they give when caught doing something they shouldn't - REALLY isn't helpful.