Can you say, adorable?

Twice a day, five times a week, I embark on a 15 minute car ride with Ryan and Lindsey, either going to daycare in the morning or leaving from daycare in the afternoon. Those combined 30 minutes are always the most unpredictable part of my day.

Sometimes there is crying and whining. Sometimes I am bombarded with a cacophony of stories from their day. Sometimes it's blissfully, yet eerily silent. Regardless, no two,15 minute trips are the same.

There are some constants, though. Ryan always tells me to stop at the stop sign leaving our development (and berrates me if I don't). Lindsey always points out every truck, bus and tree she sees along the way and proudly grins when her words are acknowledged and praised. And it's usually a great opportunity to hear some classic one-liners from Ryan. Yesterday morning he sweetly said, "Mommy, I love Lindsey. She's my best friend." That afternoon? "Mommy, I have a headache. Tell Lindsey to stop talking." Classic.

Our conversations are mostly held via the rear view mirror, since I can't turn around and it's sometimes hard to understand what they're saying without looking at their lips.

Now that Lindsey is picking up more words every day, she's much more inclined to join the conversation. Which is great...except they compete for my attention. "Mommy" is uttered at least 200 times each trip. Lindsey even ups the anty and adds hand clapping to her efforts if I don't acknowledge her quickly enough (which doesn't work, by the way. I refuse to be summoned by a snappy 18 month old.). Despite all of this, I relish these trips. They are a great exercise in parenting. You learn to tune out the negative, refine your skills of persuasion and distraction and engage your children in fun, yet educational, games (I spy, anyone?).

This morning was another 15 minute drive in. They were fairly calm and well mannered. Lindsey pointed out her first bus of the day and was excited to hear the, "Good job, Lindsey!" in return. Ryan, in a "Best Big Brother of the Year" mood, decided he would join in and help with the encouragement. It went something like this:

Ryan: "Lindsey, can you say gas store? Can you say gaaas stooore, Lindsey?"
Lindsey: "Ga So"
Ryan: "Mommy she said gas store!!!!!"
Me: "Good job, Lindsey."
Lindsey: Eyes closed, chin out, toothy grin.
Ryan: "Can you say five, Lindsey? Can you say fiiiive?"
Lindsey: "Fi"
Ryan: "Mommy, she said FIVE!!!"
Me: "Good job, Lindsey."
Lindsey: Eyes closed, chin out, toothy grin.


It continued for most of the ride in. The whole exchange reminded me of a comment Lindsey's teacher said yesterday. Lindsey is learning to say her teacher's name and Miss Kelsey was so excited when she realized Lindsey's "Ahsey" was her way of saying Kelsey. She said, "It was really cool, but it makes me kind of sad because it means she's growing up."

Yeah...I feel that way a lot.