"Not working!," she said, sadly. "Crayon not working!" We figured she'd broken a crayon, which rates as a catastrophe in her current mood-change-at-a-moment's-notice world. She brought B the offending objects and said, "Needs batteries! Not working!" B started laughing! She'd brought him the yellow and white crayons, which she'd probably tried on her white drawing paper. Since the marks weren't clearly visible, she naturally assumed that their power had drained down and they needed to be recharged with new batteries! B explained that those colors don't show up on white, and she was pacified by getting some help in putting all the colors back in the box.
K's also becomming quite adept in using the past tense. She's just about perfected the answer "Yes" with a kind of trailing "s", like a snake is slithering by with a lisp (unless, of course, she's battling us with a No!). So, the Yes, in conjunction with her new sense of the past gives a very distinct answer about what's gone on. "K, do you have poopie diapers?" "Yesssss, I did!" B has been working with her on other forms of the past, like "was" and "had," etc. She'll also use "I did it" for things in the past that she did NOT do, like "Did Harvey go into his den?" "Yes, I did it." She's also adopted a not so helpful habit, which she's adopted from me. I have told her time and again that I DO NOT want her to fight me, kick me, or have a fit when I'm trying to change her diapers. I'll say "Don't fight me!" So, now, when I am trying to change her, if she's not happy about it, she'll say "Don't fight ME!" It's funny, but it's not too productive. She'll also say "I DON'T! I DON'T!", meaning "I'm not into that" or "Stop."K's also become annoyingly self-sufficient these days -- annoying because she's so accustomed to learning how to do something for herself that she is continually getting into things that ordinarily I'd do for her. She opens the pantry and helps herself to the crackers or other snacks, and she attempts to feed the cats their treats and even get their medicines for them. Just when I turn one direction to clean up something she's "helped" me to take out, she's gone lightning-speed in the other direction, starting something new. Whether it's using any water bottle she can find to fill and overflow any small container she can access or cooling the neighborhood by opening the refrigerator door in search of things she cannot reach, it seems like I'm always saying "No" these days. I hate having to say it so much because it's only because she's so capable that she's doing any of it, but, by the same token, it's exhausting. It's also pretty amazing. It's never a dull day with SuperK!
