We figured out Ouest’s allergic reaction. It was to the bark at the playground. So glad it wasn’t something more difficult to avoid.

Sibling rivalry. Who would have thought it started so young? Ouest just isn’t warming up to this little brother of hers much. If he so much as touches her she yells out, “Owww!” Every single time. The thing that drives me nuts about it is how sweet Lowe is always trying to be to her. He still walks up to her with his big open mouth looking to give her a kiss, even though he’s probably received a reciprocal hug and kiss three times total.

Ouest is a talking machine lately. We’ve reached that incessant chatter stage. Every single thing we tell her is met with, “Why?” And now if one of us tells her that no, she can’t do something, she’ll immediately ask the other looking for the opposite answer. Her other big thing at the moment is, “Now.”

“Ouest, I promise, we are going to go to the park as soon as Lowe wakes up.”

“Now? Now. Lowe’s up now? Park now? Now? Go to the park now? Now? Lowe’s up? Why? Now? Why no park now? Park now? Now? Now?”

After a minute of that I just tune it out completely. Go into some sort of zone. After one more minute Ali yells at me, “Would you answer her?”

And all I can think is, “Will these two ever stop with the questions?”

Today my mom was going shopping with her sister. They were in the kitchen getting ready and Ouest was there with them. We were all just talking and whatever while they got ready to go. When they went to leave Ouest followed them out with big puppy dog eyes. I could see what she was thinking and told her that her and Mama were going to go shopping later that afternoon for a wedding gift. They tried to say goodbye until the incredibly sad look on Ouest’s face suddenly filled with tears. It was so sweet. She was trying to be strong about it, but she obviously felt left out. We all melted and it took about two seconds to assure her that she could go with Grammy after all.

Lowe is teething like a wolf pup again. No, I have no idea what that means, but it seems fitting. He’s got teeth coming in all over the place. He got some eye teeth that aren’t supposed to come in until after a particular couple of molars, but now he’s got different molars popping through, and he’s hating life. Not really hating life, I hope, but struggling with diaper rash, and chapped cheeks, and a Rudolph looking chin if Rudolph’s chin lit up instead of his nose. He’s a mess, to put it bluntly. Tonight we smoked some opium and blew it in his face, so we’re hoping that helps.