Hurricane Penny

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple weeks but our house was hit by a natural disaster.  Hurricane Penny came through, at 33 inches tall with pigtails and a tutu, she's turned our house upside down.  She looks cute all in pink with a beautiful smile and bright blue eyes but don't let that fool you.  This storm should never be underestimated.  

Penny has learned to scale the pantry shelves with grace and skill that rivals Spiderman.  Therefore, she has an all day smorgasbord of food that she will get as soon as I turn away for one second.  In the time it took me to go to the bathroom, she climbed up high enough to reach the top shelf, held a tootsie roll in between her teeth and climbed back down to unwrap and enjoy her treat.  Max watches as she does this so he can report it all to me upon my exit from the bathroom.  

Just today, I had to intercept Penny at the pantry 16 times. She also emptied the plastics drawer and dumped out all the Mega Bloks and play doh sets.  Her peanut butter sandwich ended up on the living room floor and smeared on a box of dominoes despite me bringing her back to the table several times. When our new child-locked dishwasher arrived, I caught her trying to stick a fruit snack in the vent.  From morning till night, she is on the go, with a brief period of a nap which gives me just enough time to feel my sanity returning.   

As I was making dinner and counting down the time until Penny goes to bed, she came to me with a big smile on her face, pulled me down to her and said "hug" and she squeezed me tight. Isn't that what it's all about?  The messes and tantrums melt away.  For a moment, all is right with the world.  As she gets up, she grabs a hold of my hair, pulls hard and giggles.  Is it bed time yet?