Ahhhh, Adell.

We sure have a fantastic 2 year-old on our hands over here. Sure, she has her days or weeks where she defines the phrase "terrible twos" but we all can't help but love her to pieces. Here are a few of the things Adell has been doing lately to entertain us all.

Adell is a talker. She has been chatty for a long time. She started talking earlier than any of the other kids, I think she just knew she had to speak up or she would be forgotten. Her non-stop chatter gets comments when we are out and about. One day we were out at a department store picking up Wyatt's Cub Scouts uniform. Adell had to use the bathroom so we made our way to the back of the store where the restrooms were. As we walked, Adell loudly pointed-out and named everything we passed: shirts, shoes, colors, purses and toys. Just before we got to the bathroom a store employee passed us saying "I've been hearing your little voice all over the store." Then she crouched down so she was right at Adell's level saying "You, are delicious!" After the woman passed Adell stopped walking and looked up at me responding "Momma, I am not deeewishous. I am not food!" On our way out of the store we passed a rack of greeting cards. Adell stopped at one card where the cover pictured a cartoon drawing of an old woman wearing a tube top. Pointing Adell said "Look Momma, that is a naked Fairy God Muver." I got a good laugh out of that.

Adell also says "May I" when she asks for something. I don't know where she got it because we are not that meticulous about grammar around here (just go ahead and read any of my posts if you want solid examples of crappy grammar). "May I have some juice?" "May I hold this?" "May I watch a show?" May I, may I, may I--she is great.

Last Adell talking note. She tells you what the answer to her question should be. So if she asks "Momma, may I have some juice?" and I say "Not right now". She quickly responds, "Momma, say 'Sure'."

As I mentioned above, Adell is potty trained. She had been showing an interest in using the potty since November but I have been very resistant. I think having two kids in diapers is waaaay easier than having a newly potty trained kid. Finally Will convinced me to give her a try in panties pointing out that if we wait she might loose interest, making potty training a bigger chore. Adell figured it all out really quickly. Mostly, she made the "use the potty--get a candy" connection really quickly. Now she is a potty-using champ. She also has taken to naming her bowel movements. It is like a game of find the shapes in the clouds with her. As soon as she finishes she says "May I see it?" and then gives her #2 a name--like "dinosaur". Sorry to gross you out there, I think this will be a hilarious story to tell her when she is older. Adell is also very proud of her success. She likes to call Daddy on the phone to tell him all about it. She also likes to announce her achievements in every room she enters after the deed. One Sunday Will took her to the bathroom at church. A few minutes later she came tearing into the chapel at full speed yelling "Momma! Momma! I went poop on the potty!". It was awesome.

Adell is very independent and demanding that we all go along with the things she wants. We've taken to calling her a Tyrant. When I first called out in exasperation "Adell! You are such a TYRANT!" the kids wanted to know what "tyrant" meant. Then best explanation I could come up with was "a person who has come to power even though no one else wants them to be in charge." Dictionary.com says a tyrant is: a sovereign or other ruler who uses power oppressively or unjustly. Either way, "tyrant" describes Adell pretty well. She insists on saying the prayer over dinner every night. As soon as I say "Time for prayer" she starts yelling out the start of a prayer. Then she stops and says "Lorien, fold your arms!" or "Wyatt, close your eyes!" or "Everybody, say quiet! I'm saying de-prayer!". Her demands are frustratingly adorable. I don't know what is going to happen when the baby is born. She is either in for a rude awakening or we are all going to be in a lot of trouble.