When Lyd was small, JJ took great pleasure and pride in teaching her the NFL’s referee signals.  Lyd was about two years old when she could accurately say and give the signs for touchdown, first down, time out, time in, holding, pass interference, intentional grounding, safety, delay of game, and unsportsmanlike conduct, just to name a few.

One of the funniest moments from when Lyd was small occured when she rightly corrected her father in his NFL referee signals.  JJ and I almost fell off our chairs laughing when we realized that JJ had unintentially goofed up, and Lyd she was right!

After the amazing sucess with his first daughter, JJ is attempting to teach Curious J the NFL referee signals as well.  Not surprisingly, she is catching on well.  She still doesn’t talk well yet, but her hand signs are majorly cute.  She can’t do certain signs well, like holding or pass interference, but it is adorable to watch her try to do them.  She is learning, getting better every time, and it makes our whole family (Curious J included) laugh as she attempts to make these signs.

——————

Miss Lyd is really growing up.  Not only is she stretching out and growing taller every day (people have a hard time believing that she’s only five and a half years old), she is emotionally growing as well.  Since little Curious J wants so much to emulate her big sister, often causing problems when Lyd wants to do her own thing, I often say to Lyd, “Find a way to play with your sister.”  Sometimes she can’t find a way, and I have to help the girls navigate their growing friendship.  But I see it happening more and more that Lyd is finding a way to play with her sister.  Sometimes it’s not my preferred way of playing (ie. too noisy, too messy, too slightly dangerous, too silly), but I try to get involved as minimally as possible when I see that they are actually playing together.

This afternoon I set up our small inflatable pool, and the girls were enjoying both the pool and the sandbox.  (Yes, I had to hose the girls down at the end of the day.  I decided it was like we were camping – at home!)  I had given them the “Just a few more minutes and then it’s time to come inside!” announcement, and I was all ready to begin the clean-up.  But then, I saw them playing together so nicely, although not in a way I would have chosen.  Lyd had moved all the toys out of the sandbox, had put the end of our small, two-step slide in the sandbox, and the girls were taking turns sliding into the sandbox.  Lyd was even “catching” J as she slid down.  They were laughing and having such a good time together, that I couldn’t bear to bring their time to a close.  So, I ended up allowing them another 15-20 minutes to play together.  It was so relaxing just to listen to their chatter and giggles.

But all good things must come to an end, so eventually I did end the fun, clean them up, and plop them in front of a Baby Einstein video with a snack and a drink while I made supper.  Yes, I took them from their creative, outdoor play and made them watch the tube.  But it was 5:30 and their first TV all day, so I felt pretty good about that.  Plus, it was a nice way for them to wind down after all their craziness outside.

And they did sit together on the couch with their snacks.