draining.

Oh Lily. I love you. But girl...you are really just taking everything out of me. You are full of laughter, but also just as full of growls and yells. You talk a mile a minute, prompting strangers at Whole Foods to ask just how old you are because you have SO MANY WORDS. You also can scream for hours if I would let you. Lily Grace, I have met my match.

I love spending my days with you. We wake up, send brother off to school and Daddy off to work. We eat breakfast in 2 phases. The first at 7 with brother, the second at 8 when I finally can sit and have my coffee. You like an Eggo waffle with Nutella, you demand strawberries even though I have refused to buy them until I can find them from our country and they are organic, you love your yogurt, and you pretty much eat all of my 3 Sisters oatmeal that I make for myself. We race either to the gym, or to your little school, or to errands. We have Starbucks together, where you love the petite vanilla scones. We the race back home to nap you earlier than all of your little friends, just so we can be on the road in time to get Christian at 3. Your favorite part of the day is getting in the car to go get your brother and great him EVERYDAY in the carpool with a big "HIYA CHRISTIAN!". You are my little lady. My little friend.

Until....

I walk into every room in my house and see your destruction, and sometimes at my friend's homes too (NO MORE RED MARKERS AT MO-MOs HOUSE!). I haven't taken a shower in private in 2 years. You won't nap or sleep without serious coaching, and to get you to actually follow any form of instruction or direction requires serious negotiation and bribing. You are too smart for your own good. I know you could be potty trained, but you want to do it on your terms. I find you walking in my most expensive heels naked. You rip library book pages, and then say "Oh no, betta fix it Mom-Mom". You are my little gremlin.

You drain me sweet girl. But I love every minute of it.