"Jesse Did It!" Zoe has been exploring her artistic freedom over the last few weeks, using (mostly) washable writing implements throughout the house on any number of media: important papers, furniture and walls. We've addressed these incidents with her as they've occurred much as we did with Jesse at that age and realize it's a phase. You deal with it, hope they understand and move on to a more appropriate medium.

So I was naturally upset, but not totally shocked to walk into our bedroom to find a green magic-markered zig-zag pattern on my nightstand the other night, while Zoe and Jesse were sprawled out on our bed watching television.

"Zoe, did you draw on the furniture?!"
"No," (momentary pause to think, then pointing an accusatory finger) "...Jesse did it!" While shocked at witnessing the first bald-faced lie to pass through her lips and the subsequent attempt to pin the rap on her brother, I was impressed with 1) the perfect English, and 2) the spontaneity with which the charge was redirected.

Stories like this make me realize that this blog is no longer about an adopted Russian orphan; it's now about a typical American three-year-old (albeit one with a really cool accent). How long this sort of thing remains bloggable, I'm not sure, but I'll keep plugging away for the time being.  ¶ 7:12 AM