Girl power

Have I mentioned lately how much I enjoy having another girl in the house?

A couple days ago, I couldn't decide between two pairs of shoes. Sydney recommended the blue ones. I love having access to another female's perspective. (I suspect Jeff is equally glad to be off the hook on answering these kinds of questions.)

Meanwhile, Sydney has also become my workout partner. I recently started using an exercise ball and its accompanying DVD. Sydney is fascinated by "the girl movie" and so loves heading down to the basement with me in the evening. It didn't take her long to find some compable toys so that she could join in.

That's AJ's bouncy ball she's hoisting over her head. Other times she used her Chuck E. Cheese gym ball to lift and stretch. Most of the time, however, she simply liked counting along with the announcer as I sweated through the reps.

Contrast that with AJ's style of encouragement. He joined me in the basement for a different workout this past week. As I grunted and groaned through some reverse push-ups, AJ questioned, "Are you making muscles mom?"

"I'm trying," was my pained reply.

A few moments passed. Then suddenly AJ exclaimed, "I think I see one!"