Chief Strategists

At 8 1/2, the girls' milestones are not what they used to be.  They've learned to roll over...to walk and talk...to ride a bike.  Surely one day they'll learn to swim proficiently too (!!!), but it seems less frequent as BIG KIDS that there's a write-it-down milestone.

What happened earlier this week, though, I'm counting in that camp.

Monday night, I came home and made Hubby's belated birthday dinner, and I had just a few minutes to chill out with the girls before their bedtime.  I was tired, but when A asked to play Connect 4, I thought that sounded like a great activity.

Game 1, she won.  She pondered...she postured...and she won!

OK...best out of three, I offered her.

Game 2, she won again!  Night over!

I've never followed a let-the-kiddos-win philosophy.  Nope, we play fair and square.  And my A beat me twice in a row!  With actual strategy!  Slightly bruised though my ego may have been, I was one proud mama!

I challenged A to a rematch on Tuesday night.  I won our best out of five series, 3-1.  I had to work for it, though!  I was watching her consider different moves.  And from my vantage point through the blue plastic grid, it was amazing to see her little mind work.

B wanted in on the action, and I suggested she play the winner of our series.  I am still chuckling that she said, "I don't wanna play the winner!"  HA!  And -- knowing she likely wanted to play me -- does that mean she had her money on her sister to win???  Ack!!!

B pondered and postured, just as her sister had.  I managed to win the best of three series 2-0, though.

Stepping back, this little exchange over the past couple of nights has been invigorating.  Wowza!  Bring it on, milestones!

Sweet, Seven-Year Old Anticipation

I was witness yesterday to some sweet, precious, seven-year old anticipation.

Yesterday morning the girls got up and came downstairs.  I hadn’t asked them for “belly sugar” in a while, so I decided to give my luck a go.  We play a little game where they tell me what kind of kiss I can give them…ranging from little to big, and from super sweet to silly.  A “little-sweet” kiss is just a peck.  And a “big-silly” is a huge raspberry.

No matter the type of kiss they allow, I always make a big deal of preparing myself.  And seeing the light in their eyes…not knowing how much something will tickle…is golden.  I ALWAYS make good on my commitment to honor their allowance for little/big, sweet/silly, but they can hardly stand the anticipation. 

My kisses are met with a range of hugs to squeals, and it’s one more piece of “baby” I can hold onto for now amid all the “grown-up”.

And then, yesterday at lunch, Hubby met me with the girls at the hair salon.  I got a trim, as did Baby A.  When it was B’s turn, I asked if she wanted to get more than a trim, to cut her hair just below her shoulders.  She’s been growing out her bangs since last summer, and we’re almost there!

B answered with gusto right away, “Sure!”  I showed her how long her hair would be, confirming we’d still be able to do a ponytail.  She was game!  She sat in my lap, facing me.  I got to see her face, full of anticipation, no doubt proud of what she’d agreed to.

And at least as sweet was watching Baby A’s face taking it all in.  She was rapt with anticipation, too, her eyes just dancing as she watched Sissy’s hair fall to the floor.  “Do you like it, [A]?” I asked her.  “YES!  It looks AWESOME!!!”

Sweet anticipation…and sweet sissies…I couldn’t ask for anything sweeter.

Painted Lady? No, Never Mind...

On Sunday the four of us went to lunch.  One of our favorite restaurants just happens to be a couple of doors down from the salon where I get my nails done.  I was overdue for a pedicure, and I nonchalantly mentioned during lunch how nice it would be if I could slip next door after we ate.

“That’s fine,” Hubby piped in right away, to my surprise.  “The girls and I will go get ice cream.”

WOW!!!

Baby A immediately began salivating for ice cream, but B asked to go with me.  I took A with me a year or so ago, and she sat in my lap while I got a pedicure.  (It was not exactly relaxing, but she enjoyed seeing the process, and we enjoyed some one-on-one time together.  B had been asking for her turn.)

I told B that was fine…and then I surprised even myself by asking if she wanted to get her toenails painted.  A first!  Her little face lit up.  “REALLY??!!!” she asked incredulously.

We walked into the salon and stood before the display of polish.  I selected a bright pink, and asked if she wanted the same color as Mommy.  She did (and I got kind of excited about having matching toes).

We were seated right away, B next to me.  There’s an abbreviated pedicure for kids, so that’s what we chose.  I could tell that B was both excited an apprehensive at the process.  I did my best to explain to her what was happening.  She rolled with it, but given the look on her face, I can’t imagine she’d describe the process as “relaxing”.  I told her we could stop the process at any time, but she said she was fine to continue.

(It helped that Daddy and A came in to deliver a few bites of ice cream to B…the best of both worlds!)

After our matching bright pink toes were complete, I opted to carry B to the car.  (Since this was so impromptu, she had on tennis shoes and socks, and I didn’t want her to crease her polish.)  The hilarious part came into play when A saw B’s toes.  “YOU LOOK SO CUTE!!!  YOU LOOK SO GROWN-UP!!!”  Hee hee!!!

I’m not sure that B liked the extra attention she was getting from A.  It’s almost as if she was self-conscious about it.  Both while we were at the salon and when we got home, I reminded B that I could take the polish off at any time.

B admired her toes a bit at home, and then she put on socks.  She said she didn’t want to scare the kitties (who have a strong liking for toes!).  That night, before bed, B asked if I would remove her polish.  I obliged, and she seemed glad to see her “normal” toes.

In hindsight, I wish I’d let B come with me to observe the process as A had.  I think it was overwhelming for her to have people she didn’t know touching her feet, and then to have such a visible reminder.

I’m proud of her for stepping out there to try, though.  And I’m even prouder of her for having the courage to tell me she was done being a Painted Lady (my words, not hers).

This was a new experience for both of us.  It didn’t end quite the way I would have imagined, but we did it together.

(And I guess my pedicure time every few weeks will remain one of quiet for me…I don’t think the girls will be asking to accompany me for a while.)

The End of an Era

It's the end of an era at our house.  

Baby A has had big-kid front teeth for close to a year now, and now B -- my second and final toothless kiddo -- is following suit.

The toothless stage is such a cute one, and now I realize it's pretty short-lived.

This is one of the last pictures I have of B with her precious little baby front teeth.

November 2015

It was only a couple of days after this picture that B lost her first front tooth.  She was performing her class musical, and we saw she got kind of quiet at the end of the performance.  When we got to her classroom, we saw it was because she lost her tooth!  And you might say she was a WEE BIT excited!

November 2015

It was less than a month later that B lost her second front tooth.  It was *just* in time for Christmas...so she legitimately got to sing "All I Want for Christmas".

December 2015

B remained adorable and toothless for about five months.  This is one of the last pictures I have of that signature smile.

April 2016

A couple of weekends ago, B's front tooth began to peek through.

May 2016

And by the next weekend, her new smile was taking shape.

May 2016

B's second front tooth is right behind the first.

These big kids happen so fast!

Heart Strings

Y’all. 

My heart strings. 

They are being tugged.  Pulled.  Stretched in uncomfortable directions.

I’m getting ready for the spring consignment sale.  And I’m struggling.

I tend to buy new clothes a bit on the big side, and we wear clothes for quite a long time.  A 4T sundress was likely bought when the girls were three…worn as a dress for a couple of years…and then worn as a tunic with leggings or shorts thereafter.

That means I’m just now parting with things the girls wore to preschool.  In the sale pile are the outfits they wore on their first day, when they were 3 ½…the outfits they wore for pictures…the outfits they wore for their year-end receptions.

Gulp.

Surely it seems like that was YESTERDAY.  Surely THREE AND A HALF YEARS can’t have passed since they plodded down the sidewalk in front of me, their cheeks still baby-chubby, since they came home from preschool and I laid them down for a nap in their cribs.

I really try to focus on the now…to enjoy each stage as we’re in it…not to mourn the passing time.  And I usually do pretty well with that.

But there’s something about holding these sweet little clothes that’s getting to me this week.  It may not just be that random prick of an errant safety pin that’s bringing a tear to my eye now and again.

What My Husband Said...

What my husband said this morning was one of the sweetest things he ever could have spoken.

Yesterday was a snow day.  I joked that my girls were fine with that, but my husband (a teacher) was the one doing the Happy Dance (yes, in caps) at our house.

I know they had a fun day together.  They did numbers...they tossed the ball in the basement...they went out to lunch...and B reported she read "A LOT".  Hubby said something about watching a soccer game, so I know he had some "quiet time" to himself.  And they generally hung out with the cats, and watched the cats watch the snow.

"These days are such a gift," Hubby reflected to me early this morning.  He said how the girls are at such a wonderful age...so much fun, so communicative...and he is so appreciative of having the extra time with them.  "I'd rather have a day today than have that day three months from now," he said.

Yep.  Three months from now, the girls will be three months older.  They'll have grown.  They'll be at least a little bit different than they are today.

How dear it was for me to hear my husband verbalize that sentiment.

Super Stuff

I haven’t been very diligent – sadly – about my “Super Stuff” posts.  Sure, I capture a fair amount of fodder on Facebook, but I know I’m missing some notes over the past couple of years.

This past weekend, as we took a quick trip to Sweet Home Alabama, I kept a slip of paper in my purse, and I jotted down a handful of sweetness from the past few days…

The girls have been so sweet – and so grown-up! – relating to each other at times.  Baby A asked B to bring her a pair of socks from upstairs.  It just struck me as so cute…and so mature!!!  B said, “Sure,” and that was that.  Sister helping out a Sister.

And I had a similar sweet sensation when the girls were talking with each other about their school library.  Baby A was describing a certain set of books, and B couldn’t quite picture what she was talking about.  “It’s in that section…” A elaborated, moving her hands about, and B nodded in response.  Again, it just seemed so grown-up!!!

We’ve been struggling with coughs the past few weeks, on and off, and one night I had to go upstairs to check on Baby B.  I settled her down, and glanced over at A.  From her deep slumber, Baby A mumbled, “I love you.”  How precious it is that that’s the first thing to come to her mind.

We checked into our hotel last weekend, which is always a fun treat.  Baby A accompanied me downstairs for a cup of coffee.  On the way, we both skipped down the long hallway, hand in hand.  She was tickled to press the elevator buttons, and I let her pick up a pamphlet in the lobby.  :)  On the way back to the room, she again started to skip down the hall.  I told her to go ahead, that I’d have to walk with my hot coffee.  I started to laugh at seeing her joy from my vantage point.  She heard me, and threw up the “I love you” sign, not missing a beat.  It made me laugh even harder, and my heart smile even bigger.

These baby girls have such dear hearts.

What a Wonderful Surprise!!!

I got home from work yesterday, and immediately I could tell there was a lot of energy in the air.  The girls were beaming.  “We have a surprise!!!”

They were running and jumping and giggling and conspiring.  I had no idea what to expect, but it was obviously something BIG.

Their eyes alight with joy, they could not wait to lead me to the office.  I found a CLEAN WORK TABLE.  Wow.  Seriously.  That is a big accomplishment…one that usually takes pulling some teeth to get done.

Hubby told me, “It was B’s idea.”  She beamed even bigger.

“And it was my idea to clean upstairs!” Baby A added.

While I got supper ready, the girls were still buzzing about.  “Don’t look at the table!!!” they cautioned me.  They set the table completely, and then they exhibited the most amazing manners throughout the meal.  All the while, they were still beaming, and whispering to each other off and on.  They were SO excited, and SO proud.

After supper, I told the girls I wanted to make them a special dessert to celebrate what an amazing job they’d done.  They were excited, but then they looked to each other.  After more whispering, A said, “Can we have about five minutes?”  (She said this in the most grown-up way, too...one that made me chuckle and wish I'd somehow recorded her seriousness.)

While the girls cooked up more surprises, I sauteed some apples, which we had over ice cream.  YUM!

And then it was time for the Grand Tour.

The five minutes they’d asked for went to dusting.  Yes.  Seriously.  It wasn’t great dusting…they used a tissue to wipe the window sills (HA!!!)…but the effort – and the PRIDE – was there.

They proudly showed me how they’d straightened their books in the den, and then they led Hubby and me upstairs.

Although their playroom was in decent shape to begin with, they’d straightened it up…and even organized their toy bins.  (THAT is BIG!!!)

They had everything ready in the bathroom for our night-night routine.  And the last stop was their bedroom, where they’d pulled down their beds AND laid out their pajamas.

Wow.

This was a wonderful surprise, of course, made 1,000 times more wonderful by the girls’ pride and joy in what they’d done.

Let’s hope this is the start of a wonderful trend!  (A mama can hope, right??!!!)

Reality Strikes This Holiday Season

(This post is not nearly as ominous as the title might lead one to believe...but I'm still chuckling over this "stark" exchange!)

Since the girls were small, they’ve desperately wanted to help decorate the Christmas tree.  Each year, I’ve devised some age-appropriate (and finite) task for them to do.  Certainly their involvement has progressed over time, but it’s always been very orchestrated.

This year, the girls just shy of seven, I was ready to turn over more reigns to them.  Hubby pulled the high boxes out of the storage closet in the basement.  I pulled out the lower boxes and began to unpack specific things from them.  I told the girls they could make trips upstairs, carrying small loads.  Baby B helped kick things off, and Baby A was in for the long haul.

Once everything was upstairs, Hubby and I assembled the tree and put the lights on.  The girls watched with rapt enthusiasm…although B was not sold that the lights would be “pretty” until we finally plugged them in.

After a quick vacuuming session, it was time for the girls to start the real fun!

While I unwrapped one box of ornaments, I told them they could take others from their boxes.  I directed them to make a pile of empty boxes and a pile of ornaments.  They were so cute, looking at each one…talking about which ornament belonged to whom, and when they’d made some of their crafty ones.

When everything was out, it was time to decorate the tree.  “Have at it!” I told the girls.  I encouraged them to hang a variety of types…our collectible silver bells interspersed with our handmade creations.  We had a small stepstool to help us reach heights, and Baby A, in particular, was great about asking for help here and there to reach just the right branch.

(B is on the stepstool here, and A is doing her best to reach just the right branch.)

It didn’t take long for the girls’ enthusiasm to wane, though. 

“I’m tired!”  “This is hard work!”  “Can I go do something else?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself.  It IS hard work! 

My precious little ones…this is an early glimpse for you that grown-up things are not always full of “fun”.  Enjoy being a kiddo while it lasts!!!  Hee hee! 

"We Decided Together to Help You"

KNOCK ON WOOD as I write this.  I feel the risk of provoking the Law of Murphy is one I’m willing to take in order to record what’s been happening over the past few days at our house.

The girls have been so kind.  So helpful.  And so PROACTIVE.  It’s amazing.

The last three mornings generally have been really good.  The girls are getting up, playing with the kitties, brushing their teeth, getting dressed, and doing what they’re supposed to do…with little prompting from me.  It’s been so refreshing!

Monday was the first time I took note of something really special.  Nana A was coming to the house that day, so we try to have things in good order.  I asked Baby A to put something in the recycle bin.  She did…and then she proactively put the rest of the little pile in the trash where it belonged.  That was small…but it struck me and made me proud.  She wasn’t just doing what I’d asked…she was thinking about what else needed to be done.

While this was going on downstairs, B was upstairs.  I’d already written a note to Nana A, telling her we didn’t get the girls’ playrooms ready to be vacuumed, just to skip that for this visit.  Unbeknownst to me, B was up there, getting everything put away!!!  I was floored!!!  It’s not unusual that my request to clean up is met with, “BUT I CAN’T DO IT BY MYSELF!” (even if I’m right there alongside).  It was an August morning miracle, for sure.  Wowza!!!

And then, the past two nights, the girls have had their beds straightened and pulled down…their pajamas waiting…washcloths and toothbrushes and flossers lined up…everything ready for bedtime.

Of course I’m lavishing praise on the girls for how they’ve been behaving, how proactively they’ve been working together.  That’s been met with big smiles and hugs.  And then, Baby B said last night, “We decided together to help you.”

Wow.  Melt my heart…and give me confidence these young ladies are growing up just fine.

They Still Delight...

For all intents and purposes, my girls are Big Kids.  They dress themselves.  They can buckle and un-buckle their car seats.  They go to school.  They are learning to read really proficiently.  They do math “just for fun”.

Much of this Big Kid stuff is welcome, and oh-so-awesome.  But I am so very grateful for the little glimpses I still get of their not-so-Big-Kid selves.

On Thursday morning, I let the girls watch as much of the Thanksgiving parade as they wanted.  This is the only time in their short lives they’ve been allowed to sit idly in front of the TV, and it was something they’d been looking forward to since last Thanksgiving.  It was the first thing they said when they woke up on Thursday, “Mommy!  We get to watch the parade!”  And they were some kind of disappointed they had to wait until 9am for it to start.

I watched the parade over their shoulders as I worked in the kitchen to continue to get things ready for our big Thanksgiving lunch.  They recognized some of the balloons from last year, and they were tickled to hear their first few Christmas tunes of the year.

We had a fun Thanksgiving day…we entertained friends for lunch, and then we had some glorious “quiet time” that afternoon.  We rounded out the day with some crafting, and everyone was actually excited to have leftovers for supper.

At bedtime, it occurred to me we should read the Curious George parade story.  In the story, they don’t call out Macy’s by name, but it’s not a big stretch to see the story is loosely set in the Big Apple.

At my suggestion, the girls SQUEALED with excitement.  (And my heart smiled big with pleasure.)

Baby A RAN to find the yellow Curious George book.  She first raced into the reading room, and then downstairs to scour the bookcase in the den.  She came bounding back upstairs, so excited to read about Curious George’s adventures in the very parade they’d seen on TV that morning.

I know one day my babies won’t delight in having Mommy read books to them.  I sure am thankful that today, they still do.  

They Grow with a Little Help from my Friends and Family

I realized it early on, the tendency I have to look at my children as BABIES, more fragile, more vulnerable, and less capable than they really are.  It’s sometimes a wakeup call when I see my friends’ children of the same age.  Hey, they are BIG KIDS!  Hmmm…my girls are the same age…so wait a minute!  Are my BABIES that big, TOO???

And along those same lines, it’s happened a time or two, at least, when my friends and family members have gently prompted me to allow the girls a new privilege, to challenge them in some new way.  Most of the time, I just didn’t realize my BABIES could / should be doing something more.

I remember the holiday, just before my sweet cherubs turned two.  We went to Grandma Linda’s house for lunch, and I cut the girls’ food into small pieces and put it on the trays of their highchairs for them to feed themselves.  I was proud that they were eating the same “big people food” we were.  Grandma Linda was proud, too, I’m sure…”but do they need spoons?” she asked.  In honesty, I’d given the girls spoons a month or so prior to that, but they made a HUGE mess.  I tabled that endeavor, vowing to revisit cutlery “when they were older”.

A week or so later, a lovely package arrived at our door, containing the cutest plates and matching plastic forks and spoons.

It was the subtle prompt I needed to turn them loose with utensils…and low and behold, they mastered it really quickly!

Grandma Linda prompted me again recently, when she gave the girls weaving looms for Christmas.  I have very fond memories of making potholders when I was a kid…but I remember being much older than five.  I was so appreciative of the thought, of course, but I worried it would be one of those “for when you’re older” gifts we put back for a while.

The girls couldn’t wait to dig into their new goodies, though, so I acquiesced.  And you know what?  THEY DID IT!!!  I am still doing the edges for them, but they’ve got the weaving down pat.  Think again, Mommy!

For their birthday, Aunt Alison sent the girls two new games, one being “Trouble”.  The girls wanted to play right away…but I feared it would be far over their heads.

They proved me wrong…again…as we’ve played countless games over the past two weeks.  There’s counting, of course, but there’s also considerable strategy, and the girls have picked that up really quickly.  While the game moves really fast, there’s the potential for lots of disappointment.  The girls have learned to take it in stride…and that, my friends, is HUGE!  (Daddy had this game when he was growing up, called – in Serbian – “Don’t Get Mad, Man!”  That’s a fitting title, and one we say often, as we vie to send each others' pieces back behind the starting line.)

Yet again, I’ve been shown that my BABIES are much more capable, much more mature, than what I sometimes give them credit for.  Thanks, Friends and Family, for that extra little push I need now and again to take off the baby pink-colored glasses.

What I Love About Big-Girl Beds

You may remember that I was a bit apprehensive about moving the girls to big-girl beds.  I hadn’t intended to keep them in their cribs until they were more than 4 ½…but that arrangement continued to work for us; I had no real reason to change.

I didn’t want to move the cribs to the new house, though, and so that dictated our transition timing.

In addition to the incredible amount of work involved in the move, I was so nervous!  I was afraid that our wonderfully rested babies would suddenly decide to challenge their bedtime routine; that they would think it was more fun to roam around the {new} house than it was to sleep.

KNOCK ON WOOD, none of those fears have come to fruition.  For that, and for many other reasons – ones I didn’t know to anticipate – I am really, really loving the girls in their big-girl beds.

For one, I couldn’t reach the girls very well in their cribs, so I was missing out on some wonderful nighttime cuddles.

Now, I just love to tuck the girls under their blankets at bedtime, safe and sound.

I love to bend down and give them one last kiss before I turn off the lights.

I love to check on my babies after they’re asleep.  I love to kiss their sleepy heads.  And their soft, sleepy hands are so very tender, I can’t resist squeezing them.

A couple of times as I’ve been checking on my cherubs, Baby A has woken up just a bit.  She’s given me the sweetest, sleepiest hugs.  “I love you, Mommy,” she says from her slumber.

In the mornings, I love to sit on the sides of the girls’ beds and rub their backs, to give them tender kisses on their warm temples, just as they’re waking up. 

I love to pile in their beds beside them for full-body hugs.

I love to tickle them awake, and wrestle with them in their beds sometimes.  I’ll pretend to lie down, and then exclaim, “There’s a lump here!”  The girls think it’s hysterical.

And once they’re up for the day, the girls love to make their beds!  They are so proud to get their covers sorta-kinda straight, and to prop their pillows up just right.

I am so thankful for such a smooth transition, and for the many new joys it brings.

Digging through the Archives

My computer is in the shop for a little TLC.  I thought it would be a super-quick clean up, which has been done before while I stood there breathing down the Geek's neck, but this time they said my computer needed a little R&R.

I resigned myself to no internet for a couple of days.  (That's an unfortunate side-effect of my bargain basement cell phone from 1999, I might add.)

Then...I remembered...Hubby has a computer!  He claimed my old laptop and uses it from time to time, mostly to look at car stuff and soccer stuff.

Now...where to find said Old Laptop in the New House???

I located it pretty easily...and after a 24-hour hiatus from online, I'm back in touch with the real world...at least here and there.

I had planned to write a post today with a picture I took yesterday morning...but I'm not going to go through the trouble to download the picture to this computer...and then turn around and download it to my computer in a day or so.

Hmmm...what to do???

I decided instead to take a stroll down Memory Lane and look at the last batch of pictures on this computer...from July 2012.

So, I think this is two posts in a row where I'm lamenting my BABIES...but look how tiny they were!!!  It's incredible to see those round baby faces and fine baby hair.

Sniff, sniff and big smiles...hanging on and enjoying this ride!

Growth as Measured in Fractions

Before the girls were born, I remember washing all their teeny-tiny clothes.  I had so many items, but they made for such a small load in the washing machine.

It was a fun exercise to work through how I wanted to organize everything.  I enjoyed setting up their closet and deciding how I wanted to fold their onesies and pants, their burp cloths and blankets.

(You may know I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to folding laundry.  If I’m going to wash and fold, then it must look pretty when I put it away.  I want to be able to appreciate my work!)

The girls had a dresser in their room, but they had so many wonderful shelves in their closet.  I decided to buy plastic bins to use as “drawers” on their shelves.  This system has worked incredibly well.  It allows easy access to everything, and when I need to switch out their clothes for the season, I simply put the bin of long-sleeve pajamas on a higher shelf and bring down the bin of short-sleeve ones.

I know this system won’t last me forever, though…at least not with smaller size bins that I have.

When the girls were infants, I folded their knit pants in half side-to-side, and then in half again, top-to-bottom.  I’m not absolutely certain, but I believe I got three stacks of pants in one bin.

It wasn’t too long before the size of their pants increased, and I went down to two stacks per bin, still folded in half.

A couple of years ago, I had to start folding their pants into thirds in order for them to fit in the bins.

And this year?  My B is still wearing mostly size 4 pants, so I haven’t had to make any adjustments.  My A, though, is wearing size 5…and some of those will flash an occasional ankle.  The last pants I bought for her were actually size 5/6.  ACK!

And yes, those LONG britches are too long for thirds.  I’m now folding some of A’s pants into fourths.

As if it weren’t enough for me to see their growing shoe sizes…their increasing height, coming close to my chest…their blossoming vocabulary and number prowess…The Universe just won’t let me forget that my BABIES are growing up, as further evidenced by my laundry piles.

The next thing I know, I'll be asking my girls to reach something for Mommy on a higher shelf...at least I think they'll surpass me in height, which will have its advantages!