Decisions and finicky babies

Scott will be getting back from Maryland late tonight and he was told he will hear from them on Tuesday. The contract from South Africa should get to us this week too so it looks like it will be decision time in the Jackson household. That feels pretty darn good.

Another decision has also been made. Cora will be going to Holy Redeemer next year if we are in Maryland. Scott visited both potential schools and it was Holy Redeemer by a nose. Scott also scoped out some potential apartments for us and we have become acutely aware of what a great deal we had with our old place in Hyattsville. The dip in the housing market certainly does not seem to have brought down rental prices in the DC area. The dip in the housing market unfortunately has brought down housing prices in Champaign, though not as badly as elsewhere, so it is not the best time to be selling a house, but it is what it is.

In yet another illustration of how very different Daphne is personality-wise from Cora (this may seem obvious but it is somewhat startling because they look exactly alike), I discovered that she is incredibly particular about pacifiers. She's chewed a couple into flattened submission this week (top teeth coming in made her a chompy monster) so I picked up some spares at Meijer. They didn't have her size in the Nuk brand she uses, so I got her the correct size in the Mam pacifiers.


She hates them. Won't even use them. Pacifier goes in mouth, she makes a face of total disapproval, spits it out and then throws it behind her. Obviously I don't use a pacifier, but they really don't seem all that different to me. Peanut's having none of it though. I guess they will go in the trash because you can't really give a used pacifier to someone else who might use it.

But boy it drove home how very different these girls are. Cora was an infinitely flexible and tolerant baby. She just went along with whatever with a smile. Peanut has opinions. About everything. A sock is on slightly askew and she can't nap. A pacifier isn't up to her standards and it will never be used. It will be interesting to see how this pans out as she grows up. One of the issues Cora has had at school is letting some of the other children run over her. She doesn't object because she doesn't want to upset anyone. She seems to be appropriately bossy with her little sister, though she does let Daphne pull her hair and pinch her and doesn't tell her no because she thinks Daphne is enjoying herself.