My Babies

It goes so fast. It really does. I am so busy that it tends to blur together, but there are moments and things about these sweet babies that I want to memorialize.

Will (at 2 1/2)

• Has just had a major growth spurt. He had been fitting 18 (yes, 18) - 24 month pants and all of a sudden, they were all way too short. He is now firmly a 2T in pants and a 3T in shirts and jackets.
• Has taken to patting my back at night as I rub his. He also calls me "Seetie" (Sweetie).
• Has learned to try and charm his way out of things. I was asking him to put away his toys this morning before we left the house and he looked at me coyly and said, "You look very pretty today, Mommy." I'll admit it, my heart got a bit melty. I replied, "Aw, thank you, Sweetie. . ." but Mama is no fool. . . "Now, please clean up your toys.
• Is doing much, much, much better when it comes to hitting. We have introduced the "Mad Spot" where he can go stomp and yell if he is mad or frustrated. The other day, he started to rear his hand back to hit me. He said, "I want to hit Mama!" But he stopped himself and went to the "Mad Spot" and stomped it out. We haven't had to leave the last three playdates (knock on wood). The only problem with the whole "talk about our feelings" thing doesn't translate well with other kids. It turns out that two and three year olds find being told "I want to hit you" just as upsetting as actually being hit.
• Has communication skills that are crazy. He can tell us anything and everything at this point. He talks in full sentences and makes his needs very well-known. This can be both good (when we can meet his needs) and not (when we can't or it isn't appropriate to do so).
• He is working on potty-training. His favorite place to "poo-poo" is our master closet. He likes the private time and space. Tonight, he was wearing underwear and I realized it had been too quiet for too long. I knew where to find him - the closet! He was clearly working on something and as I took him from the closet, he said, "No, Mommy, no. I stay in closet. I need to poo-poo." M and I are both afraid that the poo-poo'ing in the closet might become a strange habit. And yet I hesitate to stop it as I don't want to discourage him from pooping when he needs to. So for now, I let him stay in the closet when he needs to do his thing. And hope that by the time he is ready to leave for college, he has moved beyond pooping in our closet.
• I know everyone thinks this about their children, but he seriously is the best boy ever. I mean it. His heart is so big, his love for his sister is so much. Even other, unbiased adults, have commented on how well he has adjusted to being a big brother and how amazingly good he is with her. He can be so sweet in spite of the tantrums, the toddlerishness, the independance. When he nestles against me during a "rock-rock" or hugs his sister for no reason other than to just love on her, I know the sweetness that lies beneath and I am so very proud to be the mother of this wonderful Little Man.

Emma (at 6 months)

• I hate to brag, but she is the happiest baby on the planet. We were at a playdate yesterday and a mom that I didn't know very well (and is three weeks away from her own #2) asked me, "Is she always this happy?" I want to know how to answer that question without sounding smug. Because the truth is? She is always that happy.
• She wakes up every morning and coos and talks to herself for up to twenty minutes. She might go longer, but that's the longest I've ever made her wait. I finally get impatient waiting for her to cy for me, and go in.
• She greets me with the biggest smiles and a huge screech of happiness every single morning. The girl is crazy-happy about seeing me in the morning. Talk about an ego-boost.
• She still makes her famous "growling" noises which have earned her the nickname of "Dino Baby."
• This girl eats her brother under the table. A normal meal for her would be a dish of applesauce mixed with a half of banana, handful of blueberries, and oatmeal plus a dish of 5 - 6 baby carrots blended with 2 oz. of chicken breast, a generous handful of spinach spinach, and two to three large chunks of sweet potato.
• Sleeping and napping? I am not even going to type out the amazing schedule we have for two reasons. 1) You'd hate me and 2) It would jinx it. Just know that I am down-on-my-knees-grateful for what I have been blessed with.
• She is sitting independantly for long stretches of time. She can (rather ungracefully, but probably taking after me) move from a sitting to laying down position. She is nowhere near crawling.

These two amazing children that I have been blessed with are very different. I recently read a blog post that talks about the different love that a parent feels for their children. It was a very good read, as I know that I felt my own guilt as I figured out that while I love both of them very much, I don't love them the same way. And that's okay, they aren't the same people. It just takes realizing that to feel okay with it.