The More Things Change...

...the more they begin again. It is so surreal to watch my oldest child growing up right before my eyes and lose some of those qualities that make her a baby. She just outgrew her carseats and is now in a Big Girl booster seat. ALREADY! And Little Ryen outgrew her infant carrier and is now in Ella's old car seats. Sigh... Here is a cute photo of them below checking out their new seats. I just love the look on their faces it is like they are both saying to each other "check out my new ride!"



Ella is becoming a little person, so fiercely independent and sometimes so sure of herself. She is so creative and intelligent and has so many ideas and concepts that I cant keep up. Her newest thing is whenever I am speaking sternly to her (ok who am I kidding- yelling at her) for not listening or for doing something she shouldn't, we have a hilarious exchange. It is something like, "Ella I said stop hitting your sister RIGHT NOW! (notice I raise my voice there) and her reply is "No! I'M TWO!" all while holding two fingers in the air. Sometimes if I am lucky she will scream "I'm TWO AND HALF!" I try so hard to keep a straight face at that moment and sometimes have to turn my back to her, because when she catches me laughing at this, she laughs back and then doesn't take me seriously. I tried to recreate this on the video camera but it didn't really work because we weren't yelling at each other- but you get the point. Anyhow here goes...



The other thing that drives me crazy that I have been complaining about for over 8 months now, is she wont call me Mommy anymore. She insists on calling me Mom. Seriously? I didn't think I was going to have a child calling me Mom in my house till she was almost a teenager and she started before she was even 2. There is something so baby-ish about her calling me Mommy and something too grown up about her calling me Mom. Heck there are some kids her age who are still saying MA-MA. And I get the long dragged out "MAWWWM" (usually with a roll of the eyes which many of my friends have witnessed... It's hilarious!).

BUT- as Ella leaves baby behavior behind Ryen follows right down her paved path. As Ella is no longer calling me Mommy, Ryen is finally saying Ma-ma! Although she usually says it when she is real sad/tired, or I have to bribe her with food. Da-da and El-la are still her favorite words...sigh... but at least she can say it, along with No and Da for Dog. I managed to capture Ma-ma like twice on this video below, although it wasnt easy and if you blink you might miss it. Some of you may think she is saying MMM like "this is yummy," but I think NOT! And you will clearly hear her tell me NO at the end of the video when she is sick of me asking her to say Ma-ma! LOL



Ryen is also in such a rush to walk just like Ella. If you try to sit her on the floor she arches her back and wont let go of you until she is standing up. You literally have to bend her body in half and force her into a sitting position and even then she throws herself backwards in frustration. So we stand her up and let her hold on to the couch instead. Here they both are (stealing this idea from My Buddy Sue's blog at www.Parkecentral.com by the way):



I don't think I am truly read for two kids two yrs and under when BOTH are walking. My friends who have traveled this road before me, like Michella, Trish, Stephanie, and even all my neighbors who have more than one child, have all been great for me to learn from and funny at the same time. I can't tell you how many times at a playdate, I hear "Oh Crap! Where is -----?" (insert name of one child there). The kids are always just nearby playing, but it is funny how you get so used to only having to focus on one kid for so long because the other can't go anywhere. At least I have been around this enough times to know it WILL happen, and I WILL panic, and thanks to my great friends I will laugh knowing it doesnt make me a bad Mom just makes me human! LOL

It is sad but exciting at the same time to see Ella leave her babiness behind, be less dependent on me, but my little Ry Bunny helps offset it a bit. What will I do when Ry is no longer my baby either? I think about what it will be like when Ella is starting Kindergarten and Ryen is over 2? Will I embrace my freedom from babies and babble and crying and night waking and diaper changing and teething and crawling and falling and walking? Or will I feel like I have suffered a deep loss? I wonder. Now if I could just get Jimmy to have number three, maybe I could hold off answering this question for a couple more years...!

XOXO