Aeralind

You two have grown so much in the last 6 months.  We have conversations.  You can tell me what hurts when you’re sick. You can dance for the shear joy of it.  You hold hands and help each other out.

And, oh, how you make mommy and daddy laugh!

Aeralind Grace

You are still as detail oriented as ever.  You’ll sit and play with lacing beads or puzzles for hours at a time.  You find the the tiniest things in pictures and then exclaim “Wight dere!” with joy.

One of your favorite things of late (thanks to daddy I’m sure), has been sitting outside very still and waiting until you see it.  “Wobin!” you exclaim as a bird lands and starts digging up succulent morsels from our yard.  “Nother one!” When you spot his buddy.  You could watch birds at the feeder all day long.  You’ll take my face gently in your hands and point it toward the feeder to show me the Carolina Wren who dips into your handmade orange peel feeder.

So as not to make you both sound like perfect angels, I’ll toss in a paragraph about where your rough spots are.  Aerie you’re a whiner and a squealer.  If something doesn’t go your way… I know my ears need to be plugged.  You sister will antagonize you just to hear you make noise.  And when I rebuke you… You fall down flat on your stomach in a silent tantrum which makes me alternatively want to laugh or shake you. But you’re growing.  You’ve learned that tantrums are disrespectful.  You’re learning about self-control.

You take a long time to walk from place to place. It’s like you’re lost in your own world (kinda like a girl I once knew who would follow her mom around in a store reading a book).  The other day I turned around to beckon you to stay closer to me in the YMCA parking lot and I caught you doing the silliest thing.  Your were rolling your arms and swaying your hips and walking, just as focused as can be.  It cracked me up!

Bronwyn Hope

You were being a total cheese ball for these photos.  I couldn’t stop laughing at your mouth full of dinosaur sandwich and your goofy antics every time I told you to look at the camera.  But these photos are so uniquely you!

You’re a goofy little kid with no fear in new situations and a ridiculous sense of humor.  The other day I drew a snake on your doodle pad and then drew a kitty on top.  You thought it was the funniest joke ever.  “‘Nake!  Kitty!” You’d demand for me to draw it any time you saw the doodle pad and then laugh hysterically.  I just can’t express how often we bust a gut watching you try to do somersaults or when you’re up in a tree climbing with daddy and just take off.

Bronwyn, your little heart is often a mess. You want things your way and you want them “Wight now!”  You’ll do whatever you want until you’re met with a consequence that you don’t like and even then the consequence might have to be repeated a dozen or more times before you get the message.  You struggle to come when asked.  And you can be antagonistic and rude to your sister. Even Sedryn has been in the way of a well timed hit!  Your little heart softens a little in the moments after discipline and, overall, is learning to enjoy the structure and consistency of discipline.  I’ve even caught little smiles of relief when you’ve left the discipline area.

One of the advantages of your strong little will is that you always know what you want and you chase after it with gusto!  Potty training yourself is one of those areas.  Grabbing just the storybook you want is another.  Tugging daddy’s hand and asking for him to come is common.  I see you softening with each new vocabulary word; although you don’t take no easily, you satisfied to know that we know exactly what you want.

(I figured after 2 it seems a little silly to count in months… so 2 and a quarter it is!)

These last 3 months have flown by in a flurry for mommy with little sleep, a newborn (or hugely pregnant), and you two crazy monkeys.  You’re so fun right now, but I’m having a hard time finding time to enjoy you properly.  So Daddy is sitting right next to me and we’re going to do a little bullet list of the things we want to remember about you during this time.

First: The crazy things you two have gotten into in the last month while mommy was otherwise occupied.

• Toothpaste.  A friend delivered a meal that day and loved how “minty fresh” you two were.  Head… to toe
• Make-up. You painted yourself pretty.  But I think you looked like football players.

Aeralind

Bronwyn

• Baby oil.  I’m not sure that’s ever coming out of brother’s carpet (but it smells nice) and it came out of your hair… after a bath… or two…
• Iron.  I’m pretty sure Bronwyn held this over Aeralind’s finger.  Of course, I’m also pretty sure Aeralind was the one who plugged it in.  You now call it “hot!!!!”.
• Gas-X. Mommy’s first (maybe only? doubtful…) call to poison control.  Apparently eight 128mg tablets won’t do you any harm.
• Eggs.  Cracked them on my kitchen floor.  Perfectly cooked… according to you.
• Q-Tips.  You like cleaning your own ears out.
• Condiments. Art for the kitchen floor.
• Keyboard+Water after locking daddy out of the house while mommy slept.
• Chocolate Meringue Cookies.  Pulled a whole baking sheet off the counter. Devoured half a dozen.
• And the crowning achievement: smearing Vaseline on a “pun’kin” (and the carpet/changing table) after you broke the stem.  It was “med’cine” to fix it.  You tell me stories about this incident still.

This might be the terrible twos… but from the list above… it’s terribly funny (when I’m not cleaning up the messes).


Here’s a little something about each girl and your unique personalities during this time.

Aeralind

• Your word is “control”.  You will do anything to remain in control.  You don’t cry (normally) when disciplined.  If you think it’s in your best interest to act the angel while Bronwyn climbs the wall, you will.  If you want something yourself, you’ll go get it.  You hate loosing control to the point that you don’t even throw tantrums, you just sulk.
• You trying to find your Toes’ies  when having pants put on.
• You have finally stopped cursing when referring to your shirt and shoes. 
• You love to swing.
• Tunnel!  You scream this when you want to go outside and play on your playground
• Playing with Rocks.
• ‘Wocking’ in your chair or on your horse.
• You snuck into the kitchen to snitch some brown sugar while everyone else was melting down. You had so much on your face it looked like you’d grown a beard!
• You can swim really well with your Puddle Jumpers on.
• Tags: You’re obsessed with them.  And every time you find one your little thumb sneaks right into your mouth.
• You’re the Hair puller
• You like talking on the phone and will demand to call someone.
• Scared of bugs

Bronwyn

• Your word is “order”.  You believe everything has an inherent order.  Mommy must put the vitamins on the right shelf.  You must sit in the chairs in Nana’s nursery and eat snack there.  You must keep your owl or cupcake jammies on at all costs. It’s no surprise that your favorite sentences all start with “I want…”  If something disrupts your order, you will melt down on the floor in an epic temper tantrum.
• You think your socks are “cocks”.
• You won’t do airplanes without your daddy taking his glasses off.
• You mastered the words “I Want”.  They maybe your only verb besides push and rock.
• You think you are Sedryn’s mother and have tried to practice nursing on your doll and a 14 month old friend.
• Tunnel!!! One of your favorite places too!
• When we go outside you’d demand that we sit you up in trees.
• You like to eat raw flour. 
• Will put your face underwater and swim a couple feet to someone. 
• You’re the biter.
• Being chased
• You will roll over brother as if he is a rotisserie chicken.
• Will either pet or kill a bug, depending on its type
• You were terrified of elevators.

The months are tumbling by in rush, but each day with you two lingers on.  Each moment containing an eternity of memories.

In six weeks, you will have wiggled upon this earth for 2 years.

For 2 years, you have been shaping me,
training me,
teaching me to love,
teaching me what it means to be a mother.

I’m pretty hard headed most of the time… so I appreciate your patience in undertaking that task.  I appreciate your blossoming spirits teaching my own to continue to grow.

Aeralind Grace

My sweet girl, each day it becomes more apparent that God gave you a servant’s heart.  I (or daddy) have taught you to sweep (sort of), mop up a mess with a rag, clean up after you eat, feed your sister when she’s being slow to eat, throw trash away, and even to kill the harmless ants I can’t seem to conquer in our kitchen.  Not only do you take great joy and pride in doing these tasks (sometimes yelling “Yay!” and clapping when complete), but often times you initiate these tasks without my prompting.  I can only imagine where that heart will lead you.

The one image of you that I hope to freeze in my mind is your handing me something and with great joy saying “Tank oo!”  You picked that up since I say thank you when you hand me something… but you seem to have the order a bit mixed up.  I’m not correcting you though.  I often times relish hearing those little words.

Bronwyn Hope

You have made it very apparent this month that you are a very strong willed girl.  You have challenged authority, you have whined for up to 5 hours at night (either because you just wanted to be up or because of some residual attachment to your now gone pacifier), and you have thrown a million temper tantrums.  I want you to know that I love your strong will.  Yes, it’s difficult.  Yes, it’s hard for me to manage sometimes, but you are growing your momma.  You are teaching her how to love you best.

One the things I’ve noticed the most is that you demand structure.  Part of that is in your strong willed nature (Will I get away with this?  Where are my boundaries?), but part of it is your love for figuring things out.  You have memorized every single snack box in the cabinet and will yell out what I’m getting or what you want: “daker!” “Pune!”  You will inform me of when and where I need to put something away. You have no problem telling your sister of a boundary that she is crossing that you know is wrong… and wrestling her to the ground to get your “no” across (we’ll work on finesse a little later :-p).  Structure is your friend and it’s what you desire most.

The one image I want to hold in my mind is of you reaching up your little hand to walk with me up the stairs or in a parking lot.  Browyn, as much as you fight to establish boundaries, I can see that in your heart you’re really just asking to be led patiently and gently.  I’ll hold your hand and lead as best as I can by the grace of God.