Ni-ni

It's that time of day again, after 8PM while I watch and listen over the monitor as the girls put themselves to sleep.  Peyton goes out almost immediately as only an infant can do.  Kaitlyn tells me "ni-ni" at least three times over the monitor, silly thing.  Who am I kidding though, I love that she knows I'm listening!

Some friends and I were discussing recently how our own experiences as children color our parenting styles.  These were actually separate conversations with different people that came around to the exact same point, so I would suppose this is common practice.  Do we all try to "fix" the things we see as having gone wrong in our own childhoods?

Not even two years old yet, and she will climb this slide that is twice her own height and go down head first - or on her back holding her feet over her head - or run straight down it (I nearly died!).  The kid has no fear, mama ain't raising no coward!  As for why that is, well I was a huge baby as a kid.  I didn't even do a "real" cartwheel until sixth grade.  Because of that, I am always pushing Kaitlyn to explore her boundaries physically.

I wonder if she is such a daredevil because of my constant encouragement to try something new - do a flip, climb the stairs, can you get in your chair yourself, you can climb the ladder and slide down on your own - or is it just an innate quality?  I wonder if Peyton will be different and if she is, will that be because I'm more wary with her or just a reflection of who she is?

She really doesn't look like much of a risk-taker yet!

Stuff, stuff, stuff.  This is only part of the playroom.  Let's not think about the nonsense in my living room and on shelves in my room and in the closets.  This is another thing I've noticed myself changing from my own childhood.  My house has turned into the Museum for the Preservation of Plastic Toys.  I am single handedly keeping the toddler toy industry alive, really.  

Rather than having a ton of stuff (though we definitely had way more than we needed), we did more activities when I was a kid, things like camping and cookouts and picnics.  Keith and I aren't really the "invite 20 people over every weekend" kind of people.  And the camping thing, while we definitely want to do it, just doesn't sound like my cup of tea until each kid is at least a year old!  So, instead, we have a lot of stuff.  I'm scared to think of what we'll do with the Christmas gifts.  I'm only getting them art supplies, but I know they'll get a good bit.  The good thing is, if I put some of the toys away that are out now to make room for new things, the stored items become fresh and interesting later when pulled back out.

Being Satonic

These girls.  They are my world, well a really big chunk of it for sure!

After my second child, I find myself in "been there, done that" type territory.  I haven't run into any huge surprises, just some minor differences here and there.  Kaitlyn slept longer, Peyton is easier to put to sleep.  Kaitlyn hardly cried, Peyton thinks a five second delay on a bottle requires a banshee level of admonition.  Etc, etc.

The newborn rush has slowed.  The adjustment from one child to two seems to have... well... adjusted. There is definitely room for improvement, don't get me wrong, but this "2 under 2" deal is not such a terrible thing as I feared.  Call me crazy, but I find myself having brief moments of insanity where I even consider throwing another kid into the mix!  (Please, call me crazy!)

I'm interested in connecting with blogs of moms with children of either age.  My girls are 21.5 months and nearly 4 months.  There's always something new going on in the world, so this being my second child is no reason to decide to just follow to the same old script.  I am very eager to connect with moms of toddlers, particularly.  Kaitlyn will be 2 soon and I think we all know there are some big changes on that horizon...

Our days consist of running ourselves ragged,

messes (sitting on strawberries in a white skirt is a major mom planning fail),

and a moment every now and then that just slaps me in the face with a reminder of how much responsibility I have in raising these amazing girls.

That tiny hand clinging to mine as though I'm all she needs.  It gets me every time.  Hopefully we do alright by them as their parents.  I want so badly for them to maintain a close relationship, something I didn't have with my own sister until fairly recently.  I want for them to have amazing memories of their childhood.  Messy art projects, flying kites, camping trips, visits to extended family, amazing holiday traditions...  all the best parts of my own childhood I want to give to them.

I think we have our work cut out for us!  No doubt it will be worth it though.