Ellie. I constantly fall into the trap of seeing so much of myself in Ellie. She is a jumble of contradictions, pulling us close with her insistence on extended periods of snuggling before bedtime, and pushing us away with dangerous kicking feet during middle-of-the-night terrors. She can be quite tough, taking a terrifying, face-first tumble down the stairs, and immediately insisting on walking down the stairs again. And she can be so soft, her little face falling into a sad pout upon scolding. She says so many things. She is analytical, telling me, after I wax philosophical, "What does that even mean, mama? That doesn't mean anything."' She is sentimental, expressing love for her parents, her baby brother, and Zoe, who frequently spends the night in Ellie's bed these days. She is frequently hysterically funny, as evidenced by a gallery of quotes below. She is a bit of a three-nager, and has treated her parents and her teachers to some of the traditional toddler tantrums we had been dreading. But in general, she is often still fairly reasonable, and can frequently be appeased by logical explanations for unpopular decision. She is growing more brave, and has the vocabulary to tell us about her bravery, announcing while I wash her hair, "I'm so brave!" She has taken to winter gymnastics with her friend Annika better than she took to soccer in the fall, though she still seems a bit reticent to try new things, and asks me not to leave the room. She is learning to write her letters and we are working on counting -- she can count quite high, but she can still be a bit sloppy around the concept of counting each object exactly one time! We've been enjoying rituals like visiting Heidelberg bakery after visiting Dr. Pagan, Thursday night library trips, Friday night "green monster" pizza from the mall, Saturday morning waffles, and french fries after gymnastics. Her joy in these small traditions reminds me that we all need these dependable slices of joy to look forward to in our lives. She seems quite comfortable and happy at school, possibly still favoring her teachers (Anne, in particular) over classmates, but still very well adjusted. She still prefers home days, but it is telling that when I come to pick her up, she sometimes is not eager to pause whatever activity she is engaged in! We began planning our fun for 2020, and Ellie requested that we ride a carousel. We have a few more fun plans up our sleeves, and I cannot wait to see her discover the Pacific Ocean next month.
Myles. This darling sweetheart is coming into his own. We had tagged him a sweet, mellow baby, but Myles has been eager to share his sense of humor and a silly grin. He has a habit of sneaking off toward mischief -- Zoe's bowl of water and the bathtub are favorite targets -- at top speed. He seems to make good use of our attention often being divided between an enthusiastic toddler, a barking dog, and Myles, who is often least insistent upon our immediate attention. The exception, however, is that Myles's appetite and enthusiasm for variety of foods has been growing, and he is not shy about letting us know when he would like more to eat. He is still in the 40th percentile for weight, but he has shot up to 94th percentile for height, making me wonder where the heck these super tall kid genes are coming from?! Myles began clapping his hands before Christmas, and has worked up to being able to stand for a few seconds on his own. He is a much earlier and effective crawler than Ellie was, perhaps because he can be more nimble given his smaller size, and perhaps because he has had so much incentive to get moving so that he can join in on the family fun! I'm feeling grateful that Myles's Nani has been able to spend weekdays with him, feeding him special dishes, taking him to the library, and generally doting on him. We have also been able to spend lots of time with Grandma and Grandpa, particularly over the holidays, and it delights me that both kids have so many loving grown ups to serve as a touchstone in their lives. When Myles turns one (!!!) in April, he'll begin attending a daycare center two days per week, and we're hopeful that that arrangement will last until he is ready to join Ellie in preschool. One thing about the second kid -- everything seems to go so much more quickly, for me at least. Like Ellie, and possibly all kids, Myles's first word was, "Dada," and he really seems to contact that word with his Dad, commanding his attention while chanting, "Da, Da, Da." He loves to splash in the bathtub, and I am excited to see what he makes of the Pacific Ocean, too! But God help us on the long flights.
I'll try to write again soon, but to close out, please enjoy a few recent Ellie-isms...
ELLIE, TO MAMA: "Where is my purple blanket?"
NITIN, INTERJECTING, FACILITATING CONSPIRACY: "It's in the wash."
ELLIE, QUICKLY: "I'm asking Mama."
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ELLIE: "I want to watch Doc McStuffins and then I want you to stay in my room."
NITIN: "You can watch for two minutes, but I'm going to say good night to you and then come back and check on you later."
ELLIE: You can let me watch Doc McStuffins and then stay for a few minutes. That's reasonable."
--
Ellie's imaginary friends are her hands. Hada is her right hand and nina (with a tilde, as in "girl") is her left hand.
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Nitin: "I am mommy's husband and mommy is my wife."
Ellie: "Mommy is my wife too!"
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Ellie: "Why did you kiss me?"
Nitin: "Because I love you."
Ellie: "Why?"
Nitin: "Because you're mine."
Ellie: "No, I'm Mama's."
--
Nitin: "Ellie, stop kicking that or I'm going to give you a timeout."
Ellie: "I don't want a time out."
Nitin: "Okay, then behave."
Ellie: "I'm being have."
