Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Head Injuries


Two funny stories:

The other day, maybe a week or two ago, I was in the girls’ bedroom with their sitter Emma, getting ready to put them to bed.  All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Zoey started hysterically crying.  Kayla was in the bedroom next door which we have turned into a playroom and came running in when she heard Zoey crying.  Emma and I both asked Zoey what happened but she was crying and couldn’t speak.  So, Kayla decided to try to tell us in her own language what happened.  The problem is her own language is just that, her very own that no one, including Zoey, seems to understand very well.  However, she started pointing while she was telling us, adding in a few real words here and there, and finally Emma and I understood.  According to Kayla, Zoey stood up but hit her head on the dresser and that’s why she was crying.  Once Kayla had explained herself she ran over to Zoey and gave her a kiss on her head.  That seemed to cheer Zoey up right away which was adorable.  However, Kayla completely made this story up because she wasn’t even in the room when whatever happened to Zoey happened.  Too cute!

While Kayla is trying to make Zoey feel better, Zoey is trying to hurt Kayla.  Well, I shouldn’t say it like that because I don’t think it was totally on purpose.  I think Zoey is starting to explore her physical abilities more and maybe isn’t realizing that her abilities can hurt Kayla?  I don’t know, I just think Zoey is so delicious that it pains me to see her act like a beast, but it’s been happening!  This weekend I went out for a run while Dave was with the girls.  When I came back he told me that Zoey hit Kayla on her head with a toy bus.  And it seemed like it was pretty much on purpose.  Dave handled it like a champ and got Zoey to apologize to Kayla, give her a kiss and then he took the bus away and wouldn’t let Zoey play with it.  It hasn’t happened again since, but I think these stories go to show the differences in my girls!  I wonder when it will all change again?!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Happy Birthday...to Mommy


Happy belated mother’s day to everyone!  Now that I have been a mom for almost 2 years I can fully appreciate the holiday!  And I will say, Dave really spoiled me this year!  But, you know what’s even better than mother’s day?  Having your birthday every day!  Let me explain…

Zoey has been scared of the happy birthday song lately.  At every party we’ve been to, as soon as the lights go down, Zoey starts screaming, “No, no, all done!”  Of course she loves the cake after the fact, but is not into singing Happy Birthday at all.  So, to try to remedy this situation since we have a lot of birthday parties and I would like to be able to sing the song at the girls own party, we’ve started singing the song at home.  However, and I swear I did not do this, the first time we sang the song, Kayla decided to sing it to, “Mommy.”  Obviously I loved this and went with it!  But, now, both girls sing happy birthday, but only to “mommy.”  I am still loving it and like I said, what’s better than it being your birthday every day?!  But, this caused a little trouble this past weekend when instead of being scared of the happy birthday song, Zoey sang it out loud, but to me instead of the birthday girl!  Oh well, right?! 

Friday, May 11, 2012

Count to 10 and Breathe


The majority of my days are now spent counting to 10.  You might be asking yourself why I am constantly counting to 10.  While of course I am trying to teach the girls their numbers, it is primarily to try to teach the girls about sharing.  I think I have mentioned before that the girls are at the age now where even if I have 2 of the same thing, they only want the exact one their sister has.  For example, I usually give Zoey a purple cup for water and Kayla a pink cup.  Even if I have them both yellow cups, lately, Zoey would cry for Kayla’s yellow cup and Kayla would cry for Zoey’s.  Maybe now you’re saying to yourself, “Why doesn’t she just switch them?”  And the answer is because that’s not the point so it never works.  Zoey wants what Kayla has and Kayla wants what Zoey has.

So, I came up with a system to try to teach about sharing and taking turns.  When one of the girls is playing with a toy that the other one wants, I say, “Okay, let’s count to 10 and then it will be your sister’s turn.”  Now, I have to say this system is actually working fabulously well and I would like to pat myself on the back for being such an intuitive and wonderful mother!  However, it’s only working very well with Kayla.  Zoey…not so much!  If Kayla is on the rocking horse and Zoey starts whining that she wants to go on, I count to 10, Kayla actually counts with me (which is the cutest thing ever!) and at 10, she hops off without another word!  Zoey then takes her turn on the horse, screaming, “Me, me, me, me” (which is also ridiculously adorable) and we start to count to 10.  However, as soon as I hit “9” Zoey starts saying, “No, no, no, no!”  I usually have to physically pull her of the horse and put Kayla back on.  Now, I can’t complain too much, because if I do redirect Zoey to something else, she usually forgets about the horse for a while.  But, oh my God, this gets exhausting!! 

So, moral of the story is, for all of you who only have 1 child now, just wait until you have a sibling or a cousin or a playdate!  Try to teach sharing and taking turns now!  And if anyone has any other advice for me and my girls, please let me know!!