Sibling Love

Today I got a glimpse of how easy life would be if I only had one child....just hear me out. This morning I left Nate at home with Jon while I took Mae with me to the doctor's office for an ultrasound (and if you haven't heard lately, it's not what you think...I'm having issues and they wanted to check for a cyst). Anyway, Mae was the logical choice because (a.) she could behave and be entertained with books and a board game in the waiting area and (b.) Nate still needs his morning nap - especially on days he wakes up at 5:15!!! So, the appointment and lab work didn't last as long as I thought so Mae and I sneaked over to a coffee shop in Five Points - a kid-friendly coffee shop that has shelves of children's books and toys beside miniature chairs and tables, next door to an upscale toy store. Anyway, Mae was SO well behaved, and complimented by the office staff on her behavior that I treated her to a little scoop of chocolate gelato...at 10AM! I sipped a skinny frozen mocha while we dealt a round of cards - a Princess Snow White Matching Card Game, that is. She was such a big girl and it gave me something to look forward to when she's older and still wants to hang out with her mom at the local coffee shop - am I dreaming here or what?? I don't know...honestly, I always enjoyed my mom's company as a teenager, and still do now! It sure is nice having a "big little girl" to hang out with, doing special things we can only do without baby brother, or as Jon refers to Nate - without"Natezilla" tagging along.
Now, don't go feeling so sorry for Nate right about now - he had his moment in glory as well. Jon took Mae to church and left Nate behind with me since we're the two "sickies" left in the house. Man, I put him to sleep at 6:15 and he'll be out for at least 12 hours...hopefully~ Easy, Breezy bedtime for Nate. Hence, a blog post for the first time in weeks.
I did get to spend some quality time with Nate one day while Mae was spending the night at Grammie's house for the first time alone. I got to see him play without someone taking toys away from him and I could hear him talk without Mae talking over him... He's getting really smart - stacking blocks, pushing cars, nesting cups, etc...
All that said, it's great to be able to spend some time with just one of the kids alone but it was so nice having them both back in their respective carseats in the van making funny faces and blowing kisses at each other. I love the sibling love...

That's Imagination!

So, I took a few psych. classes in college and I know some of them covered childhood development. I'm trying to remember what was covered on the subject of the imagination. Although, none of them could have possibly prepared me for witnessing my own child's development of her own imagination. Over the past few weeks her mind has been going in new directions and she's playing in a way she's never played before, she's pretending! Of course she's role-playing with her dolls, acting out her newfound "mommy skills" with her dolls and talking to herself in the mirror while she plays dress up. It's this other side of her imagination that sparks my interest the most...Her beloved pink knit blanket has become a fishing pole cast over the edge of the couch to hook a prize. Other times the blanket become a rope to climb or a fancy new hair-do draped over her head.
It sort of reminds me of Linus and his own little security blanket from the Peanuts cartoon. Linus was always my favorite..always had it so together. Come to think of it, I do remember learning about Charles Shultz in my abnormal psychology class. Chasing rabbits. Back to subject matter...I commented to Jon while he was driving us home from church one night that "Not many two-year-olds can play with a bookmark and a flip flop quite like that..." as I watched Mae play very contendly with her shoe in one hand and a fancy bookmark in the other...I'm still unsure about the specifics. I do love to play and pretend with her, but lately it's become more interesting to watch her play and pretend all on her own.
She even drags Nate into the game at times, usually unwillingly on his behalf. At least in her mind, he's plays along with her even if he is just out to use all her doll's hands as teething toys. He does still thinks she's the greatest thing ever...even if she does put silly hats on his head and make him drink tea from a princess tea cup. Poor little fella. I'm just thankful that she's not pushing him out of her room...instead she pulls him down to stay in her room longer. I'm just wondering how long that will last!
On a closing note, I have heard that if a child has a good imagination, like if a child has imaginary friends per say, then they are more likely to be a "gifted" child. Ahhh...I knew it from birth, Mae IS gifted! (Please note the sarcasim here since I'm in complete awarness that my little Mae is doing what most kids do, play and pretend!). I'm really hoping no "Drop Dead Freds" pop out of her imagination anytime soon!

God in the family

"You're a girl, Mommy. And I'm a girl too!" Mae reminds me almost daily. She's noticing that girls have longer hair, wear dresses and hair bows and that boys - don't. She's also learning about our family and where she belongs. The other day I was trying to teach her what "family" means while we were on vacation with Grammie, Grampy, Uncle Chris, Aunt Suzanne and two of her cousins. I started out asking her, "Mae, who's in our family?" She thought for a moment, "Umm..." as she clicked her tongue and stared at the ceiling to help her think of the right answer. At first I didn't think she had the right answer, but actually her answer was perfect. "God is in our family!" she finally replied. I explained that God gave us our family and started naming all of the family members she knows well. After I named a few she went back over the list and identified them as either a boy or a girl...she's putting that together very well!
I hope Mae and Nate always see God in our family.