It didn't dawn on me until this morning that we have already entered into the month of September...apparently, my internal calendar failed to update with the passing of the new month. September means that summer is pretty much over - Doug and I started new classes this week. I guess some good news is that AZ temperatures have already started cooling off (we only reached 98 degrees today)...what a relief!
The coming of September also means that in just two months, my beautiful baby girls will turn two years old. Every day is a new adventure with them. They grow smarter, bolder, and more adventurous with each new hour. I try my best to keep up and to keep them entertained, but I feel that I am continuously falling short. The girls are already showing a strong sense of independence...some may argue that this is common for toddlers their age, that it's evidence they are "finding themselves" and developing their personalities. Keeping that in mind, I also know how independent their mother is...Doug says they inherited it from me, but I wonder - is independence a genetic trait? Probably not, but that doesn't make it any easier to accept or understand. Part of this newly found sense of independence means that the girls are not afraid to tell me what they do and do not want. "NO! No, Mamma" is a phrase that I hear far more often than I would like. It's scary, because sometimes I hear my exact tone and phrase in their words - it's been a wake-up call.
I have learned through their mimicking that I really need to watch just how harshly I may say things. Even though Roo just dumped an entire bowl of applesauce onto the freshly mopped floor to tell me she was done with her lunch, or maybe it was AK who pulled the laptop off the couch (again) because she wanted to look at some pictures, I need to take a few seconds and just breath...let go of the bad feelings, emotions, reactions, and breath in the good, calm, peaceful, and loving words. The latter set of reactions will have a far better impact on teaching my daughters what is right and wrong.
The girls are like sponges - they see, hear, and absorb everything that Doug and I do and say. If I've never had a reason before to act calmly, patiently, respectfully, and lovingly, then I definitely do now...my little babies are almost 2, going on 20, and they are picking up on every little thing they see.
Good post.
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