Eliana has developed a pretty severe stutter. At first I was convinced that it was because I am impatient and frustrated with the girls a lot of the time--more on that later--but I have since been reassured that it's a relatively normal thing for kids under five. If it continues for more than six-months or her facial muscles get involved, I am to worry and seek professional help. Meanwhile, it's cute and endearing and heartbreaking all at the same time, she tries and tries to get out a sentence, but only the first word or syllable comes out of her, over and over again up to 20 times. Yikes. She's sweet and cute, loves to be silly and make us laugh with funny faces or voices, and is definitely doing the two to three year old crying and testing.
As far as me being a mean mom, which is quite probably what I have become, I blame pregnancy (and a lifetime of unpleasant personality traits that have lately surfaced.) Impatience, anger, frustration, exasperation, lack of sympathy, blah blah blah the list goes on, I'm a mess. Part of it I feel has come with the realization that it takes so much energy to get Adessa and Eliana to DO anything. All is well, everything is fine, as long as I don't need them to: wake up, get dressed, eat, go to the bathroom, get their shoes on, get out the door, get into the car, take a bath, brush their teeth, go to sleep. In between all of those, they're lovely and fabulous. Trying to accomplish daily tasks, even the ones we do alllllll the tiiiiime, is just so difficult. It takes overwhelming amounts of energy. I think (and Calvin keeps telling me) that it's just parenting, this is parenting: this is what we signed up for. But I don't know. My frustration with getting them dressed, which seemed to be the go-ahead to jump around on the bed, dance in front of the mirror, dump out a box of toys, etc. lead to... the Dress Yourself Fairy.
Yes, the Dress Yourself Fairy visited our house. She left a (second hand--thank goodness the girls don't care if things come in their original packaging) Rapunzel doll for each girl, and now, they get themselves dressed. Eliana still gets a lot of help, but Adessa does pretty much all of it now, and cheerfully. (We were doing it all, shockingly, because she's a funny one and did not at all want to be independent like I thought kids were supposed to want to be.) I keep trying to figure out what bad parenting strategy it is to have Fairies come to your house and tackle child-rearing issues I'm just not up for, but it works! The Binky Fairy worked like a charm, as has the Dress Yourself Fairy minus one terrible hour of crying which involved socks. It's also funny to me that I'm not at all into the idea of Santa Claus as an invisible entity who brings things to kids, but Fairies? They're fine.
And now... the pictures. Lots of fun in October.
October 1st was my friend Renee's beautiful wedding at Camp Kenolyn. Gorgeous!
Out rain-walking-puddle-stomping with Gracie.
New fine motor skills.
Eliana is drawing "smiley faces"! She draws them sideways or upside down, though, then turns them right side up to look at them, and will only draw them on the Magna-Doodle. Hmmm.
Braids! Eliana condescended to allow me to braid her hair, and it was cute! And I got it on camera!
A blissful evening at the beach, Daddy and his girls.
Eliana believes in baby wearing!
This is why kids shouldn't stand up in their strollers. 8(
The Pumpkin Patch!
Adessa and Eliana stalking around the pumpkin patch, determined to find a good one.
Eliana holding Carson's leash, one of life's great excitements.
Pumpkin Patch family picture. I look forward to a time when we have no 2-3year olds who don't pose for pictures. Eliana was finally coaxed.
Pumpkin Patch family picture, with Grandma and Grandpa and Carson.
Posing with Julie and Gwennie, at our 4th annual pumpkin patch with the Stewarts.
Adessa's pumpkin face, 4th consecutive I do believe!
Pumpkin carving. (To state the obvious).
A princess pumpkin with a crown/unibrow, and a princess pumpkin without eyebrows or crown.
Adessa as Snow White, trying out Halloween costumes.
A three minute view of what could have been two Minnie Mice dressed up for Halloween. Eliana was having none of it, however, sensory issues and size 4 dresses only on that girl.
Cousins! (And uncles, really) for some early trick or treating.
The gang! So far it is not any easier to photograph these kids, the little siblings ran amok but remained unphotographed.
Trick or Treating later on, sisters holding hands. Awwwww.
