Thursday, February 11, 2016

6/52

Oh, Cecile: I find your age to be so challenging. So. Challenging. Your first year was all about growth; the second, vocabulary. And now at three years old, your prefrontal cortex is in full bloom. It's beautiful to witness and often very fun to be a part of, but there is so much emotion to navigate! And it's challenging to me because kids learn what they live and what they witness. As in, if I yell, you yell. If I use force, you use force. I hear you echo my tone, teach lessons to your animals or sister using phrases learned at school. How to stay calm when I know I'm a living model? Yoga breathing helps. Wine, too. And so do your funny faces--of which, you have many. I still fail. A lot. (The other week, she slammed down her play phone with an expletive. That one is definitely on me, oops.) But I'm trying not to beat myself up for my many parenting failures. Trying. 

Now Genevieve. It's hard to remember what I remember, but my littlest girl is very different from how my big girl was at this stage. There are similarities, of course. But where Cecile would really take her time to analyze and calculate her movements or environment, Genevieve dives right in without overthinking. If she wants a toy across the room, for instance, instead of voicing frustration at the distance with a squeal, she wills herself towards that toy with a combination of rolling, army crawling, inch-worming, you name it. She is so physical, a real force. Another example: the jumper. Cecile used it in five-minute increments for one, maybe two months. I even contemplated giving it away, as I am a minimalist when it comes to baby gear. But I'm glad I didn't because it's a real carnival for Genevieve. She gets serious height! Other milestones: We are crawling. Not fast, but she's got all the mechanics down. She's also learned how to kiss ... just in time for Valentine's Day. It's very sweet. And we have another tooth coming in. Funny enough, the one descending is not the typical upper central incisor (she already has her two lower central incisors), but an upper canine. My peach is a pumpkin. 
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