Two very different girls

It’s fun with these two. Sometimes I go crazy and feel like hiding, but a lot of the time they are a great pair. Natalie’s more chill and contained, Hazel’s more active and everywhere, but they can both get riled up and have a blast, or just chill sitting reading books. Prayer time usually isn’t very reverent, and scripture time is sometimes more like nonscripture time. Sometimes I feel like I just can’t do it anymore and how can I ever raise these girls the right way, there are too many things to work on. Reverence, potty, hitting, pushing, whining, sharing, eating, cleaning up, putting away, obeying, self-discipline. As President Monson said, sometimes “we become impatient for a solution to our problems, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required.” So thank you Natalie and Hazel, for leading me to rely more on the Lord, for making me better than I was without you, and not just in developing patience. Your smiles and laughs, your chasing around the house and running around the yard and walking to watch the ducks, your hugs and plops into my lap to read stories again and again–and again and again– just plain and simply make me happy. I love you both!

Natalie

• almost 3, but when asked, she most definitely responds “no, I’m 9!”
• birthday on March 30, but when asked, she most definitely responds, “no, my birthday is at 9:00!”
• “I’m going to have a purple birthday!”
• her own little world of pretend, into which she enters often, revolves around food–preparing, eating, cooking, picnicking–and babies (usually stuffed animals)–wrapping in blankets, bathing in the “tub” (on the couch), carrying, changing diapers on the “changing table” (couch), dressing and undressing, etc etc
• Also her world involves monsters a lot. Sometimes they’re nice monsters, sometimes they’re happy monsters, sometimes they’re scary monsters. This week they were brown monsters.
• she gets a cute quiet, high-pitched voice when she’s narrating what’s happening in her world
• loves loves loves singing (and can carry a tune pretty well)–ABCs, twinkle twinkle, wise/foolish man, once there was a snowman, etc. Also loves substituting silly words in songs
• developing more acrobatics–jumping on and around things, climbing on sides/back of couch, handstand with one foot in the air and one on the ground. So proud of herself when she does these things
• climbs into Hazel’s crib, play together, jump around
• still loves reading
• shouts “woo!” for having a good time. “I’m so exciting!”
• loves to be silly
• adding little adverbs like “definitely,” “usually,” actually,” “of course” which make her sound so comical because it’s so adultish
• one day at lunch I was making a rhythm tapping my foot. Natalie: “We’re not doing loud noises Mommy” Me: “oh?” Natalie: “Because the monsters are sleeping!”
• one day at dinner she’d been eating olives, popped the last one in her mouth. “Natalie where did the olive go?” Natalie: “The olive went to his family!”
• usually shy around new people (hiding face in my leg or shoulder, ), but can warm up if she knows names and if they interact enthusiastically with her
• hates to poop, no interest in the potty, so potty training still hasn’t begun. We’ve thought that by being open about pooping etc that she wouldn’t be embarrassed, but maybe she still is. We thought that by increasing understanding about poop, she would relent–we even got library books this week to explain about our bodies and digestion and where poop comes from, to no avail. She holds it in for days, then when she can’t hold off any longer it’s painful, which creates a bad memory so she doesn’t want to do it again so she holds it, and the cycle goes on…
• Natalie has a great sense of togetherness and family. Today she was pretend painting on the couch. “Look Daddy I’m painting my friends! Dora, Boots, Eeyore, and Pooh!” Jacob, smiling: “Yeah? Do you have any other friends?” Natalie: “Yeah, you, Hazel, and Mommy!”
• She loves her cousins…for example, just this week she wanted to make sure Aiden was coming with us to the zoo; requested to draw a picture of Savannah and Justus; and yesterday she pretended to talk on the phone with Julia and Ryan

Hazel

• 16 months
• very active, runs around, climbs on couch, big rocking chair, fireplace
• loves her purple blanket, playing peekaboo with it, burying her face in it
• has such a big silly impish grin and laugh when she does something she knows is silly or impish
• loves reading
• good at animal sounds “woof,” “oo oo ah ah,” “moo,” “ssss” (with a lisp), “boo” (moo), “baa,” “gack” ESPECIALLY growling. She loves to growl. Any animal she doesn’t know the sound for, she growls.
• does the awesomest Cookie Monster voice whenever she sees him or cookies or hears the word cookie.
• “Bahpbah” is baby and bubble
• knows to march, twirl, walk backwards. Yesterday had a ball working on going up and down porch stairs by herself over and over, holding the railing
• loves taking out the animals from the treasure chest, taking them with her around the house. So cute when she grunts and grimaces trying to drag the chest over to me to open it, such a monumental effort 🙂
• takes things out just to take them out, not to play with them (or put them away haha, wouldn’t that be a mother’s dream!)
• likes pushing around random things in the stroller, including the little animal figurines and waterguns
• so adventuresome, lives on the edge (ie walking to the edge of the yard) but usually responds to my warnings
• usually shy around new people (crying and clinging to mommy, wanting to be held), but sometimes she picks someone to randomly start handing possessions to, like at church or the library
• sensitive to the physical world – especially sound and touch. Loves music, loves experimenting making different sounds with any objects, playing piano, toy piano, blowing recorder, ocarina flute. Loves physical touch, back rubs. Loves the feel of bathwater–lying down in the bath is the only time she’ll lie completely still outside of sleeping. Loves lying down while I pour water over her.
• likes to drop remaining food off tray as a sign that she’s done. Sometimes does goofy things like plaster her plate to her face and look out at us through it or put her cup to her mouth and say “mamamama!”