Raising Little Ladies

Our family is growing up. Our baby days are long gone. Our youngest is officially out of diapers, even during the night. It hardly seems possible that my baby is wearing the clothes big sister wore when our baby came home from the hospital. Seriously, how is time going so fast?

As a stay at home mom, there are days when the hours drag on!  Up before sunrise, filling the days with activities and learning, exploring and disciplining. Some days we play, dance and truly get silly and the house fills with deep belly laughs, the kind you can still feel in the air hours after the girls have gone to sleep for the night. Other days I feel like I merely clean up messes, repeat requests and separate the girls from one another. But the fact of the matter remains, the days are going by fast and these sweet little girls are growing up.

I blinked and these beautiful little girls are walking, talking and independent. They ask questions that actually make me think, rather than repeating the same basic answers over and over. This morning, Elliana (5.5 years old) was asking questions about the directional rotation of the sun and Earth and how it related to the sun in other parts of the country. Then hand gestures started as she was trying to explain the slight angle of the Earth and how the sun shines on just a part of it at a time. I hated to stop her, but I was driving on the highway and continually turning around to see her presentation didn't seem wise.

We are two months into our first glimpse of public school, which has been a big change for all of us. The freedom of Mommy picking activities is no longer shortened by returning home for nap-time, but instead we are rushing home for afternoon Kindergarten. Elliana recently took a test at school depicting she has a 2.4 grade equivalent (equal to a child in second grade, four months in). We always knew she was smart but wasn't really ready for that news. She truly has a love for learning and I've been supplementing additional homework from what is assigned. I genuinely pray for this excitement and passion for learning all the days of her life. What a gift from God to be so eager to know more!

Maya has a passion for playing and moving. Even our traditional pizza movie night is typically interrupted by cartwheels or somersaults. She is fearless and confident. This past weekend, it was time for the annual flu vaccination. Maya marched right into the office, rolled up her sleeve and said, "Me ready. I so brave." The nurse looked at us, questioning if this little two year old was really ready for this....we nodded our head in agreement. The needle went in, and Maya said, "your turn, Elli. It no hurt." Not a tear was shed, no ounce of fear. The rest of the day, Maya walked around confidently saying, "me so brave. I not even cry!" Just a small glimpse of this confident, amazing little girl!

Sometimes I sit back and just stare at these precious little faces. There is such beauty. Hope. Laughter. Love. I am honored to be a Mom, but beyond blessed to have these two little girls to call my daughters.