This Week in Mommyhood

I think it looks cute when I see kids dressed the same but I don't like it for my girls. One of the first things I said when I found out I was pregnant with another girl was "I'm never going to dress them alike." As with most things in motherhood, you have no control, especially when you have a toddler who (1) you want to grow up feeling like her opinions matter and (2) is known to have killer tantrums. So when Cati picked out polka-dot outfits for her and Elina to wear, I ground my teeth, kept my mouth shut, and let it happen. Cati was so excited about their matching outfits and spent the whole day comparing the shades of the polka-dots on their dresses. Motherhood really is about letting go of what you want so that your child can find her own voice.

Here are Elina's fun developments from the past week:

Crawling. Elina is crawling! This week Elina figured out how to move forward. She hasn't figured out how to move her hands just yet, but she will move her legs forward and then drag the rest of her body. This has been a fun development and everyone is cheering Elina on, especially Cati.

Peek-A-Boo Baby. Playing peek-a-boo with Elina has been more of me covering my face and reappearing. This week, however, playing reached a new level because now Elina can pull things off her face. I love seeing her little hands work to remove things covering her face and the smile that comes across her face when she does so.

Feeding Update. The only new food Elina tried this week was cauliflower. She seemed to like it, but she preferred it when I gave her some with a sweet and chewable piece of banana. Elina is definitely interested in food now and she gets fussy when we sit down to eat because she wants to eat too.

Here are Cati's fun developments from the past week:

Steps. Cati is starting to walk up stairs one leg at a time (versus planting both feet on a step before moving on to the next one). Little things like this make her seem so big.

Pronouns. It's fascinating to me how Cati is learning how to use pronouns. She understands when to use them and will use them properly in every instance except when it comes to I. I wonder why and if I-usage is the last one to be mastered.

Cati starts school tomorrow and I am nervous and excited. Nervous about how she will handle the transition and excited about having some one-on-one time with Elina. Hopefully Elina thinks I'm fun without her goofy sister around!