On to the Next Chapter

I am most aware of the changes in my girls just after a disruption in our schedules. I imagine other parents experience the same surge of observation, or maybe realization that the kids are getting big, when they are away for a bit. Christmas break combined with my vacation offered up tons of fresh perspective.

I discovered that Maya really speaks like a little grown up, which makes me awfully proud, and that Elliot's bedtime habit of cuddling with board books until she hits herself in the head has actually gotten worse.

More exciting is my realization that Elliot has officially passed the "baby on hip" chapter! Now we're on to the "run around giggling" chapter. It's part Norman Rockwell, part Parenthood. A clattering cacophony of little footsteps and rattling toys.

I noticed it last night while making dinner. The girls just ran after one another, tumbling from a hide out under the dining room table to the fort beneath the kitchen table. Maya had attached bibs around both their necks, and they were pretending to dine in their fort (don't worry, I had just swept the floor, so stale cheerios were not part of their "dining").


I made an entire (albeit simple) meal without picking Elle up even once! Let's hope this means that my freakishly bulging left bicep will subside soon.


Even now, as I post this, the girls are running around in the play room, happy and occupied. I think 2009 will be a fantastic year to parent these sisters... even if the love is a bit too much for Elle sometimes :)