Growing Up Overnight

How I love this face, the little freckles, the wild hair and the sunkissed cheeks.

A few weeks ago, I woke up and my baby girls had changed overnight.  Seriously. It was like I went to bed with a baby and a little girl and woke up and they had moved onto a new phase. They are growing up so fast and changing so fast I can hardly believe it most of the time.  Red Fish has made this sudden leap in maturity. I'm sure some of it is due to the leaps she has made in communication or maybe just turning three and a half. She is listening to me more, throwing fewer tantrums and she works so hard to teach her little sister things.  She is a big help around the house and keeps an eye on her sister to make sure she doesn't want for anything.  The two of them have become such great little friends. Red Fish is very tender-hearted and concerned about her family members and friends.  She still loves to snuggle and always gives me a good cuddle. 

Red Fish is really loving going to Primary in church.  She loves sharing time and singing time.  She still loves playing her Rusty and Rosy computer program and it seems to be teaching her a lot.  She learns things like a little sponge.  She is constantly saying things to me that I didn't know she knew anything about or using big words I didn't know she knew.  She LOVES to sing right now and I will hear her singing little songs or reciting nursery rhymes to herself all day long.  She is working on her "v", "sp", "sm" and sp" sounds right now as well as still using the tongue depressor to make her "g" and c" sounds.  She refers to them as her "coughing cat" and "goofy goat" sounds (toffing tat and doofy dote).  She works very hard at them and loves to be complimented on how hard she is working.  She loves going to school and I think she is going to be disappointed when the school year ends soon. 

 

I usually don't post these pics but this one shows her personality so much I had to.  She was shaking her finger at her Dad telling him she won't eat and then saw me with the camera and paused for a "cheese" before going back to her sassy pants ways.

New Fish is officially no longer a baby.  She is all little girl now and we are thinking of changing her name to Sassy.  My favorite things she says right now are: "Thank you" and "OK."  She just says them in the sweetest little way.  She is full of mischief and laughter.  She finally after almost a month of no bottles, stopped asking for them but she refuses to drink anything other than water.  She eats like a bird.  She still hates being restrained in any way and HATES her carseat.  I'm afraid she will never hit the 30 lb. mark and have her seat turned around. New Fish is talking more all the time and saying new things to me every day.  She is starting to combine a lot of words.  She loves to make decisions and have some power so I try really hard to give her choices between two things that will make me happy but it takes a lot of practice for me to think that way.  It still seems very strange to me to hear someone so little talk so much.  Now that she is a little older and can keep up with Red Fish, she plays with her all day long.  She wears dress-up clothes every day and carries her baby doll with her everywhere. 

New Fish just recently decided to let me rock her again at night, mostly in an effort to delay bedtime.  She will lay down and assume the baby position and tell me which songs to sing to her.  I love it because I was afraid I was giving up all snuggle time when we weened her from bottles.  New Fish likes a lot of songs but always demands Row Row Row Your Boat, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Patty Cake be sung first while she sings along. 

What was life even like before these two darlings came into our lives?  I can't even remember!  Life feels hectic and crazy most of the time.  Some days I feel like there isn't enough oxygen in the room to fuel the chaos that has become my life but I wouldn't have it any other way.  These girls came with a surplus of personality just hardwired into them and it cracks me up to see them developing.  It's a hard job trying to guide two strong-willed little girls and focus their exuberance on the important things but then I think about how fast time is passing and I just want to hold them all day and tell them to stop growing up so fast.