The other day these siblings really got into it. There was hitting and some naughty words yelled. Summer's line was, "You're not nice, Forrest!" and Forrest yelled his signature angry line, "You're wude, Summer!" It was all over a silly lego toy. We only have one and they both wanted it. To them, their worlds were ending. I pried them apart (literally) and put them both in time out. After they mellowed out a bit we had "the talk". You know, the follow up talk after you get in trouble. I remember this dreaded talk growing up. I knew it well. I talked to them about how lucky they were to have each other. That they were being mean to their best friend... The friend they would have forever. We talked about taking turns and then it happened, I pulled the most dreaded mom-maneuver EVER. Their eyes were wandering while I was giving my speech and I said, "Look at me!" Oh, how I disliked that when I was getting in trouble! Wow. Who am I? I may have given birth two times but when that line came out of my hands, I officially became a mom. I am still laughing about it. I must admit however, it did seem to work. They hugged and I even got them laughing. As I was getting breakfast ready the next morning, I saw Summer sign to Forrest, "I love being your sister and you are my best friend" and Forrest repeated back to her in his mumbled 2 years old speech, "I luv being yur brother". I melted.
With no intention of taking any photos, David and I were sitting on the front porch watching these two wild kids fly past us down the driveway... over and over and over again. Each time they passed us they had to make sure that we were really watching them. "Mommy, Daddy, look at me" they kept saying. I know that this period of time where their mommy and daddy are the center of their universe is not going to last long. I was sitting there just laughing at how funny they were, thinking how cute they looked, how "real" the moment was. It was Forrest's first attempt at riding his new big boy bike. The moment Forrest got on the bike, fresh from being assembled, he took off. I love the pictures of him looking at David with the expression of "Daddy, look at me!" written all over his face when he was supposed to be looking in front of him. He feels so grown up riding his bike next to his big sister. I thought about how much I am going to miss this someday. I wanted to just scoop them up and smother them in hugs and kisses. I had to capture it. Not so much how they looked but how I felt as I was looking at them.
I came down with a cough last weekend, thinking that it would shake off in a few days. Summer made me a get well card and she requested that I put it on my night table. Came tuesday, I was not getting better and was put on antibiotics the next day for bronchitis. Summer placed a half of an acorn she had found while playing outside with a flower inside next to the get well card. The other day she put a pink heart sticker in the acorn and said, "I love you very much Mommy and I hope you feel better real soon so we can play together." There is nothing else in the world that made me want to get better in an instant after seeing her signing that. I absolutely love every little things about Summer. I love how compassionate of a girl she is becoming. She is my heart girl.
On the days F
Most nights David and I play a shuffling "game" with the kids. With the exception of Tuesday and Thursday nights, our nanny takes care of the kids while we are teaching. I am usually cleaning up dinner and Summer finishing off her last few bites of dinner while David takes Forrest to the tub. Just about the time I finish the dinner dishes, Forrest is done with his bath and David passes him off to me all wet and wrapped like a piggy in his towel. I could just kiss his little cheeks off! It is then Summer's turn in the tub. I get Forrest into his jammies while David finishes with Summer. David and I would make a great relay team... It is like clockwork now. Tonight after Forrest was ready to be put in bed, I walked into the kids' bathroom and saw what is pictured above. How cute is that? But the cutest thing about it is that it is a normal occurrence. David brushes out Summer's tangles and makes sure its all smooth. The majority of my day is spent talking with her. She is quite the conversationalist and follows me around the house just chatting away. When I look at these pictures and see her in her ballerina jammies I am reminded how young she really is. I don't want to forget this time with her. Before I can blink she will be grown and I will want to turn the clock back and see her in the bathroom wearing her ballerina jammies dress while Daddy combs her hair.
january. i love this month. it is like a clean slate. i need clean order and have a hard time with clutter. we put all of the holiday decor away, went through drawers, cupboards and even tackled the kids' toy baskets. i always have the kids help me. summer is great at sorting and organizing but forrest on the other hand... not so helpful. that little boy is a ball of energy and just wants to please. it felt like one step forward and two steps back but i guess that is how he will learn. we ended the day with a drop off at goodwill and a trip to the florist. summer and forrest each picked their own batch of flowers. i love how flowers make me so happy. putting fresh flowers in a simple pitcher reminds me of the old farm days - simplicity. here is to a clean, fresh start of the year!
