What’s New: Feelings and Circles

It has been another busy, busy week, but life continues to be good. A few weeks into life with the daddy back at work, we’re settling more and more into a comfortable rhythm for our days. Cooler weather is finally here and I feel energized by the breezes and the crisp morning air. I do think this is my favorite time of year!

Andrew’s mom and her husband (a.k.a. Grampy) have been here for a visit, and it has been a treat to watch Annabelle interact with them. It’s always a pleasure to see others delight in her personality as much as I do, and grandparents are great at that. Of course the excitement has turned sleep a bit wacky again, so I haven’t had the time to stop in here and write as I’d like to, but I have some exciting things planned for the weeks to come.

Elliot continues to love his sleep, and doesn’t open his eyes for more than a few minutes on a typical morning. Come afternoon, he’ll grace us with his alert presence at some point and when that happens, he draws everyone to him with his smiling, magnetic presence. He melts hearts, that little boy. When he’s awake, Annabelle gets as close to him as she possibly can, to the point that I have to remind her not to squash him with her hugs and kisses. They’re going to have so much fun together.

Aside from being a doting big sister and the apple of her grandparents’ eyes, Annabelle has been very into art lately. She’s constantly drawing, be it with chalk, pen, crayons, markers, or something else. I was tidying up the living room a few days back while she drew on her blackboard with chalk and after a few minutes she called me in, shouting, “Look, mom! Come here, mom! I made a big, big, long circle.”

She’s becoming very aware of opposites, too. When there was a storm recently and the daddy and I were discussing the possibility of our power being out at home, Annabelle was happy to return home and see that, “the power is not out, the power is in!” When I explained that I was not going to buy an apparently very attractive looking box of cookies at the store because the cookies didn’t really have any vitamins or minerals for our bodies, Annabelle reiterated that, “Those cookies don’t have vitamins – they have notamins!”

She has also had some very specific ideas about how she wants things to go, but she doesn’t always tell us until it’s too late. That has been a challenge, but I suppose it’s one that is very appropriate for a two and a half year old. I am frequently scolded for doing things she didn’t want me to do, like closing a door, patting Elliot’s back, or putting something away. I try to hear and acknowledge how she’s feeling, but also to remind her that I am in charge of what I do. It’s definitely one of those things I’m not sure I’m handling exactly right, but I do what I can.

One thing that has really impressed me has been her growing ability to let me know what’s she’s needing before she does something she knows isn’t appropriate. A few times she has hit her brother, which was naturally very upsetting for me and is something I’m sure I’ll write about in more detail later. She never seems to want to hurt him (and she doesn’t), but just to be overwhelmed and looking for a way to get my attention. We have talked about how this is not okay, and about how she can ask for what she needs, etc. A few times now, she has actually told me, “You feel like hitting Elliot,” and I have been able to offer an acceptable alternative (“Hm. That would probably hurt him, and there’s no hitting people in our house. Would you like to hit something soft, like a pillow, or the couch, or do you just need a hug?”). While she played and I sorted through huge piles of clothing earlier this week, she said, “You want to climb all over mommy’s clothes.” Climbing and subsequently toppling and unfolding my neatly sorted piles of clothing would have been a very developmentally appropriate thing for Annabelle, but very frustrating for me, so I was appreciative of the opportunity to direct her to a pile of not yet sorted clothes for climbing on. It’s a beautiful thing when everyone can have their needs met!

How have you all been enjoying the fall weather? Any joys or challenges to share from your week? Are you having your needs met? I’d love to hear from you in the comments, or have you link your own post below!

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The rest of the week’s mamatography…