Life with a two and a half year old- it's never boring and often trying. I have to say that I've felt kind of bad for Lily lately. Quinn's arrival and the challenge of meeting all his needs and Lily's at the same time has left me with less patience for her - and it makes me sad. But really, when you have a crying baby who just wants some food on one hand and a 2-year old throwing a fit because your hair is in a pony tail on the other... well it's MUCH easier to be annoyed at the 2 year-old.
I'm sure that even without Q sapping my resources I'd find Lily challenging at times. It's a bummer because it's not always her fault. She's so full of life right now, so curious, so engaged, so busy growing and learning and relishing every day. She's in that magic time when there's still very little guile or willing deception in her character, yet she's articulate and so very plugged into the world. You end up with this perfect little girl who just sort of wears her heart on her sleeve - who dives into every day and every experience with gusto. Sometimes though with so much gusto that it leaves you breathless and doing your best to just hang on.
Today was of course, no exception. I've had this master post in my head for months now - about life with two kids under the age of three - but haven't found the time to write it (ay, there's the rub). So I've kept myself from just mentioning the daily going ons - saving it all for "that post". Well I'm crying Uncle. Maybe I'll still write something like that one day... but I might never get to it (like our Hawaii trip in 2007 that is undocumented here!) Anyway, today I was alone with Lily and Quinn all day - and we had a pretty good day. But by the end of it I was more than ready for Gordon to come and relieve me.
Some days it's just the relentless questions: why this? where's that? what happened here? who's on the phone? and on and on. Naptime seemed like it was going to go off without a hitch - and then the minute I sat down to feed Q she got up, announced that she had to pee and was finished sleeping, and then sat in the bathroom doorway slowly shedding her clothes. When I was able to I put Quinn down and went to help her. However, between saying good night and feeding Q I had the audacity to put my hair up in a pony tail. When she saw me she threw a complete nutty - running around screaming "take your hair down!". We eventually resolved the issues and naptime did in fact happen, but... wow kid.
She was so excited when Gordon came home - so excited that she nearly drove him bonkers as he got dinner ready. She wanted to help him, but couldn't stop herself from getting into everything as he tried to cook. She wanted cheese, now - she wanted to go outside to see Murphy - she wanted Daddy to play with her instead of cooking - she wanted water in the cup with the green lid, not the purple one. Finally we sat down to dinner. She's eating, she's up off the bench, she wants to go visit Mommy, she's back eating again, she's down to visit Quinton, and on and on. Gordon and I try to have a conversation - about the new Beatles Rock Band - and we keep hearing "excuse me, excuse me - I have to say something about Grammy" or "excuse me, excuse me - what are you guys talking about?" It's both annoying and endearing at the same time, because we know she just wants to be a part of our conversation, to be included.
Three quarters of the way through my dinner Quinn decided he had waited long enough for his. So I escaped to the bedroom with him - both sad to have to stop eating with my family, and a little relieved to be with only the child with needs that are pretty easily met. While I was feeding him Lily came into the bedroom, holding a saturn peach (our favorite kind) carefully in a glass bowl.
Lily: "Mommy, do you want a peach?"
Me (knowing that this was one of the only two left): "yes Lily thank you!"
Lily: "OK Mommy I'll put it on the bed for you"
Me: "can you take it back to the table and take care of it for me?"
Lily: "OK Mommy, sure!"
Me: "thanks Lily"
Lily: "I don't want the bees to get it Mommy. I will watch it so the bees don't get it"
And then she walks away, proudly holding the peach. The peach that she saved for me and is now going to keep safe for me. And my heart swells - because she always thinks of me in this way. Even on days when I am less than patient, when she can drive me crazy with one more question, one more disobedient act - she is always full of love.
(of course when I finally got to eat the peach, hours later, there were two bites taken from it - just too much temptation!)
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