'This One and That One'

Life with two baby girls is busy, but full of excitement.  People ask if we’ve started to mix their names up as yet, but so far we usually refer to Mariah & Kassiah by nicknames or as ‘this one and that one’ (where Kassiah is the default ‘this one’ and Mariah is ‘that one’…unless one of us is holding Mariah in which case she becomes ‘this one’ and Ivan and I both end up confused!).  I suppose it’s a bit early to tell, but at this point we’re predicting that they’ll have opposite personalities, kind of like Ivan and I:

This One (a.k.a. Kassiah)…

How can I say this politely?  Well I can’t – Kassiah is a bit of a crybaby.  She seems to be a stressball like her mama; usually looking nervous and tense.  Her favorite hobbies include whining and complaining, but she has such a cute squeaky little voice that it’s hard not to give in to her constant requests for cuddles or snacks.  In fact, she’s snacked so much that she’s grown from a tiny 6 pound 7 ounce newborn into a chubby little 10 pound ball, who carries most of her weight in her cheeks.  As evidenced by the bags under my eyes, Kassiah prefers to nurse for a few minutes every couple of hours rather than doing good efficient feeds that would help her sleep for longer stretches.  Whereas Mariah was a calm baby who occasionally screamed her head off, Kassiah prefers to spread her emotions more evenly by spending much of her time releasing a mild ‘whaah’.  She’s definitely not colicky, but she’s a fussy little diva who loves lots of attention and affection. 

Of course we love this little girl to pieces, but to be honest, it’s been a slower forming bond than it was with our ‘first born’.  With Mariah, we had endless hours to gaze into her eyes, reflect on how our lives changed, and just enjoy each new sign of her development.  We still have moments like those with Kassiah, but since we’re trying hard to continue giving Mariah lots of attention, it’s hard to always stay present with the little one.  In a way though, it helps us appreciate our time with her even more, since we try to squeeze in as many hugs and kisses as we can when we’re with her.

‘That One’ (a.k.a. Mariah)

Where do I begin?  Mariah continues to grow into an active, clever, and naughty little monkey!  Now, since us parents love to find excuses for our children’s behavior, I will give you the objective and subjective versions:

1)   Mariah is the latest type of vegetarian – the type who just so happens to not eat vegetables.  Translation: Mariah has once again become a picky eater who would much rather pull out any shreds of protein or nutrition I sneak into her lunch, and just eat a bowl of plain rice or pasta.  Luckily for us though, she has become addicted to popsicles so Ivan tricks her with healthy ones filled with beets, carrots, yogurt and whatever other vitamins he can stuff them with. 

2)    Mariah is a leader, not a follower.  Translation: She’s somewhere between a bossy-boots and a bully.  Whenever she visits with her friend, Cam, who’s just 3 months younger, she steals his toys and aggressively herds him around as if she were twice his age.  And if you think she’d be any better with adults – guess again.  Mariah has taken to back-talking her father and I in angry baby jabber.  At first was cute and hilarious, but since we don’t want her to become a brat…we have to try hard to hide our smiles and remind her that we’re the parents.

3)    Mariah responds really well to positive reinforcement.  Translation: She’s a bit of an attention seeker.  Whenever she says a new word or does something impressive – she insists on repeating it in front of each adult in the room until everyone has acknowledged her.
4)  Mariah is a free spirit who dances to the beat of her own drum.  Translation: She's wild.  

In all honesty though, Mariah is truly blossoming into a gorgeous, charismatic little girl who always manages to bring smiles to everyone around her.  Her vocabulary expands each day and is probably somewhere around 50 words right now.  She calls herself ‘Rya’ and the nickname suits her just fine since it’s a bit less dainty and a bit more tomboy-ish.  Rya has fallen even more in love with the outdoors this summer since we’ve had great weather.  We go out in the backyard several times a day for Mariah to release some energy running around barefoot, playing with bugs, or picking peas from the garden.  In fact, we had our first cold rainy day in a while yesterday and she started going a bit nutty and stir crazy until luckily the sun came out.  When she is inside, Rya still likes to keep herself busy with tasks like pouring dry pasta in and out of cups, or hiding in closets to play with hairclips.  We’ve actually decided to start making her some Montessori types of activities since Rya really seems to enjoy hands-on learning and play.  When she tires herself out and needs some downtime, Rya’s new favorite pass-time is watching ‘The Lorax’ over and over.  It’s the first movie we’ve had to deal with in this way, and lucky for Ivan and I, The Lorax is full of catchy songs that are permanently etched in our minds day and night! 

Since each of my babies grows so much everyday, I’m sure I’ll be back here complaining and bragging again soon : )