Kaitlyn in her Raiders cheer outfit...such a Daddy's girl.
Suckers. A new type of treat for that special moment.
This morning's hello.
How does this happen. One day a child has no concept of possession and overnight 'Mine' is the new word along with hoarding motions. Yes, this is how it unfolded at the Patterson household. Kaitlyn has recently started declaring that things are hers by pulling the item away from you and pretty much shouting, 'MINE!'. The other recent behavior that I must admit is quite cute is the concept of 'Bye'. Kaitlyn will go into the bathroom to brush her teeth and when nearing the sink she stops in her tracks, looks at me, puts her hand up with a Miss America wave and states, 'Bye'. Almost like 'get the heck out of the bathroom mom, I'm brushing my teeth'. This isn't isolated to the bathroom, it happens multiple times in the day and at any given moment. She is fiercely independent and whenever she feels the need to be alone to play, eat, brush her teeth, poop, watch a show....'Bye' comes out of her mouth with that darling wave and a mischievous grin. Oh there is never a dull moment around here.
Dylan has tapered his blowouts down to a minimum and seems to take a fondness to the bathing. I can't keep his nails short enough so often his forehead gets pricked and the poor guy looks like he had an altercation with a cactus. His grin continues to ignite an internal joy and yes, having a second child brings you to a new capacity to love. No matter how inconceivable, with a second child your heart does expand. I had those all too common feelings of doubt, 'how could I ever love another child as much as I love my daughter?' It's an incredible mystery, but I'm living proof that you can love two children. Each child pulls a unique love out of you-love you never fathomed existed.
A few other highlights to note:
Dylan doesn't take his eyes off your food when eating. He's already got a huge appetite, makes me concerned for future grocery bills.
Kaitlyn has developed a love for reading and often storytime is no longer me reading to her but her reading to me.
Kaitlyn's cell phone bill could be shocking if we don't get the right plan. This girl is found regularly talking on her hand phone (hand up to the ear as if a phone) to all her city and country friends. She pauses as if listening to what they are saying back to her, she makes hand gestures and even says things like, 'Yeah', 'Oh', 'Hello'...My little ham!
Dylan sings to us in the morning. Every morning.
His torso is extremely long, his feet and hands are huge and his overall build is rock solid. He doesn't enjoy anyone other than me as of late. Even Grandma and Nana have found his outbursts of tears quite unconsolable. Mommy to the rescue-and you can imagine how that makes Kaitlyn feel...
Jealous. Kaitlyn is often jealous and it comes out in her behavior. Whether a repetitive high pitched scream or a shouted 'NO', she lets you know that she is not cool with what's going down. Did I mention repetitive?
I've been losing hair, so much that I recently read an article saying if I was to count my hair loss daily for seven days, then take the average, if it was over 100 lost strands I could have a problem. Well, I will tell you what, I must have a problem. First there is no way I could count the strands. I find them inside Dylan's mouth, coming out of Kaitlyn's hair, on burp cloths and bed sheets, in the children's bath and everywhere in between. I'm waiting for the moment when I'll find them in something I've baked for Steve's ER. I'm sure that will be a fun discovery!
Until next post-realizing it may be for some time...be well.
