My girls

It feels like I write a lot about one girl or the other lately, but not about both--about how they are relating to one another. And the truth is, they get on so well. Their eyes just shine when they play together and there is always a lot of laughter. It makes my heart melt. Truly. I always knew I wanted to have two children, but you never really know how that will play out. So it's such a delight on top of having two beautiful, healthy daughters that they seem to like each other. There's a gentleness and a protectiveness from Elisa that shows me she understands her role as the big sister. And Carolina gazes adoringly at her which makes for a terrific audience. They wouldn't be sisters if there wasn't also a little tugging of toys and whimpers of play-with-me-please at times. But all in all, I think they have really developed a rapport with one another that is such a joy to watch.

So it was kind of an Ah-Ha moment (pardon me the Oprah reference) this week when I realized that a little bit of extra alone time with Elisa was making a big difference in her mood. Carolina has been fighting a cold the past few days and took some great naps yesterday for me. She's also slept a bit later a few times which meant a few mornings for just Elisa and me. And the more I sat with Elisa on the couch and snuggled or played in her room with her, the better she was behaving. I was getting spontaneous hugs and kisses and lots of conversation (both real and pretend) while we dressed dolls and talked about her imaginary friend Kelly. I was more engaged and she loved it. We both loved it to be honest, and this is where I smack myself in the head and say "DUH!" Of course some of Elisa's craziness lately has been related to the shifting dynamics of our family. Carolina is becoming more social and more active and while that's great for all of us and certainly more fun, it also means I'm playing with her and not necessarily Elisa. And though there's not a lot of outright jealousy, the three year old is still finding ways to subvert the agenda. Cue the tantrums, the defiance, the screaming...it's been a wacky month or two on some of those fronts and I've been getting so tired of it all. We're also on the verge of giving up the nap or at least not doing it every day, so Elisa's stamina has been an issue at times. Can she go all day without a rest? Can I?

And the truth is that it's not always easy to make time for both girls, but I do my best each day. I'm also a person who likes a fair amount of my own time alone to recharge, so it's easy to see how we all have competing interests which can lead to some majorly long days when nothing goes right. But often the days work out and I have two napping girls while I cook or blog or just relax and they wake up refreshed and ready to play some more. And when we all three play together, it really is the best. I can see how much they enjoy their time together and how much it means to have me leading the gang.