You take the good, You take the bad . . . (you know the rest)

The Good: This morning R.H. came over with her six-month-old baby, B. She put a blanket down on the living room floor for B to sit on, and Turtle and Monkey joined B on the blanket. I asked Monkey, “Do you think we have any toys B would like to play with?” She replied, “EIEIoo.” “Ok,” I said, “Go get EIEIO and bring it here.”

Monkey went to the playroom, got the farm animal “See ‘n Say,” and brought it to B. She pulled the lever to show B how it worked and smiled when B got excited. Then Turtle ran to the playroom and came back lugging the Little People Animal Sounds Farm. They showed each farm animal to B, told her the names of the animals and the sounds they made, and generally played with her in a way I’d never seen before. When our toddler friends come over for playdates, there is a lot of “no! no! mine! mine!,” shoving, and other behavior that would best be described under “The Bad.” But they tickled B, nuzzled B, and gracefully shared with B. It was lovely.

The Bad: Monkey is going through something. It’s been going on for a few weeks now and I can only pray we are currently at the apex because this week has been a doozy. She is clingy. And I mean throw her arms around my neck, bury her face in my shoulder, and hold on tightly like she’s afraid of being abandoned clingy. Everywhere we go. And at home. If I have the audacity to put her down, say to try to make dinner or go to the bathroom, she has a hysterical screaming fit. She has spent a few minutes each of the last few days in her crib, just crying it out. She pushes and bites at Turtle on the rare occasion Turtle asks to be held. We went to a party at church on Sunday afternoon and she went into overdrive, which meant I sat as far away as I could from everyone else with Monkey glued to my chest. I’m pretty sure it was the clown that did her in there. I’ve asked her about the clown a couple of times since then and she just starts to yell, and I’ve heard her muttering “no clown, no clown” to herself a couple of times since then.

I’m fairly certain Monkey is beginning to get her second year molars, because this was the pattern she followed when she got her first set of molars – difficulty sleeping, which then resulted in crankiness and whininess. For two months. I dreaded the two year molars, and for good reason. I’ve taken to medicating her with Tylenol on a regular basis. And guess what? I can’t even feel the slightest hint of a tooth. So we have a way to go. I’m not too worried about Turtle, though. When her first set of molars came in, she was basically really cranky one afternoon and evening, then woke up the next morning with molars. It was shocking after the two months of agony that Monkey (and we) had gone through, and one of my many lessons in how very different my two girls are.

The Good: I have just enjoyed the peace and quiet of a 3 hour nap by my lovely ladies, which is sure to mean a happy evening for everyone.

Have a great week!