Happy Muh-vers Day!

Got these from my good Boston friends. So nice!! They have sent some every year since my very first Mother's Day.

My girl was SO darn excited about Mother's Day today. She kept talking about it and saying things like 'it's so exciting! I just LOVE muh-vers day!'

She wanted to make a card for our nanny and insisted on brown play-do so she could make her cookies too. She used light brown for the cookie and dark brown for the sprinkles of choc chips. I just opened the playdo and she did all the rest. It was so sweet. Then as we were getting ready for bed she decided that we should have gotten her a present too so she used a Halloween pumpkin and put bob the build-er figurine in it. Oh and we had to hide the card right next to our cat's food dish.

What I love seeing is that she seems just as excited to make other people things as she does to get presents herself.

Nanny had brought with her two cards the kids made--my son's handprint in one and a pic of my girl in the other. She was blowing a dandelion in the pic and the inside of the card was her fingerprints making a dandelion. So cute! Also a painting the kids had made.

It was a nice day today--other than being tired from an interrupted night of sleep. I woke up off the couch around 1am, my son awake at 415, my girl yelling out at 5:30am--she's started calling me so I can put her blanket back on her!, at least they both went back to sleep.

I don't want to say it too fast but I think my girl is turning a developmental corner again and I am seeing less tantrums and fussy behavior. What I am also seeing is the ability to have longer, regular conversations. Our time is at night after my son is in bed at 7. We have a lengthy routine that involves show, reading on my bed, she goes potty, we stretch on my floor, we 'talk', then she brushes teeth, I lay my head on side of her bed and we 'talk' more, then maybe cinder.ella story then sleep around 8.

I'm finding she is quite sensitive and worries about things. For example her frisbee went over the backyard fence and she really melted down about it but I said we'd get it the next day. First thing next morning she says can we get the frisbee. She even said 'I'm so worried about my frisbee'.  This may be normal or maybe she's on the anxious side. There are times though where her little heart seems so upset. Tonight she looked at me with real tears and the tone of her voice was so sad and she says 'I'm really going to miss you at school'. Now she says this about every day but I know when it's different--when she is really sad and her eyes get watery, her voice gets shaky. I just want to scoop her up and keep her little heart from hurting--ever!

She is able to express much better what she is thinking versus acting out. Yesterday she was grouchy a lot and at one point she was back talking a lot. Time out wasn't helping. When she finally calmed down she comes to me--serious as can be--and says 'mom, I think we need to talk about this'. (She's into calling me mom these days). I let her explain that she doesn't like when I get upset at her and I needed to apologize. Then I had to help her understand that she's not always going to like what I say but she has to listen better with no backtalking.

At the end of our conversation she asked if we could hug. How great was that!!!

Our days aren't perfect by any stretch but it just feels like things are easier these days--not so emotionally exhausting.

That is of course when there's not sickness in the house and sure enough, we are still fighting another virus that got both of them. My son in the form of fever and croup and my girl with fever and cough/respiratory.

Sigh.

At least there's comic relief--the other day my girl was building with blocks and they all fell down...she yells out 'I just can't take it anymore!'

Ha.

This morning--My girl's morning scowl and my boy's delight at all things with push buttons and lights. What's memorable about this snap is my son can climb in the chair now himself so this was the first time I saw my girl crawl up in the chair to sit next to her brother--all on her own. Awww. Happy Mother's Day to me.