Tissy & Airy

Cousins....
Airy (Erin) and Tissy (Kinsey) are only 6 months apart in age. Which, in the first year, seemed like a monstrous difference. Now, they seem to be more the same age, with the one difference being that Erin has a huge vocabulary, while Kinsey has an eeny weeny one. Well that, and the huge difference in the size of their toes. But Erin has always seemed to have a soft spot for Kinsey. They have started to play together, rather than the "side by side" playing that usually happens at this age. Airy is also teaching her younger cousin some of her monkey tricks. Like yesterday when Airy was over I decided to bring up Aliya's old doll stroller. And what does Airy do?? Climbs in it as though it was an actual stroller. And what is Tissy now doing all the time? Yep, climbing in the stroller. She's learning all about being a monkey from the best teacher of monkeyness.
Yesterday, before Airy and her mum came over, Steve, Kinsey and I were at the park. And we were meeting Airy and Robyn at our house. There was a chance Airy would get there first, so Robyn said they would just go play in the back yard until we got there. Well, they did get there first, but Airy refused to go into the back yard. Instead she kept knocking forlornly on the door saying "Tissy.....Tissy....Tissy." Luckily Tissy was less than a block away. I hope as they get older they will continue to enjoy each other's company. And we will have lots of funny stories, pictures, and videos of the two of them together. Monkey Marie and Monkey May.

Compare and Contrast

Anyone out there with more than one child knows that no two children are exactly the same, even twins. And I am sure many people spend at least a small portion of their time making comparisons. Well, being the perfectly normal parent that I am, I have done that. However, when one child is way above normal in pretty much everything, those comparisons can be a little skewed. Take Kinsey and Aliya. When Aliya was the age that Kinsey is now (almost 16 months) she:
1) had a repertoire of more than 100 words
2) could speak in complete sentences
3) could feed herself with a spoon
4) had 10 teeth
5) had 3 haircuts (1 full, 2 bang trimmings)
and 6) had stopped nursing.

Aliya at approximately 16 months

Kinsey, on the other hand :
1) has a repertoire of less than 10 words
2) isn't sure yet what a sentence is
3) can feed herself with the wrong end of a spoon, but still prefers to be fed
4) has 6 teeth
5) has almost enough hair to cover her scalp
and 6) is showing no signs that she will ever stop nursing.

Kinsey at approximately 16 months

Now I know that Kinsey is perfectly normal, and that Aliya was not, it is still hard not to think that Kinsey is a little, how would I say........slow. Which I know is very, very, very wrong to think. And I just hope that I stop comparing them pretty soon, or Kinsey will always feel that she doesn't live up to the legacy of her sister. However, there are some things about Kinsey that are so much different than Aliya, and in a good way. Kinsey is a champion sleeper. She goes to sleep easily, and naps usually between 2-3 hours a day. Aliya was down to 1 nap and would not go to sleep easily. There was much singing and cuddling that needed to happen. Kinsey is also very content, both in who she is and what she can do, but also in her general temperament. Aliya was always itching to be older, bigger, and better at everything. She still is. While that isn't a bad thing, it meant she was often cranky in the here and now. Kinsey just takes everything in stride. By this age, Aliya had more ear infections than I can count, and had surgery to put tubes in her ears. Kinsey? Never had an ear infection or been anywhere near an operating room. Thank goodness.

So what is the moral of my little tale here? Ummm, there isn't one. Except I love both my girls and think they are both wonderful. And they are 2 completely different people. And they are both mine.

Milk-i-roni - the REAL San Francisco Treat

Kinsey, my dear, sweet, lovable little girl, continues to amaze me with her ironic sense of irony (can a sense of irony BE ironic??). This little girl's favourite foods in the world are: cheese, cream cheese sandwiches, yogurt, and milk. And guess what??? All four of these delectable foods (including the goat variety) make her: vomit, pull continuously at her ear, drip incessantly from her nose, have diarrhea, and scream at night in pain. Yup, you guessed it, she has a milk allergy. So now I can't eat cereal in the morning when she is around, because she wants to have some too. She won't eat much of anything because it isn't cheese or yogurt. Nobody can eat cheese around her, because she will cry because we aren't giving her any. And right after I went and bought her a jumbo pack of cheese strings. And we must have every variety of soy/goat/lactose-free milk/cheese/yogurt in our fridge. And she despises the soy the most. Which, ironically, is the only thing she can have of the bunch. So I ask you.....what other kind of irony is life going to throw at me???

I Can Dress Myself, Thanks

I didn't have the heart to tell her that she didn't have her arms in the sleeves!