We're only, like, 8 days into summer and I can't get over what a growth there is with Leila compared to last summer. I'm not just talking about height, either. This little girl of ours has become unbelievably independent. This isn't good for my nerves, but I'm trying to embrace who she needs to be so that I don't stomp all over that with who I 'need' her to be.
I find myself perched in corners around the concession stand area so that she's in my sight, but has her freedoms to roam to the various fun things that are nearby. However, don't be mistaken--the girl knows she's being watched even if her hand isn't being held. And, the good news is, although she still isn't the model listener, she is doing a fantastic job roaming within the limits that she has been given. I haven't lost her over the hill or, worse, into the lake yet. (That's my daily fear as a mom, by the way, and I have nightmares about it, so I definitely have a hard time letting her roam.... but my husband doesn't, so I'm trying to meet everyone in the middle. Then again, fact be known we don't 'hang' at the stand on the busy-busy days just for the safety reasons.)
My new trick discovered with her is that if I speak to her like she's a teenager, she actually goes a better job at talking to me about her 'problems' instead of throwing those horrendous 2-year old fits of hers. She's a little lady who wants to have a vent and be comforted and supported about her feelings just like a grown up lady-- so it's extremely cute when I find myself saying to her (as she's screaming hysterically), "You seems to be mad, can you tell me if something is wrong?" She will give me a ramblesome version of some 2-year old crisis "Gage is not being nice to me because he won't play with me and I want to be Rapunzel but he won't be Flynn...." Seriously... it's hysterical, and this is a big hurdle for Leila. She's trusting us to help her fix her problems and she's willing to work with us on compromises.
As a mom who is always thinking about her kids, I find serious comforts in being able to discover how to help my children grow and develop in way that is going to work for them and also be an appropriate method for our family. It's constant work--and I think, like I've said before, by being a teacher (and even down here at the lake with so many un-supervised little ones, that all this work now can be the night and day difference in the future. I actually like that my little Leila is going to be a talker about her feelings-- I won't be in a house of testosterone after all. The other discovery is that taking her little blankie away when she is not cooperating has the biggest punch for putting Leila back on track of realizing her parents are in charge. :)
Last week we were so off any routine and everyone was sleep deprived (no matter when my kids go to bed, they are up with the first daylight... future farmers, I'm telling you!) and grumpy. This week, we're going to rein it in a bit and try to develop a working routine for summer that allows for flexibility, of course, but that also keeps rest time/nap time and dinner time in the right perspective for having cooperative bed time. :) I love having summers with my kids!
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