Monica - Just Two Years Old

Monica is without a doubt our most snuggly child yet. She loves to just sit with us, especially with her dad, and even sometimes with her brothers. But snuggling for her is incomplete without her cozy purple blanky (made by my Aunt Kay). Her “blanky” is more of a security blanket for her than her brother’s special blankets ever were – we bring it everywhere, church, shopping, weddings, to friends houses – anywhere in fact where she might be expected to get either sleepy or nervous or injured! In fact, she loves it so much and keeps such a close eye on it that it’s very difficult to wash it! It giveth and taketh away – on the one hand she can be comforted more easily and is much more secure when babysat than her brothers ever were. On the other hand, it seems like we spend 15 minutes every day looking for that blanky!!

But don’t get the idea from that that she is the shy retiring type! She loves to talk - to anybody!  She talks much more than the boys did at this age (especially Judah, who didn’t really start talking until he was 27 months old). She speaks in complete sentences frequently, and can use pronouns almost correctly. She can say most of The Lord’s Prayer and sings several songs, most notably Jesus Loves Me and a liturgy song at church that goes “Hosannah, hosannah, hosannah in the highest… blessed is he, blessed is he.. blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord….” She’s adding Baby Beluga to her repertoir now as well. When she doesn’t have anything original to say, she’ll just parrot what everybody around her is saying – like a little magpie!

In her newest role as big sister, she’s very involved! Not as involved as she would like to be (“don’t pick up the baby” “don’t wake up the baby” “Don’t get in the baby’s crib” “that’s enough kissing, now..”), but quick to do whatever she may. She automatically wipes him off if he spits up, rocks him in his carseat, talks to him when he’s laying on the table looking around, holds him whenever allowed and throws away his diapers! Although we can tell this big change in her life has unsettled her (the beginning of the week was especially traumatic, as evidenced by her constant whininess and tendency toward loud complaining and crying), she doesn’t seem to blame the baby, thankfully, and is already getting into the groove of her new place in life.

Both Monica and Phinehas are taking naps now and the boys are running errands with their dad, so I’d better scoot along and get a rest, too, or my opportunity will be lost! Time for a Siesta!