Watching our little girls grow and learn is such an incredible joy! Katya's sentences are being coming more and more grown up and she is using the funniest phrases! She is starting to learn the concept of past and future but has trouble with the time lines. She will often say, "I went there last week" (when it was really the day before) or, "We saw that yesterday," (when it was really a month ago). She is quite emphatic in her statements lately; "I would LOVE to go on that slide!" Though it's not always positive, "I don't want to go home EVER AGAIN!" "No Reagan! We are NOT going there!" Today while in a time out, "I do NOT like mommy!" Yeah, that one hurt. Even coming from a three year old.
Providentially, the good times make it worth it. Like the girls laughing and playing together. The unprompted 'please' and 'thank you's (mostly Reagan); the kisses and cuddles (again, mostly Reagan.....hum, a pattern maybe? I call it the terrible toddler years); the, "I love you so much too" (okay, that one is Katya:0)). Katya has been painting a ton lately and she loves showing me what she has made. Reagan, wanting to copy everything big sister does, holds her paper up too. I love seeing their creativity. Katya loves running from the TV to the ottoman at full speed and falling onto it, sending her legs flying into the air. Reagan leans onto the ottoman and lifts one leg behind her with a big smile (knowing we will gush at her, "Oh how cute! She's trying to be like her big sister!). The other day Reagan took it a step farther by starting at the TV and walking, oh so slowly, in her little toddle to the ottoman. It was pretty funny.
Katya is thrilled at new found independence, like pouring her own milk. But at times regresses, like insisting she needs help going to the bathroom, which she doesn't. Her naps have been really terrible since we got back from Lake Tahoe. I thought it would take a few weeks to get back to normal but she is still not napping more than napping. She goes down every day for 2 hours but she rarely sleeps. It seems to be really taking a toll, especially this week when she was sick (she did take a few naps this week). I could spend a whole post on her sleep issues but I won't do it here, but it is part of the 'Ugly,' so mentioned in the title. Because damn if kids don't get ugly when they are not well rested!
Reagan is saying all sorts of cute new 'sentences' like; "I sorry" (not sure where she picked that up, she usually has nothing to be sorry about); "Here go;" "Ni-night me," "Help please." The other day I swore she said, "Daddy working." Though Reagan can be pretty sensitive, she is over all an easy going kid. We are enjoying this time in her life immensely knowing that the toddler battles are soon to come. She doesn't throw tantrums yet and for that I am SUPER thankful.
Katya, on the other hand, is getting way to good at the bad attitude and tantrums. She had a few screaming crying fits in public lately, those that every parents dreads but inevitably goes through. One at the grocery store and one leaving Melanie and Rich's this afternoon. A time out at the Tillman's spilled over into another time out when she got home and after refusing to apologize she got another time out in her room. She earned 'straight to bed' with all that behavior. She started to kick and scream again and feeling that I had exhausted all other punishments (she still has not finished her time out because she has not said sorry and given hugs and kisses, that will pick up tomorrow morning) I told her she earned a spanking. I gave her a little swat on the butt and tucked her into bed. Sigh. That is were the uncertainty, guilt and exhaustion comes in. Here I am at midnight still wondering if I handled it the right way and feeling bad about it. We are not anti-spanking in this house but we feel that it should be very, very judicially used. I feel like it was appropriate, not out of anger, but I still feel doubt and sadness over the incident.
We all managed to get Katya's horrible cold this week. Craig came home sick from work on Friday. It was a really bad one, with some unexpected symptoms; light-headedness, tender tummy (me), low grade fever (Katya). But Katya, Reagan and Craig are on the mend and I am sure I will be soon to follow (I contracted the illness last). The exhaustion from being up with sick kids all night and then getting sick ourselves really took it's toll. All part of the bad. I am looking forward to some more of the good tomorrow. I know I can count on my girls to deliver!
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