personalities

It's been a long time since I wrote a post just about the girls' personalities and what they are up to these days. In fact, I tried to find my most recent post about that and I couldn't even find anything. I've really been a blog slacker in 2011! Maybe 2012 will be a new beginning for me. I won't get my hopes up though.

Over the past year I have really struggled with feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. I think all moms have it hard in different ways. The thing that I personally struggle with is that I work full-time, and I wish that I had more quality time with my kids. However, when I DO have time with them, they wear me out so fast and then I end up feeling guilty that I am not cherishing every moment like everyone tells me I'm supposed to. (I have a new thought on this. I think adults with older children tell you to cherish every moment because they didn't do it. Because it's HARD. When you're right in the middle of raising young kids, it's really hard to cherish every moment, and reflecting back on it, it's easy for them to share with you how quickly it all went by.) In addition, Eric was gone a lot going to paramedic school, etc., so I always felt like I was either working or being a single mom.

That being said, I have to say that ever since we moved to San Diego, life seems to have gotten a bit easier for some reason. I don't really think it had anything to do with our move, but more with the age that the girls are at now. They are a bit more independent and I have been able to enjoy my time with them more so than ever. This is such a relief because I really do want to cherish my time with them!

They really love the preschool that they go to and seem to be thriving there. They sometimes play together at school, but they each have their own friends there too. Isabelle is more of a "leader of the pack" on the playground and can be found running around with a gaggle of kids. Sophie tends to spend her time with a little girl, Eva, who she has taken on a mothering role with. Eva started going to the school after the girls had already been attending for several months and were settled in. Eva would cry every morning for the first couple of weeks, and Sophie would come home and tell me about it. I talked to the girls about being nice to her and reminded them how scared they felt when they first started going to the school. After about another week, Sophie started coming home and saying that she was holding Eva's hand at school and playing with her. They have a really sweet relationship. As soon as Eva gets to school, she rushes over to Sophie and Sophie guides her around the classroom and "takes care" of her. I like to see this soft side of Sophie (because she can be a bit rough at home sometimes!) and Eva's mom likes it too! She purposely times Eva's drop-offs when she knows my girls are already at the school. :)

The girls are both going to gymnastics once per week. They go to the local YMCA and have a 45-minute class where they do a variety of activities and I am pleased as punch to report that they actually participate! I never imagined a day when they would be willing and HAPPY to participate in these kinds of things! When Eric and I took them to the mommy-and-me gymnastics classes when they were 2, Eric and I would be doing all the gymnastic exercises and the girls would just cling to us. They really look forward to their classes now.

They are both difficult to dress every day, but for different reasons. Isabelle wants to wear a "dress that twirls" every day of her life, no matter how cold it is outside. We don't have that many dresses that twirl, so this turns into a fiasco many mornings. Sophie is particular about her clothes because she only wants to wear things that are comfy, and preferably not a dress. They both hate jeans. Neither of them like me to do anything with their hair, which is kind of a disappointment, but a timesaver too! :)

The girls have their moments at home when they don't get along, but overall they play together extremely well. Their favorite thing in the world is to play "pretend". They play mom/kid, grandma/kid, teacher/kid, gymnastics coach/kid and other adult/kid scenarios. :) Isabelle prefers to be the bossy one, but they do mix it up.

They both LOVE to color, draw and write words. They can't write too many words on their own without me telling them how to spell them, so they are often following me around and asking me to spell things like "I love Santa". :)

I used to despise bedtime, but I'm starting to enjoy that now too. We've read Stuart Little, James and the Giant Peach, Mercy Watson to the Rescue, and now we're reading Emmaline and the Bunny together. I love to see the girls get excited about books and say, "One more chapter PLEASE!" That pleases me to no end! Sophie always asks me lay with her for a "couple whiles", so I have to do the same for Isabelle too. Lately they want to play a rhyming game too at bedtime, where we go back and forth saying words that rhyme with each other. They are in the very beginning stages of learning to read, and I want to spend more time with that too!

I'm enjoying watching these sweet kids of mine exploring their world and learning new things every day.