birdie

I write a whole lot about our Jackboy. He's always bursting into new seasons of life and I follow him, sometimes willingly and sometimes dragging my feet. Each stage is a new learning curve for the whole family. We've never had a 5-almost-6-year old. We're newbies every single day. (bless those first borns. bless you.) We try all our new parenting tactics out on his precious heart and sometimes it's a win and sometimes it's an unfortunate (and apologetic) fail on our parts. With Zoey, we adapt, but it's not the first time. When it's a hard day I say to John, "don't you remember when Jack went through this?" or "she's responding so different than Jack." And we laugh and reminisce and say a thankful prayer that we're not newbies with our dear second born.

Thus, the reason why I started writing in the first place (other than to document and reflect on this journey called motherhood) was to help balance the feelings of what-on-EARTH-is-happening with the these-moments-pass-so-quickly. 

And yet, I want our little Birdie girl to look back and see her milestones reflected on as well.

like the moments when she smiles at me and says, "I brave, Mommy."
or when she sees a new dress I got her and claps her hand over her mouth. "oh, my goodness! it's beautiful!!" she squeals in the highest pitch voice you ever did hear.

I also love hearing her little vocabulary grow and develop. We still have a few milestones to reach on that and we will keep working hard, but every day I hear a new word I didn't hear before and thanks to her and her brother's imaginative play, their dialogue has gone from a few words to puppy playmates. (they're currently pretending they are adventure puppies in the next room.) He's so good for her and she for him. They tend to each other's little friendship soul and encourage one to be a bit more rough and the other to be a little more gentle.



Zoey is fiercely loyal to her big brother and can often be found defending him on the playground, "don't you say that to my BRUVER! you a monster!" And a smack may or may not follow.

Or recently, when we tried out a new babysitter (it did not go well.) and she informed us when we got home that she is concerned about our little girl because she tried to choke this babysitter. In defending her brother who was getting in trouble. I'm not saying it was right, but I am saying that to be scared of this petite 3 year old is funny all in itself.

She's spunky and sassy and sweet and sensitive. She's nurturing and cuddly and loves to sing and dance.

I think the hardest thing to watch during this move was the way she's grown to dislike babies. She's not as forward as Jackboy is and tends to keep to herself for a little bit. Her feelings have been hurt so many times in meeting new friends and one can only be called a "baby" so many times. She toughs it out and keeps going back into the ring, but I see her reject little babies who she used to welcome with open arms. Maybe its part of her age and development, but she doesn't want to be a baby and doesn't want to play with babies. Maybe it's just a phase.

They may or may not have come up with a game at Chick Fi Lay called Team Rocket. Which they decided meant to push babies.

I can't make this stuff up.

I love watching her grow and become more of a little girl every day as the toddler phase slowly leaves us. Though I am glad I can still carry her when she's sleeping or cuddle her when she's sad.

The other day she watched Dumbo for the first time. When Baby Mine came on she yelled my name over and over. "Mom! it's your song!" I don't sing it to her every night, but when she was a little baby I used to sing it to her all the time. I rushed in so we could watch it together. (and then proceeded to have a good cry for that moment and other goodbyes to birth mom's that breaks my heart.) She hasn't asked to watch that movie again and I don't blame her. Why is it so sad?


songs that remind me of you, little Bird.