RSS Feed (xml)
Today was one of those days where i fell in love with my kids all over again. Lately i have been working alot more hours in order to pay for Spencer's speech therapy. He is in back to back speech right now and unfortunately this has a tendency to break the bank. As a result, i think both my babies are feeling my absence. With that in mind, i planned a special day to just hang out and enjoy each other. Nothing fancy, just grocery shopping, baking, board games and a movie on the couch with all their favourite snacks.
Lately they haven't been getting along so well, so i figured this was one of those days where i could create some sibling magic. Thankfully, i achieved my goal. We had a fantastic day, filled with play, talking and cooperation. These days, we all seem to need to work on appreciating each other a little more. Kennedy has a tendency to be easily embarrassed by Spencer and some of the things he does in public. Sometimes, he has bouts of crying and saying things over and over when he doesn't understand why we can't do something he has set his sights on. She has been humiliated in the past on the playground at her school, when her brother has tantrumed because he can't run off and do as he pleases, or when he has refuses to walk and will lay down on the concrete.. When these episodes occur, i really do feel for her. She is at such a sensitive age, one where she is conscious of any attention that may be unnecessarily drawn to her. Luckily, many of those tantrum taking days are over for Spencer, so Kennedy can now breath a little easier.
Grocery shopping today, my kids were hilarious. Spencer was doing a dance in the produce section and said to someone going by "Look at my dancin moves". Being social is becoming less and less of a problem for my Spence! Kennedy was so good about this and actually thought it was funny. We all laughed, and she was able to embrace it as simply her brother being silly. For the remainder of the shopping excursion, she was able to encourage her brother without being bossy. Spencer made it through the whole store without having to be put in the cart. Until just recently, Spencer could never make it through shopping without wandering off or touching things.. This is a huge victory as he is able to now follow the "hold the cart" rule from beginning to end. This is something very small to most parents, but took me months to teach my boy.
When we got home, we baked cookies, and played some games together. They wrestled which did not end up in blood shed or cracked skulls. They laughed and laughed and laughed. Next to Spencer learning to talk, this is the absolute best sound on the face of the earth. My two children laughing....together. So to further celebrate, we made "breakfast for dinner", which they always get a kick out of. My girl was actually conversing with her brother at the dinner table. She was REALLY trying to talk to him on his level rather than getting annoyed because he couldn't reciprocate language on her terms. She seemed interested in what he was saying, even though neither of us knew what that was. :) This makes me so proud. I call it the "throwin me a freakin bone" moments. These happy, fun filled pieces of time between my kids, they sustain me and get me through the battles to come.
(Oooops, sorry had to leave for a second to break up a disagreement. Damn.....i guess they threw that bone and then decided to take it away!!) :) Anyway, i am just going to pretend i am still in the land of kids who adore each other. At least until i am finished this blog and have celebrated the moments of my life with my coffee.
Anyyyywayyy, I am so proud of my girl for trying today. All i want, is for them to find some common ground. A place where she can appreciate her zany brother who has the heart of gold. A place where he can see how much she has to teach him and what a wonderful protector he has in her. God, i love them. They are such good company sometimes. Sometimes, they make me want to run screaming down the street while tearing my hair out. Either way though, I am so very fortunate. Days like this remind me just how great I have it.
