Feeling Reflective

I feel like the kids have been changing a lot lately. Their personalities have been growing and changing as much as their bodies. Maybe it hasn't happened more than usual, maybe it's just that I have actually had the opportunity in the past two weeks to observe and notice how grown up they are becoming. Dan and I had a few minutes at Holiday World when we actually sat down and let the kids play in a water area without us. We looked at each other in disbelief. We'd always known that the day would come when we didn't have to be right with the kids all.the.time. We knew that one day they would be independent little individuals who could make decisions for themselves and do things on their own. I just don't think we realized how quickly it would get here. Not that they don't need us anymore or that we allow them to be 100% independent, but two years ago at Holiday World, we were hovering over their every move and carrying them around. They didn't go a step without us being right there. Now they can play, check in, and get us if they need us. We don't have to hover, and they don't want us to. **TEARS**
Gabriel is becoming SO independent! This was really evident last week when I was sick. He wants to get his own drinks and his own snacks. He wants to help with things around the house, especially things Daddy does. He is using more "slang" that I would expect to hear him using with friends, but he is frequently testing new phrases on Dan and me. He asks very thoughtful questions, and he wants to know how things work. He is very observant of his environment, and he is reading environmental print like crazy. He is showing a great deal of sensitivity toward others lately. He worries about other people and their feelings. For example, last week he wanted to stay home with me when I was sick so he could "take care of me." Also, today at the movies, he was concerned about Nora when he didn't see her. Gabriel is a pleaser. He wants to make other people happy all the time. Sometimes I worry that he won't be true to himself for trying to please others. Other times I am very grateful that my amazing boy is so easy-going and willing to please. His interests are changing too. He is really into superheros right now. He enjoys his cars still, but he prefers Green Lantern, X-Men, and Ben 10. I love his curiosity, his intelligence, his sensitivity, and his kindness. Gabriel is just growing up so fast that these changes don't seem possible. He has always had all of these qualities, but he just seems to be so mature lately.
Grace is still our little free spirit. She outgoing, outspoken, and never meets a stranger. Her emotions are like a roller coaster lately. It can be exhausting, but it's also nice because a bad mood never lasts long. She can be screaming angry one moment and giggling cuteness the next. Whew! Grace is also very helpful lately. Tonight she helped me sweep and mop the kitchen floor. She mimics everything I do. Monday evening she wanted me to put her hair up in a towel after her shower, and Tuesday in the grocery store she was wearing her purse across her body like I do. She is very dramatic and expressive. Some of her expressions absolutely crack us up. She, too, is trying out new words all the time. Sometimes she uses slang expressions that she hears kids at daycare use. Other times she uses very mature, adult words that she hears in conversations at home. When she uses big words, she sounds very mature and very smart. However, Grace enjoys being the baby of our family. When she is with me, she frequently talks baby talk and acts much more helpless than she is. She's like a little Jekyll and Hyde. Grace loves books and greeted me the last two mornings with a book in hand ready to read. As we read she makes good observations about the pictures. Grace is also still as sweet and cuddly as ever, when she wants to be. That's how life is with Grace . . . she will be how she will be when she wants to be. She isn't out to please anyone; she will always be herself. I love that about her! More importantly, I admire that about her!