Our Little Clones

This morning, Ella came rushing into my room as I was getting ready and said "Mom, where is the camera? You won't even believe what Greta is doing. She is so cute!" I came into our front room to see that Greta had climbed up on our couch & Ella had decorated her with pumpkins. A very cute moment (Ella took the top photo).

Nick thinks I have been too honest about Ella's behavior. Ella is a very good girl, usually well behaved & loving. But, over the past month, we have been struggling & I felt completely overwhelmed. And I acknowledge that the majority of the problem is with Nick & me. I was explaining to my friend, when Hogan was a puppy, we hired a trainer to help with our unruly dog. Long story short, Hogan was fine, Nick & I were reacting the wrong way. Parenting seems very similar. It's a constant adjustment of your reaction to your child's behavior and learning what the outbursts really are. We were just surprised that the new behavior seemed to come out of nowhere. Talking to other parents, it has been reassuring to hear that Ella's behavior is very common (and temporary). And, we have had some very good days. Tonight, she told me that she was going to live in Indiana with Nina when she is a grown-up & asked me to live with her.

At Ella's request, I stopped by the school on the way home & let everyone play. I am so glad I ignored the stressful thoughts of everything I had left to do this evening. The kids had so much fun playing "tag," running, screaming & going down the slide. For dinner, I gave the twins some leftover lasagna. Charlie loved it, just like his Dad. Greta didn't like it, but was "being like a ham" (as Ella would say) when she saw me taking pictures of Charlie. Tonight marked the first time that Greta asked me to read her a book. As soon as I started, she lost interest, but I had all three in my lap in the glider while I tried to read the Runaway Bunny.