Continuing the Journey

Don't Tell Carson...

...but I really need to brag on Molly a little bit.

Poor Carson, he has been in a constant state of panic that he might miss something since we stepped off that airplane with Molly nearly three weeks ago. If she gets a hug, he demands one. If she gets a "high pie" (aka high five), then he must have one as well. If Molly gets positive reinforcement for doing something well, Carson is in our faces insisting we tell him what a good boy HE is. Their snacks must be equal, their meals served simultaneously...it's exhausting!

When Carson joined our family 22 months ago, he got all the attention and Meggie (who had been an only child for 14 years) stepped aside gracefully and shared the spotlight. Silly me, I was hoping Carson might do the same for Molly. What WAS I thinking?! It's rough for us not to be irritated with Carson, but he is just a five-year-old who probably isn't super confident of his place in our family even yet. Poor guy...

The down side for Molly is that she is getting short-changed on bonding with us and getting her own Mommy and Daddy time. Everything has to be done with BOTH of them and we end up taking a bunch of pictures of them together, when sometimes I just want to get some pics of Molly by herself. Don't get me wrong, they ARE adorable together, especially...
...when they are stealing Mommy's nachos...
...and when they are watching a Disney movie and enjoying Daddy's famous chocolate-and-peanut-butter milkshakes. (And other times as well, but those were the pictures I had that I wanted to somehow fit in this post.)

But I need to figure out how to spend time with Molly alone without feeling like I'm short-changing Carson -- this guilt I feel every time I hug her or tell her what a good job she has done is killing me! (Those who have mastered this, feel free to leave me comments with your words of wisdom...)

We're hoping Carson being in Kindergarten now and getting to ride the big school bus home every day will help. That is something Molly can't do yet, so he feels pretty special. And another bonus is, since he's in school every day, I can steal Molly away from Preschool and have Molly-and-Mommy days without driving poor Carson to distraction. (In fact, we did JUST that yesterday. Molly was so excited to get Mommy ALL to herself! She's even starting to like me...)

With all of that background, the real reason for this post was to brag on my Baby Girl.

When we first came home with Carson, I used to sing his name to him: "Carrrr-sonnnn." He would then repeat "Carrr-sonnnn" -- and it became a little game that helped him learn his new English name. When we first came home with Molly, I figured I'd use the same game. "Molll-lllly." Her response? "Mahh-mahhh." I have to admit it shocked me! She didn't "parrot" what I had said, she just sang my name (or, technically, my title). Don't know what that means exactly in terms of her intelligence, but I found it interesting.

Sunday evening, the kids and I climbed in Mommy and Daddy's bed and I read them "The Cat in the Hat." (Yes, Meggie even joined us!) When we got to the page where the cat makes his entrance and there is a large "BUMP" written on the page, Molly pointed to the "M" in "BUMP" and said, "Molly." Meggie and I were shocked! Molly has been to Preschool exactly three days and she already recognizes the first letter of her name?!?!?! That's amazing!!

Monday morning, as I made breakfast (aka poured cold cereal and milk) for Carson and Molly, I laid an empty box of Frosted Flakes on the lid to the garbage can with plans to flatten it later and shove it in the already stuffed can. As I was putting the bowls on the kitchen table, I heard a ripping sound. I turned around to see Molly neatly and methodically flattening the ends of the cereal box, then folding the flattened box in half, then shoving it down into the side of the garbage can. Where did she learn how to do THAT?!

I guess we need to learn to appreciate each of our children for their own talents and NOT make ourselves crazy trying to keep everything in their world fair and equal...after all, that's not what real life is like anyway. Right?!

Meggie is our dependable and too-mature-for-her-own-good teenager. She is a talented dancer with amazing stage presence. She also has a great heart and a wonderful way with children...which will make her career choice of teaching a perfect fit for her.

Carson is our personable and enthusiastic charmer. He may not do things the way other kids do, but he is determined to figure out his own way. And his charming personality has already given him the reputation as the kid EVERYBODY knows and loves.

And Molly? Well, we're not sure yet. She's definitely a crazy-smart firecracker with a helpful spirit who loves to laugh. She's picking up English quickly (maybe even quicker than Carson did) and has already settled quite nicely into the routine of our family. I'm amazed by her resilience and totally addicted to her awesome laugh. (You can't NOT laugh when you hear it!) And, whether Carson likes it or not, she's going to have to get her turn being special in our family.

Nobody warned me that THIS part was going to be so hard...