Angel/Devil

I'm not really sure what happened. As you'll all remember quite well, Samina was my Angel baby. In the very beginning, we did crazy things like eat meals in peace and forget she was in the room. And sleep, and Dream, of doing things in a composed and calm fashion, as a quiet family of 4.

As she got older, it was obvious she had a real personality in there, but she was still so sweet and, most of the time, calm as could be. She would bat her Angel eyes and coo and all would be right with the world.

Then. One day. A couple weeks ago. SOMETHING HAPPENED. My Angel baby is still the smiliest, cooingest baby in babyland...but now, only when she gets her way. The other part of the time, she is...well...very loud.

And now, I can't bat my eyes without her getting into something. Can't leave her out of my line of vision without her climbing onto a table or putting something in her mouth -- and then calling us over, in all her proud glory, so that we can scold her (or not...still not sure what the best tactic is to get her to stop).

Samina and that twinkle in her eye love nothing more than stealing whatever her sister's playing with which, as you can imagine, goes over really well with Sofia. Ohhh, and the diaper changing/dressing/putting her in the car seat/making her sit at the dinner table. Those wars are fun for the whole family! The screaming! The headaches! The flashbacks to her big sister at this age!

Me: "I thought one of the two was *bound* to be easy!"
Andrea: "Maybe the first one was, but we didn't realize it until now."

Gulp. I think he may be right....

Breathe.

A friend of mine posted this on facebook this morning, and it hit a serious chord in my heart, so I felt the need to translate it. It's so obvious, but so hard to forget during the day-to-day...

 

 

 

RESPIRA... Sarai madre per tutta la vita.

Insegnagli le cose importanti, le cose VERE: a saltare le pozzanghere, a osservare le bestioline, a dare baci di farfalla e abbracci fortissimi. Non dimenticare mai quegli abbracci e non negarglieli MAI: può essere che tra qualche anno gli abbracci che ti mancheranno saranno proprio quelli che non gli hai dato
Digli quanto GLI VUOI BENE ogni volta che lo pensi. Lasciagli immaginare, e immagina con lui. Non lasciarlo piangere, piangi con lui. Le pareti si possono ridipingere, gli oggetti si rompono e si sostituiscono continuamente: le urla della mamma FANNO MALE PER SEMPRE.

Puoi lavare i piatti più tardi, mentre tu pulisci...lui cresce. Lui non ha bisogno di troppi giocattoli. Lavora di meno e ama di più, e soprattutto, RESPIRA.

Sarai madre per tutta la vita....Lui sarà bambino solo una volta.

 

BREATHE...You are going to be a mother your whole life.

Teach them the important things, the REAL things: jumping in puddles, observing animals, giving butterfly kisses and teddy bear hugs. Never forget those hugs and NEVER withhold them:
it may be that, in a few years, the hugs you'll miss will be those very ones you didn't give. 

 

Tell them HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THEM every time you think it. Let them dream, and dream with them. Don't let them cry, cry with them. The walls can be repainted, objects break and are continuously replaceable: Mommy's yelling CAN HURT FOREVER.

 

You can wash the dishes later...while you're cleaning, they're growing. They don't need a lot of toys. Work less and love more and, above all, BREATHE.

 

You are going to be a mother your whole life...They're going to be babies just once.