Blossoms

The term 'friend' is relatively subjective to each different person, but in general I'd say a friend is someone who you care about, want to spend time with and who you share common interests with. Some friends move in and out of your life, some are so solid they will be there forever. Family is different. Family is solid and will be there forever, but not all family are friends. I am proud to say that my family are my best friends. There is rarely a day that passes without talking to my mom or my sister, my brother is just about the best bro I could have asked for and my dad is wonderful and always there for me. My brother, sister and I have a great relationship that exists all on its own - separate from the family we grew up in, we are friends AND we are family. Yesterday I saw a glimpse of this in Sophie and Noah as I was cooking dinner.


Sophie went outside to share her fruit leather with Noah and they sat together on the bench, feet dangling, talking to each other, looking around the yard....just hanging out. Sophie must have said something a little funny cuz Noah did a little giggle. And then Noah did something that made Sophie giggle. I had wanted Sophie to put her shoes on before going out, she ignored me and went to hang out with her bro. I did not want to interrupt this beautiful, blossoming friendship. I just carried on cooking, glimpsing up every so often. It was sooooo cool. I couldn't be more proud. My children love each other and they have a growing friendship that exists outside of their parents. It was like I could see the future when they will call each other on the phone and have stuff to say that has nothing to do with me or Matthew.

Family.....there is something so special about family. Something familiar, warm and safe. We live far away from most of our family, but every time we get together there is a bond that is so wonderful and close. I love how much Noah and Sophie love their family. They are always talking about them, making things for them and wanting to talk to them on the phone. Noah is always asking about 'Nina','Aaayee' 'Neeek''nana' and 'poppa' (which means grandpa, grandma AND poppa). We are lucky enough to have one family member that lives here in Missoula - Shannon. And Sophie and Noah are completely in love with her! They seem to understand that she is family and hold an extra special place in their hearts for her! Another blossoming friendship.


And speaking of blossoming.....Look what I found in my garden this afternoon! Green! Bring on the spring.

Officially Weened, Unofficially Two

With Sophie it came easily, at 11 months old she made the decision that she did not want to nurse anymore. I never felt rejected, just relieved that it was not a big deal, she was ready, I was ready - it all just worked out. With Noah we played an entirely different ball game. We started out beautifully, and then hit one of the biggest challenges I have had as a mother when he developed Reflux at 6 weeks old. We persevered and finally got past the worst of it. As much as I wanted to be one of those mothers who can nurse just about anywhere at any time, Noah was not one of those babies that wanted the same, and thus began the ritual that would take us nearly to his 2nd birthday. My mom told me of the days when she nursed little Nick and Allie and how she would look forward to those middle of the night feedings so that she could have some one-on-one time with them. The same was true for me. I loved nursing Noah, those quiet, peaceful moments with your precious child. I never thought we would have done it this long with all the hurdles we encountered, but I feel like we both needed it for one reason or another and we gave it up little by little as we were ready, and in the end no-body was traumatized too much. We have replaced nursing with the next phase of READING! Suddenly Noah, who has never shown much interest in books can't get enough of it, and we find it just as bonding. I can say that I am very proud to have stayed with it for as long as I did, and I wouldn't change a thing.



As far as being 'unofficially 2' well it speaks for itself. Little Mr. Mello, go-with-the-flow Noah now has a thing or two to say about things. He now insists "DEW-T" when putting on clothes, shoes or getting to the dinner table. His independence is starting to show itself in all his little activities. Sophie can be a great help for him too, she gets excited at each new word he can say and is always trying to teach him words, games and anything else she can. He has a big appreciation for Daddy and his "eouk" or 'work'. He is always trying to fix something that is "boke" and needs "tools". It feels so incredibly important at this stage to show him his boundaries so he can blossom within them. Maybe it is easier to see that with boys since he experiments with so many things that are just plainly not acceptable like throwing things and food, spitting, hitting etc... with Sophie it just seemed/seems more subtle and it doesn't help that she is little miss negotiator on just about everything! Anyway, at the moment they are learning to love each other.