Toddlers and Teenagers

I have learned, while living with both a toddler and a teenager, that there really is not much difference in their behavior. There is an 11 year age difference between Delaney and Michaela and one would think that would mean a huge difference in the way they act. However, I would like to share with you the similarities that I see every day.

Being told "NO": Neither child likes to be told 'no.' Michaela will react with typical toddler fare by crying and screaming on the floor. In an attempt to calm her, I will explain something like "electrical outlets will bite." Doesn't do any good, but I try. Delaney will listen to an explanation, but usually clenches her fists or perses her lips in disagreement. She is learning that I REALLY don't like eye-rolling or sarcastic remarks. I usually ignore both behaviors unless it involves continuous screaming or a 'mouthy' response. I don't like being told "no" either, but hope my level of maturity is advanced enough that the reaction doesn't include eye- or floor rolling.

CLOTHING: They both like to make their own clothing choices. Michaela once wore a tutu to Delaney's choir performance because that is what she wanted to put on before we left the house and I could not really think of a reason to say no. You may have also seen her at Wal-Mart in her black patent-leather Sunday shoes, shorts and a sweatshirt. Two-year olds that dress this way are considered cute. Teens are another story. Delaney, like all girls her age, is able to make her own choices in attire, usually. I do my best to let her wear what she considers fashionable to school. However, there are times when I have sent her to change because I will not let her wear knee-high Converse to church or cut-off shorts when we dine out. It is also difficult for her to understand that although a dress is very pretty, it may not be something she can actually wear-unless she is going 'clubbing' and that AIN'T happenin'! She does respect my level of required modesty which I will admit is not always easy. Not because I have especially high standards but because the fashion industry wants to dress our daughters like strippers.

SLEEPING: Both the girls need a lot of sleep for their growing bodies. Unfortunately for me, Michaela still wakes during the night. Whereas, Delaney just wants to stay up until 2 a.m. then sleep until noon. Maybe I should just let Delaney stay up as long as she wants if she will put Michaela back to sleep when she wakes. HMMMM!

EATING: Delaney and Michaela take eating in spurts. Some days they will eat me out of house and home while others days I can't get them to eat anything. They both also LOVE junk food. Since Delaney claims that "Diet drinks are the root of all evil" because they do not contain 1000 grams of sugar, I don't buy many coke products. When junk food is in house, both girl zone in on it-especially ice cream! We all love it dearly, but I think my girls would eat it for every meal.

SILLINESS: They both have their delightful silly moments. Delaney gets giggly mostly when making fun of my behavior. On a recent mini roadtrip, I was talking when in the middle of the sentence I yelled, "CHICKEN!" because a chicken with a death wish was walking into the road. I know, you had to be there but it really was funny. Delaney still reminds me of this by yelling "CHICKEN" at random moments in our conversations. It always makes me smile. Michaela is a micmic. She likes to pretend that she is sleeping by snoring like her daddy. She breaks into giggles before she 'wakes up'.

I get great enjoyment from watching my children grow into their own. Although I have focused on the similarities in this writing, there are a many differences in Delaney and Michaela. They each have very distictive personalities and characteristics which I treasure. I love you Delaney and Michaela!

Baby Talk

Deciphering Michaela’s speech is a fun challenge. Her vocabulary exploded about seven months ago and we love hearing the new things she says every day. I can proudly say that her first word was “mama”. That has turned to “MOM-EEEEEEEEE” and sometimes when she screams it repeatedly, I wonder why we even teach our children to talk. When she was about 15 months old she asked about the cows in the pasture beside our house. With her palms turned up and a quizzical look on her face she plainly asked, “Where’d da cows go?” I also love the way she says daddy. It is in her sing-song little voice that calls “Da-adEEEEEEE”.

I have been told that she speaks very plainly for her age and most everything she says is understandable. However, there are a few words that seem to be from another language. Here are a few of her words; I hope I can spell them well enough for you understand what she is really saying.

Daaaa ku = Thank you
Da keem = Ice Cream
Bobble = bottle
Daki = paci
Bill = Elizabeth
Haney = Delaney
Tooper = Cooper
Bess oooo = Bless you
Beep-beep = belly button
Sunder noise = thunder noise
Bipper = Tipper (the dog)
Gol pish = gold fish
Doer-ige = (Curious) George

Michaela is apparently a mouthful and she will not even attempt to say her own name. Then again, she may think her name is Sweetie because her daddy rarely calls her Michaela. Her sisters’ names give her some trouble too, but there are a lot of syllables in Elizabeth and Delaney. I can see how she gets “Haney” for Delaney, but “Bill” for Elizabeth is just hysterical.

There are a few other things that she says that keep us in stitches. When she is dressed and ready to leave the house she raises her arms in the air and excitedly states, “I’M READY!" A lot like Sponge Bob - which she does not watch. She loves to swim and will get the swim diaper herself if there is any mention of swimming, the pool or water. She will tell you when it is time to "doe swimmin in da swim poo”. I also LOVE when she is watching Blue’s Clues and sings and dances to ‘We just got a letter’. She misses the ‘we just’ and chimes in every time for ‘dot a letter’.

I treasure these times because her names for things will fade to precious memories and she will be grown-up before we know it.