Family Life

Every day we notice changes in Wren. She is getting much better at holding up her head now and soon may be able to use the Bumbo chair. She has also gotten quite good at using her hands. The other day I sat and watched her for ten minutes as she lay on her activity mat working away at grasping a hanging rattle and a stuffed dog toy. She was deep in concentration, sticking her little tongue out now and then, furrowing her brow as if to say "you're not going to outsmart me, little bugger" each time the toys swung out of her reach. It still amazes me that she is engrossed in playtime on her activity mat. Ena was very different - never happy unless someone was engaging with her. I don't know what this says about Wren's personality, but for Ena I think it was clear right from the start that she is a people person and wants to be with, talk to, and see people at all times. That is what makes her truly happy.

Wren has now gotten very good at grabbing those swinging toys, by the way. She's even managed to work them into her mouth for a good sampling. Next up - rolling over! She's almost got it. Today she was kicking about and giving her arms a good go too, trying to get up enough momentum to roll herself onto her tummy. A couple of weeks ago (on the 20th of October) she did manage to roll herself over from back to tummy but that was with the aid of an incline and doesn't really count. I was changing her diaper in the back of a van while traveling on the ferry to Gibsons. I turned around to get something out of the diaper bag and when I turned back she was on her front. It won't be long now though, until she gets it all figured out and can roll herself over without cheating.

Ena is still in love with Wren. She regularly tells baby "I love you so much" and she always wants to be holding her hand or touching her cheek (Ena has a real thing for cheeks). We're both hoping that she stays interested in and loving towards Wren as they grow older.

Ena remains a lovable and remarkable child but we have been having a lot of challenging moments lately. Those terrible twos! She wants what she wants when she wants it and we are often in a struggle over the clash between our rules and her desires. Lately she's been doing a lot of hitting and biting - particularly towards E - and we are having a hard time dealing with it. It hurts to be bit or hit and it also feels emotionally crappy to receive that kind of attention from your child. We are trying to use timeouts to curb this behaviour but we haven't had a lot of success yet. Halloween has also brought on the candy wars - previous to this week she's had baked sweets and some chocolate but no candy before - and we've been subjected to a few tantrums with her screaming "I want candy!"

Still, I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have the two of them. Sometimes I feel that I haven't done much right in my life, but making a family with E was absolutely, unquestionably, and in every way, right.

-M