growing up two

Molly is also growing up. She has always been very, um, hands on with Hanaa, mostly out of love, but I am always telling her to back up, not to squeeze so tight, that Hanaa screaming means she doesn't want a kiss right now, etc.

 The girls were playing some sort of rough and tumble puppy dog princess game this morning, and Hanaa bonked her head. She started wailing and ran over for some cuddles from me. Molly came over too and attempted to give Hanaa a hug. Hanaa was having none of that and pushed Molly away. Instead of getting upset and trying to give Hanaa that hug using any means necessary, Molly make a big show out of falling over from Hanaa's little push. Of course, Hanaa started giggling and pushed Molly again. There were more dramatics and more giggles. Soon Hanaa had forgotten about being hurt all together thanks to her big sister.

growing up

So, my little guy seems to be growing up and maturing. I was taking him to see Harry Potter the other night, and I asked him how I thought we could make Molly feel better about not coming. He agreed that we should promise her a movie too. Then he said, "when Molly cries like that when you leave, it's really hard on Dad."
He is also learning how to manage his own feelings. Noah is very sensitive to sound and light. A busy, noisy space like a school assembly or a gym full of kids (or sometimes a classroom) is overwhelming for him. When I went to pick him up from mini-U (day camp) today, he was sitting apart from his group reading a book. They had just returned from a day of activities (rock climbing, dodge ball, swimming, etc.) , and they were gathering in the Max Bell center with all the other campers. He was tired; it was loud and hot and bright. He was feeling overwhelmed, and pulled out his book, so he could escape all of that. I sat there with him while he read for 10 minutes. He didn't want to talk to me or to anyone. When he was feeling OK again, he read me a funny part from his book and was happy and social again. This was sooooo much nicer than a huge melt down on the way home.