The Instigator and the Informant

I am fascinated at how quickly our children fell into their natural roles...Hannah is easily the Instigator and Emily, most definitely the Informant. Oh wait, ten minutes have passed maybe it is the other way around. These two little girls totally enjoy each others' company, but I must admit it doesn't feel like Little House on the Prairie around here.

First, there is the high-pitched girly scream, it can mean a multiude of things are occurring, from sheer bliss to utter horror and remarkably, I can tell them apart.

Then, there is the , "Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm", almost always preceded by the high pitched scream, and followed up with a stunning account of the last 90 seconds worth of activity. Silly me, I always assumed "mom" is a one syllable word and "mommy" a two-syllable word - just goes to show my naivete, oh no, these little ones can easily turn that simple word into a five syllable word without blinking. And the stories...even our little one word bandit can manage to speak and sign her sister's atrocities without hesitation. They'd sell each other out in a heartbeat. At Christmas, Santa phoned our house to check in on the excitement level. We thought it was quite magnificent that he took the time, while feeding a sick reindeer, no less, to gauge the good/bad meter on our precious angels. Within the first fifteen seconds, Emily had managed a lengthy and extremely detailed list of the misgivings of her smaller, just a tad bit more stubborn, counterpart.

Once Hannah is speaking fully, it will be truly interesting the outcomes of these daily snafus, that last mere minutes, but totally test my finest mommyhood moments.

What is the flip side, you ask? They bound through the house looking for each other, squealing with delight at each reunion. They sit quietly reading to one another and yes, Emily will sit patiently listening as Hannah makes up words, points to pictures and proudly declares, "Duh End." They hold hands, a lot. They would protect each other ferociously, when the chips are down. Emily's dearest maternal skills shine through when Hannah is up against it (and you should hear the backtracking when Emily thinks her tattles will negatively impact Lil' sis).

Emily had a bellyache during the night last night - it didn't last terribly long, but she couldn't sleep and this morning, with everything going around, I played the safe card and let her stay home, just in case. Emily is NOT a complainer, she is the type of kid who has an apendage dangling and when you ask if it hurts, she will bite her lip and assure you she is FINE! So, when she does say something hurts, we know it is for real. Hannah was up first and when she asked where "Mimi" was, I explained she was sleepy and had a tummyache while she was sleeping. She marched headfirst into Em's room and patted her, quietly assuring her, "it tay...it tay." (it's okay)