52:11 Discovering Your Hands

I Want to Remember

Discovering Your Hands

I want to remember you discovering your hands. You are such a happy baby and are easily soothed by being held, a song, a paci and now your hands. Your hands are your greatest toy and mommy's new life saver. Whenever you start to stir or seem restless, I simply touch your hands together and it's like you're discovering them again for the first time. You suck on them, try to find your thumb, and just rub them together. We are working on having you grab at toys. Anniston loves playing this game with you. But now, when you grab ahold of a toy to explore it, she doesn't understand why you won't share it back with her! So while you continue to discover your hands, Anniston is discovering that she needs to have some patience with you while you learn to share. 

Discovering Patience

To any two year old, patience is a foreign word. We have taught it to her and she even uses the phrase correctly. And she often tells Amelia to be patient. But a toddler actually practicing patience is a whole other expectation. Unfortunately for Anniston, I am expecting her to be patient a lot now. 

"Anniston I am feeding Amelia. Can you be patient."

"Anniston I am trying to get supper ready. Can you be patient?"

"Anniston I have to change Amelia's diaper. Can you be patient?"

"Anniston I have to get Amelia to sleep first. Can you be patient?" 

So it happened. The other day, while I was nursing Amelia, Anniston asked if she could go "play bubbles," I kept asking her to be patient while I finished. Then, she scowled at me, threw her entire body on the ground and yelled. 

"No! I don't wanna be patient!"

I wouldn't want to be patient anymore either. For the past two years, Anniston hasn't really had to practice being patient, because she was really our only focus. Don't get me wrong. She still gets lots of snuggles, lots of stories, lots of play time and lots of songs be sung. But now, she is expected to wait for things to be handed to her. She has to share our time. She has to wait for her food. She has to wait to go play outside. Practicing patience is a wonderful skill. I know that. But it just really isn't easy at all to practice patience. Especially when you just turned two.