Two Peas In A Pod

As Forest Gump would say, Hannah and Adelaide are like peas and carrots. Their quirky personalities (about as opposite as can be) combat each other to make everything they do a remarkable adventure - and each of their adventures are, of course, made together! Their closeness has even come to the point where one won't take a treat or put on a sticker without making sure the other has one first. While this is all well and good as it keeps our chaotic house mostly peaceful, I was beginning to think a little distance from each other to help them grow into their own little beings may be in order. After all, the only times they are really apart is in the wee hours of the morning when Adelaide wakes up before Hannah, and during the afternoons when Addi is taking a nap. These times are filled with each girl's favorite activities to help them cope through their distress (eating for Addi and reading books for Hannah) because they're merely counting the minutes until their other half wakes up.

So a while back I sat down with Hannah after putting Adelaide down for a nap and asked her what she thought about starting up a Mommy Date every once in a while.

"We could do whatever you wanted ... it would be just you and me on a special adventure together!" I explained.

Instead of "Ooh, fun ... let's do THIS!" or some other suitable response, Hannah immediately questioned what Adelaide would be doing while we were gone.

"Well, she would stay with Daddy while we went out and did whatever it is you want!"
Hannah looked skeptical. "But she would miss us!" she finally blurted out.
(sigh)

 "Maybe we can start off slow and just go during Addi's nap and be back before she wakes up."

"But, actually, umm ... I think Adelaide would ... well ... just like to come with us, too," said Hannah.

At this point we hadn't even decided where we were going, much less what we were doing, but apparently nothing mattered other than the fact that in Hannah's mind we were leaving her helpless baby sister behind.

When promises of long hikes where little legs and even smaller bladders wouldn't be able to make it didn't tempt her, I dangled some art options out there. But with every suggestion I threw out, Hannah became more and more appalled that I was even THINKING of ...  well, "just leaving Adelaide!" I didn't dare bring up the fact that this would later be reversed when it was Addi's turn!

As luck would have it, there came a night where two fun events were happening at the same time, and since they were rather late in the evening, the chance of a finale of tears would be high. So as any crazy parental team would do, we divided and conquered! Hannah and I went to a fun back-to-school storytime held by my sister, and Jeff took Addi to a Geiser Race to sponsor Caleb's cross country team. To prove just how often we go in different directions ... we came to the realization the night before that we have but one car the girls can ride in. ;)

It all worked out and by the time we met back at home late that night, both girls had fun stories to tell of their own. Jeff agreed that Adelaide, like Hannah, was a little less spunky than usual, and Hannah's constant chatter that can exhaust a pro athelete was noticeably down when she was sitting in the backseat by herself. But a few smiles slipped out from both of them, and fun was surely had by all.


The picture to the left pretty much sums up their symbiotic relationship. When Hannah first got her bike, she took off like a rocket. However, being that grace is not necessarily her forte, it was only a matter of time until she fell, and when she did ... it wasn't pretty. Seeing that we couldn't let one scraped knee end her entire future on anything with wheels, we got her back on the bike shortly after, but it had been a long, drama-soaked month of me essentially pulling Hannah along the bike trail, as she steered through tears and supplied a constant supply of whimpers and screams if I let go of her arm. On this particular bike ride, I was trying in vain to convince Hannah that my hand on her arm really wasn't doing much, and she could do this all on her own. I was getting nowhere. Addi, undoubtedly heard our arguments from her little trike behind us, and got down, walked over to Hannah and placed her tiny little hand on Hannah's arm. She was my little replacement! I tried to intervene as this didn't look at all safe, but Hannah instantly snapped out of her daze at Addi's touch. "Oh! You want to help too, Addi? OK. Let's go!"

And just like that, Jeff and I were left in their dust ... again! In less than 5 minutes, Addi helped Hannah relearn how to ride her bike when I thought all was certainly lost. A slight set back happened when Addi's little legs just couldn't keep up her full sprint and she stumbled and scraped her knee, but even then she put on a good front and tried her best to keep a comforting hand (albeit one that pulled Hannah's bike at a severe tilt!) on her big sister. By the time we got home, fear of bike riding was replaced with endless chatter about how they BOTH had a scraped knee now. Imagine that! :)

So tomorrow starts another school year for Hannah. She's excited and we're in a much more comfortable place than we were last year at this time. This year, Hannah fully understands that school isn't for mommies, but part of me is worried that she'll have to learn another hard lesson tomorrow: school isn't for baby sisters, either!

First Day photos (surprise, surprise ... silly faces!)