I used to write motherhood updates on a monthly basis, and then I stretched them out to every few months, and then COVID happened and I felt as if we were in somewhat of a groundhog day wheel and I couldn’t really get my thoughts straight on motherhood. Yet I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my little girls lately… and being their mom… and thought that doing a “Two Years With Two” post would be a fitting way to segue back into some motherhood topics. I actually initially had this post scheduled for last Thursday, but life happened and I ended up pushing it back to this week….

So here we are.

I remember when I first had Camille and the struggle I felt in balancing the attention I was giving to both girls… the guilt I had in not giving Harper as much attention as she was once used to… and then I remembered something I had read somewhere, and it was that the one of the greatest gifts you can give your kiddos is a built in best friend… and while I know this isn’t the case for every sibling dynamic, or even possible for every parent, it certainly helped ease my guilt… and as I’ve watched them both grow up over the past year, individually and together, this relationship is something that has become one of my favorite things to watch flourish. And while they certainly have their moments of sibling arguing (I swear the minute those dang magnet tiles come out it’s like each of them gets territorial about how many they have….), they genuinely enjoy being together… and care about one another. They voluntarily hug the other when they see them sad or hurt…. they apologize to one another when they have hurt the other’s feelings… and their laughter and smiles when they play together made those days of feeling guilt for the time I wasn’t giving to one of them worth it.

I’ve been thinking a lot about time lately (especially over the past year), and as cliché as it sounds time really is a thief. I look at old photos of both of them and while I am so happy about where they are and how they are growing up, sometimes my heart hurts because those precious times are moments we won’t ever get back (and I never thought I’d be one to say something like that). And while I know there are so many wonderful memories that will be made in the years to come as they grow up (that I look forward to very much), time just goes so fast… often times without even knowing how quickly it’s passing… and it’s only until I stop and reflect that I realize how quickly it went. All of that rambling to say, being present in my time with them is something I am truly working on… putting away my phone and just being.

And while I talk about the past, there are so many things I am looking forward to with them in the coming year… that are only made easier because they are older. Traveling to some of our favorite places (the older they get the easier it becomes), watching them flourish in their interests, sending Harper off to kindergarten next year (and Camille to pre-school in one year… what???), and watching them make close friendships with their peers…. pool parties, sleep overs, etc….

Breaking down a few categories below….

EATING

So we’ve been working on moving out of a chicken nugget rut we fell into over the past year and I thought I’d share a few successful toddler lunches we have had recently….

Lentils (from Trader Joe’s), hard boiled egg, avocado, berries
Black beans, brown rice, avocado, berries
Quesadilla (we love Siete tortillas), avocado, fruit
Peanut butter sandwich + strawberries
Ground turkey, brown rice, bell peppers
Pizza (on a sprouted english muffin), mixed veggies
Lentil pasta, string cheese, fruit
and then sometimes leftovers from the previous evening’s dinner…

FAVORITE PRODUCTS

The girls absolutely love their magnet tiles… they spend hours playing with them… which is great (keeping them organized and not losing them is another story, haha)…..

They also love taking care of their dolls… we got Camille this baby crib for her birthday and she loves it (after we told her it wasn’t actually for her to sleep in…..)

And reading, reading, reading…. a few favorites include The Little Owl series, anything by Eric Carle, Little Blue Truck books, Jabari Jumps, Pocket Full Of Colors (all about Mary Blair), Octopus Alone, and Superluminous to name a few…

Outside anything… balls, play-set, swimming…. if there is an opportunity to go outside, they’re all over it! We got them these pink swings when we painted the play-set and they’ve been loving them….

And both girls love these jellie sandals… Harper has been a fan of them for years…. and they sleep in these 100% cotton pajamas every night (Harper sleeps in the shorts).

SLEEPING

Knock on wood, but we’re pretty status quo over here in this department (I’m sure that’s going to come back to bite me tomorrow now that I write it down…). With the exception of Camille deciding that she’s going to sleep until her normal waking hour Monday-Friday (which is typically between 7:15/7:30) and then waking up an hour earlier on Saturday and Sunday, I can’t complain here…

Camille is still taking an afternoon nap… they range. Sometimes they’re an hour and other times they’re 2.5 hours…. and I can’t seem to narrow down why some are longer than others…

Camille does still use a pacifier, so I am sure over the next year we will need to start weaning it. We’ve currently limited it during the day, and use it primarily during naps, early evening, and bedtime….

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Overall, I am looking forward to moving through this year. As we start to venture out more and more, I’m excited to take the girls back to some of our favorite spots, make memories at some of our favorite travel destinations, and just get out and about more….

I don’t really have anything profound or original to say about motherhood, but I know that the time goes quickly, some days feel longer than others, some days are more challenging than others… but that with the challenges come the sweet moments… just like the regular up and down cadence of life……