Breaking the Ice
My mother has always told me I should write a book about all the things I go through being a mother. She has always been a supporter of my writing. Of course, I have always laughed off such notions and went on my merry way. That is, until now.
Of course, a blog is nothing like a book. I know that. But it is a start, and that is all I need to share my life and the lives of my daughters.
I guess I should introduce myself now. My name is Melissa. I'm a single mother of two beautiful, independent, smart, and incredibly strong-willed little girls.
Brilynn is my oldest and she is currently 6 years old. Brilynn is my blue eyed beauty with straight brown hair that drives me crazy with her adorably ditzy, clumsy self. She's my human sponge, an ever-growing wealth of knowledge. She's very advanced for her age and always has been. She didn't stay a baby for long, making her way from infancy to toddlerhood in the span of a few short months. She dived head first into life and took off running at full speed. At 3 months she rolled over, at 4 months she sat up, at 5 months she was crawling, at 6 months she was pulling up and walking the furniture, and at 7 months she was walking. Bri always had an extensive vocabulary for such a young age. She spoke full sentences at 11 months and had a 400+ word vocabulary that was honestly quite scary. She was fully potty trained (all day and night) by age 2. She just took off from birth, it seems, and never stopped growing. She never slowed down, and at 6 years old she is still living life at full speed, and growing at full speed too. Now she's reading books, doing addition, subtraction, learning about volcanoes and star systems. She's my bright, social butterfly that never slows down for an instant, my ever growing bean pole.
My youngest is Alyvia. My brown eyed, curly haired, shorty that I love to aggravate. And she is her sister's polar opposite. She takes life at her own speed, learning and living life in her own time. She even grows in her own time. I always tell people that my Liv should have been a redhead, for all the fiery personality she has and all the fight in her soul. She's my tiny little hellcat, full of charisma and a spirit that I just can't describe. She's never been as fast as her sister, and in many ways I'm very glad she isn't. Alyvia rolled over at 3 months, sat up at 5 months, refused to crawl at 8 months, and finally got mad enough to walk at 9 months. She didn't have the extensive vocabulary that her sister had, only speaking one word until she was 18 months old. But in all honesty, she didn't need words to communicate effectively. She knew what she wanted and needed and she communicated those wants and needs with nonverbal cues and a handful of ASL signs. Not once did I question her ability to understand. I knew just by looking in her eyes, she could understand a whole helluva lot more than she would say. But she sure took her time to speak. And when she did, her speech exploded in what seemed, overnight. But even though I knew she could understand so much more, I also knee her speech wasn't reaching the milestones it should for her age.
And so she was tested through early intervention and they told me she was delayed. And of course, I already knew this. She started speech and developmental therapy to help her get back on track. In all honesty, I think she just didn't feel the need to speak or do any other age appropriate milestone, unless absolutely necessary. She never pretend played until she was almost forced to, preferring to simply put together puzzles, sort her legos by color and strategically put them together, or line her toys up one by one in military fashion. Her brain, it seemed, was hard-wired from birth for strategy and logic. Whereas, her sister was hard-wired for creativity and just plain drama.
She learned quickly, when she had interest in the subject she was being taught. She had no interest in potty training since I started at 10 months when she knew she had to go(same age as her sister), so it has been our epic battle of wills for almost 2 years. We are down to pullups just at night, for the third time. But, I have faith that my stubbornness is stronger than her stubbornness.
Another difference in Alyvia, was her lack of interest in socializing with other kids. She felt no need to play with other kids, like her sister who befriended everyone upon eye contact. She was perfectly happy playing by herself, needing no one to keep her at all entertained. Which in complete honesty, I enjoyed deeply. Her sister needed constant entertainment, which could be exhausting some days. Liv found amusement in everyday things. She'd walk around collecting small items in a ziploc bag and play with them for hours. Legos would keep her preoccupied all day, and still does.
It amazes me how different these girls are every day. Yet for every difference they have, they are still exactly the same.
They fight like arch-enemies, yet they can't stand to be separated, even to sleep.
They love me and know without any doubts that I love them back. They're full of fire, wit, and sass. I love my girls, more than life itself.
My name is Melissa, and this is my blog.m
Of course, a blog is nothing like a book. I know that. But it is a start, and that is all I need to share my life and the lives of my daughters.
I guess I should introduce myself now. My name is Melissa. I'm a single mother of two beautiful, independent, smart, and incredibly strong-willed little girls.
Brilynn is my oldest and she is currently 6 years old. Brilynn is my blue eyed beauty with straight brown hair that drives me crazy with her adorably ditzy, clumsy self. She's my human sponge, an ever-growing wealth of knowledge. She's very advanced for her age and always has been. She didn't stay a baby for long, making her way from infancy to toddlerhood in the span of a few short months. She dived head first into life and took off running at full speed. At 3 months she rolled over, at 4 months she sat up, at 5 months she was crawling, at 6 months she was pulling up and walking the furniture, and at 7 months she was walking. Bri always had an extensive vocabulary for such a young age. She spoke full sentences at 11 months and had a 400+ word vocabulary that was honestly quite scary. She was fully potty trained (all day and night) by age 2. She just took off from birth, it seems, and never stopped growing. She never slowed down, and at 6 years old she is still living life at full speed, and growing at full speed too. Now she's reading books, doing addition, subtraction, learning about volcanoes and star systems. She's my bright, social butterfly that never slows down for an instant, my ever growing bean pole.
My youngest is Alyvia. My brown eyed, curly haired, shorty that I love to aggravate. And she is her sister's polar opposite. She takes life at her own speed, learning and living life in her own time. She even grows in her own time. I always tell people that my Liv should have been a redhead, for all the fiery personality she has and all the fight in her soul. She's my tiny little hellcat, full of charisma and a spirit that I just can't describe. She's never been as fast as her sister, and in many ways I'm very glad she isn't. Alyvia rolled over at 3 months, sat up at 5 months, refused to crawl at 8 months, and finally got mad enough to walk at 9 months. She didn't have the extensive vocabulary that her sister had, only speaking one word until she was 18 months old. But in all honesty, she didn't need words to communicate effectively. She knew what she wanted and needed and she communicated those wants and needs with nonverbal cues and a handful of ASL signs. Not once did I question her ability to understand. I knew just by looking in her eyes, she could understand a whole helluva lot more than she would say. But she sure took her time to speak. And when she did, her speech exploded in what seemed, overnight. But even though I knew she could understand so much more, I also knee her speech wasn't reaching the milestones it should for her age.
And so she was tested through early intervention and they told me she was delayed. And of course, I already knew this. She started speech and developmental therapy to help her get back on track. In all honesty, I think she just didn't feel the need to speak or do any other age appropriate milestone, unless absolutely necessary. She never pretend played until she was almost forced to, preferring to simply put together puzzles, sort her legos by color and strategically put them together, or line her toys up one by one in military fashion. Her brain, it seemed, was hard-wired from birth for strategy and logic. Whereas, her sister was hard-wired for creativity and just plain drama.
She learned quickly, when she had interest in the subject she was being taught. She had no interest in potty training since I started at 10 months when she knew she had to go(same age as her sister), so it has been our epic battle of wills for almost 2 years. We are down to pullups just at night, for the third time. But, I have faith that my stubbornness is stronger than her stubbornness.
Another difference in Alyvia, was her lack of interest in socializing with other kids. She felt no need to play with other kids, like her sister who befriended everyone upon eye contact. She was perfectly happy playing by herself, needing no one to keep her at all entertained. Which in complete honesty, I enjoyed deeply. Her sister needed constant entertainment, which could be exhausting some days. Liv found amusement in everyday things. She'd walk around collecting small items in a ziploc bag and play with them for hours. Legos would keep her preoccupied all day, and still does.
It amazes me how different these girls are every day. Yet for every difference they have, they are still exactly the same.
They fight like arch-enemies, yet they can't stand to be separated, even to sleep.
They love me and know without any doubts that I love them back. They're full of fire, wit, and sass. I love my girls, more than life itself.
My name is Melissa, and this is my blog.m
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