These Girls

It's going by too fast! Mia's over 3 now, and Lauren is getting closer to her first birthday every minute. What?!

Mia's big on dictating our conversations. Like, "Mama would you say..." and then she tells me my line. Of course I oblige. It's too cute not too, and she's usually in such a good mood when she's 'directing' that the things she wants said are sweet. Lately, she loves to draw comparisons between Lauren and herself. "Mama would you say, one girl is big and one girl is little? Would you say it Mama?" One girl has piggy-tails, and one girl has not very much hair. One girl is running, and one girl is crawling. One girl is has a pink blankie, one girl has a purple blankie.

This all started when Lauren was very young, just a few months, and I was trying to show Mia that I had room for both of my girls, no matter how similar or different they are. I'd catch myself telling Lauren how much I loved her, and Mia would be standing right there, loving her too, but I'd get nervous that Mia would become jealous. So, for a while there, I told Mia something good about herself every time I said something good about Lauren.

Mia hasn't ever shown an ounce of jealousy in that direction -beyond the first few weeks of having a new baby in the house - she just seems to accept Lauren's place in our family without hesitation. She loves her little sister. And it's fun for her to notice these differences, while hopefully learning a lesson about accepting others no matter what they look like or are capable of.

I don't feel grown up enough to have kids, much less, kids who are as sweet as these girls are.

I took this picture of Mia today when we were on the way to my parents' house, and I love several things about it. I love that Mia has her sunglasses on upside down because they fall off if they're on right. I love the smile on her face and the sun shining through her fine hair. I love how huge her eyes are behind the glasses.

But, I think my favorite part of this picture is that in the lense of the sunglasses, I can see Lauren's reflection. One girl is facing forward, one girl is facing backward. One girl is cheesing for the camera, and one girl is playing with a toy. Both girls are happy. Both girls are precious.

Both girls are mine.