My, How They Are Growing Up ... *Sigh*

By MAGGIE WANG

As I've told Kevin before, this summer is the absolute best summer because the girls are both at ridiculous cute ages. I say this as if I know what they're going to be like next year, but I'm sticking to it for now.

Sedona is maturing and growing up. It feels like it happened overnight. She understands what we tell her and is able to think through rewards and consequences to her actions. She has empathy. She gets embarrassed and shy. She feels pressure. She likes to observe and process before doing things. Sedona is turning in a little girl. 

I usually like to tell the girls what fun activities to expect in the days, weeks or months. Sometimes I'll repeat myself assuming they won't remember what I said yesterday about today without a real reference on time.  Sedona is now understanding and will sometimes say in a put-out voice, "I know, Mommy.". She has even at times said, "Mommy, that's not cool."

Our little Maven, on the other hand, will say, "Mommy, is that cool?" all the time when intrigued by something she has done. She'll say it over and over when she is jumping into the water when we are practicing swimming.

I like to believe that Maven is our baby, but she's isn't so much anymore. She has been speaking in complete sentences for quite some time. She can tell us everything she wants and tries very hard to articulate all sorts of things: How her day went. What just happened. Kevin has been training her to give a real reason when asked why.

Maven is stubborn, though. She wants to pick out her clothes in the morning -- typically wanting something striped or polka dotted. This surprises me, because Sedona is typically the dainty one. Maven has also been very difficult in not wanting to brush her teeth -- but Kevin started to get tougher with her to get her in line, same as he did when Sedona was younger and had an issue with staying in bed -- and it has gotten better. It's a balancing act between letting them exercise their decision-making skills and making sure they remain good listeners.

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They are getting to an age where they'll ask, "Why did she get it first?" and I'm having to figure out what is the appropriate way to be fair. I am starting to teach them to play "Rock, Paper, Scissors" in hopes that it will be a fair way to settle some things. The last thing I want is for Sedona to say, "Maven always got everything because she was the baby." or Maven to say, "Sedona got to do everything because she was the older one."

 I do personally recall never getting to ride shotgun because Felix was the older one -- and well, that is what parenting is all about, right? Changing what you think your parents could've done better and implementing what your parents did right.

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Sedona is out of school for July and August, but then they will both be at Montessori in September. Maven will be in Sedona's old class downstairs with Sedona's former teacher Miss Valerie, and Sedona will go upstairs for class with older kids with another Miss Valerie and Miss Traci. 

It's been really nice having the girls around for the summer, but they can also be a handful, of course. I'm semi-looking forward to school starting, but I also know I'm going to be so sad when it happens.

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Ultimately, it is all getting easier. Both girls can communicate well. They are also really well-behaved. They try to test their limits but do pretty well in knowing that if I count to three and they don't do as they are told, there will be consequences. They usually listen. When I'm forced to do a timeout, the girls are both really great about sitting on the step that I put them on.  After a few minutes, I'll go back to them to explain why they were put in timeout and then tell them that I love them. 

This slightly easier stage and not having a baby is definitely making my uterus yearn for another one. My parents adore the girls but they see how much work and effort goes into it that they tell me not to have a third. Kevin's parents, however, think we should go for a boy! Ha-ha. Not surprising, as there isn't a Ding boy in this generation.

I think Kevin and I are both open to a third child (and clearly Sedona, too -- as she wants seven people total in our family). But I'm not sure either of us is committed enough to sell the other person that we should do it. So I think this our family -- the four of us! Kevin, Maggie, Sedona and Maven!