Smelling, Hearing, Seeing, Feeling and Licking!

Well this month was interesting. Thank goodness for these two kids to keep a smile on my face even when I've felt like not getting out of bed. I'm grateful that my girls are still young, too young to know what is going on in the world around them right now.  It's not lost on me how lucky we are to live a life where I can shelter them from certain things for now. I still can't believe that I'll spend the next four year sheltering them from the President of the United States because I don't trust what inappropriate thing will come out of his mouth. His horrible political beliefs aside, I certainly don't trust the way he talks about women and their bodies. I spend so much time as a parent trying to reinforce positive body image because I know how young girls can be when they start disliking who they are.

I'm heartbroken over this election but I do believe that the American people are good at their core and I believe that we will overcome this setback. I also believe that we are more alike then we are different. I for one am going to try to listen more, try to understand others more and try to raise two smart, confident girls who do the same. What I won't do is tolerate hate speak, bigotry, misogyny, or any form of discrimination, generalization, or tendency to want people to be just one way, one religion, a particular orientation, or expect everyone to follow socially constructed gender norms. Yikes, what a sentence. I am sure I'm missing some things in there but you get my point. I will challenge and face my own prejudices, my own fears, and my own assumptions about other people.  I will not do any of this perfectly but I will try with all my might and I have a lot of might.

Ok, stepping off my soapbox. Here are some highlights from this month:

• As I was writing the above I hear Polly calling from her bed upstairs, "MOOOOOMMMMYYYYYY! MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY!" Ben goes up to see what she wants and she says sadly, "why do you always come when I call mommy?" See I'm usually washing bottles or working on something after their bedtime so I send him. I go up and she asks, "why don't daddy let you come up?" I laugh because I'm relieved that she doesn't think I'm neglecting her but instead Ben is keeping me away!  HA! I ask her why she wants me and she sweetly says, "because I love you." UGH. Sometimes she knows just what to say to melt me.  
• Polly was learning about the 5 senses at school a few weeks ago and we were reviewing them on the way home.  She got through seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and she forgot the last.  I pointed to my mouth and she said, "LICKING!" Taste is forever known to me as licking now. I think she is part cat.
• Callie loves her big sister so much and the feeling is mutual. Hearing Polly's already high pitched voice get even higher when she talks to her baby sister just gets me every time. Callie watches Polly's every move and Polly can usually cheer Callie when she rarely has a bad mood going on.
• Callie is still (knocks on wood) the best baby. She wakes up smiling in the morning and that makes it easy to get up and start the day. I generally don't wake up well but that smiling little face looking up at me from her bed right next to mine is the best. 
• This morning Polly was telling me that she wants a polar bear from Santa and I let her know that Santa doesn't get everything on the list that she wants.  I was also thinking that she has too many stuffed animals as it is. Polly then informed me that grown ups can get her presents too, not just Santa. I was thinking, okay smart little girl, I see what you are doing there and I'm both proud and worried about how cleaver you are.  
• Callie is getting so chubby! I was worried with her only taking breastmilk by bottle that she might not be getting everything she needs (mom guilt is the worst). Over night it seems like she turned into a chubby baby who hides dirt and other general funk in her thigh rolls. I love it except when I realize it's been a few days since bath time and she's funky.  She also seems like a giant baby next to her newborn BFF that was born a week ago. I need time to slow down or I need to win the lottery so I can have 10 more babies.  
• I still don't play the lottery.  
• That's about all for now but take another look at the rolls on that baby up top! Her thighs are the best. I can't handle the way she's propped up in that chair like she's just relaxin' and we caught her there mid-laugh.