Monday, October 31, 2011

Can I do this? A 1-week update

Okay, so it's a bit late from being an exact one-week update, but it's been a pretty busy week.
Through the whirlwind of getting acquainted Saturday night and Sunday, then spending most of the day at the farm on Monday, it wasn't really until Tuesday that we all got to just spend time alone as a family.  Those were the days that it all moved past being a crazy journey and very much became reality.
Though the girls have had a lot of fun playing together and there have been many times that you could just feel the genuine love they have for each other, there have also been other moments.  Moments of tantrums.  Moments of tempers.  Moments of 'how did I ever think I could handle this?'.
They have both definitely had their incidents.  Lily sometimes likes to hang onto Julia's arm well past the point that Julia wants to tolerate it.  Julia absolutely has no concept of sharing or taking turns (yet) and expresses it in full-body cries.  They both saw their share of time-out in the latter half of the week.  We shed a few tears, both good and bad.
We balanced family time with one-on-one shopping trips.  We took some much-needed naps.  We tried focusing our energy into projects instead of always into each other and as the week went on, we kind of got our footing back. 
Julia is incredibly tolerant of the unknown and she wears that trademark smile with ease.  She is getting very comfortable with us and rarely does her rocking except for when she's going to bed.  She bravely tries any food (something I can't even say for myself) and will go along with just about any activity.  She loves riding in the car and even fusses to get back in if the ride was short.  She still loves to be picked up and get hugs.  Mommy even got a big kiss the other day!  She's even gained one pound in a week.  Not as much as mom had hoped, but we'll keep sneaking in those calories!  We meet with the pediatrician next Tuesday and will sort out or repertoire of specialists from there.
Lily has been such a good sport for as much as her world has changed in the past week.  During Julia's first big tantrum in the car, she sat quietly next to her and when it was all over just half-giggled and said 'oh, that was loud' even though it was obvious she was a touch nervous.  She's been very good at helping us to teach Julia sharing and she generally likes being around her.  Our house frequently echoes with 'Look at Julia! That's so silly!  Look at me, Julia!'.  It still amazes me how much more she is rambling in sentences and paragraphs now and I swear she gained a bit more personality (if that was possible) while we were gone!
Robert never ceases to amaze me as a parent.  He is patient and always teaching the girls in most everything he does.  He loves snuggling his 'princessa' and is so willing to drop what he's doing and just play with the girls.  He has such genuine, unconditional love for his girls and I could not ask for a better partner in this parenting thing that we are doing!
As for me, I am slowly getting past the exhaustion that came along with it all and moving away from the 'can I do this?' to 'how can I do this better?', which is what I think both of the girls need.  I will most definitely find what works best for us sooner than later.  Getting past jet-lag and a cold probably has helped too. 
Did we expect there to be challenges? Yep.  Have some of the challenges been more frustrating than we expected already? Absolutely.  Are the happy times so incredibly rewarding? Without a doubt.  Do we ever doubt that this is exactly what our family is supposed to be right now?  Not for a second!

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