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More food please, I'm hungry." Actually the "please" is not always in the sentance. Monthly growth continues, though in spurts. Some months, close to an inch is gained. It is going to be a big month when the girls eat twice as much for breakfast as we parents do and then ask for more an hour later. It happens more and more frequently.
They are starting to see into the future, predicating the outcome of something based on a current decision. "If I do this, then that will happen." The wheels of the mind are churning and making new connections daily.
In piano, they are now playing more than the notes. They can play softer, louder and with some style. In choir, pitch is matched - occasionally. In gymnastics, they strive to acheive a better performance without any cajoling - there is self motivation present. They are testing the waters of competition and doing better than others.
There is a persistent conundrum present, that is, both the desire to be number one between the two of them and then the desire to see the other succeed or build her up if she is failing are alternately present. They can go to bed together talking for an hour as the best of friends and wake up yelling at each other, blaming the other for being an axis of evil and the cause of all things wrong in the world.
There are hints of womanhood showing up in the clothing and the poses - only hints mind you!
Crafts know no end: beads, knitting, drawing, bracelets, painting.
Brand names are gaining some importance where there once was none. "My next shoes are going to be Nike shoes!"
They have an "office" now and "surf" the internet. They have learned chess and multiple card games. Surfing consists of looking for sites that have pictures of and sell gymnastics outfits.
They are willing participants in bike riding and scootering, but seem to really like walks around the neighborhood, especially if the walk passes the house of a girlfriend from school.
Childhood with touches of adultness. We might wish for some time alone to do adult things, but we can readily appreciate how quickly they will be leaving us based on their current growth and age.
There are still moments when we would (momentarily) gladly trade them in on a new model, mostly late in the evening when homework is due the next day or piano practice looms and there is a lot to be done yet. Fatigue leads to brain decompenstion that is irreconcilable with progress, happiness or function of any kind.
There is always the dream of a better car, a remodel of the house, but life is the here and now. It is what is happening while you are planning for the future. Watching the girls grow is the present. The watching is the reward for the work involved, the tears endured, the disappointment of not winning. A parents job is the reward itself.
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