Growing Pains

After taking her sweet time crawling, Little A is now hell-bent on trying to skip this pesky on-the-ground stuff and go straight to walking. She constantly pulls up and tries to cruise and climb, where just a week or so ago she barely traveled more than a few feet in any direction from where you set her down. I know it shouldn't be shocking that she moves of her own accord and is developing opinions on where she wants to be. Especially since this is not my first child. Yet, I am a slow adapter in all things in life (even had a rotary phone until I was 21) so what can I say? I'm still getting used to the fact both kids move independently now. It makes the parental-mental math of who is doing what/where so much more complex.

In fact, the other day I was on the phone with DH when it suddenly hit me that Little A was no longer lustily BAH BAH BAHing in the living room. I rounded the office, kitchen and bathroom, but still no sign of her. When she wasn't playing with Big A in the kids' bedroom, I suddenly got worried and found myself demanding that Big A tell me what she'd done with her sister.

Now, it's not like Big A is leaving half-moon marks all over her sister and then trying to burn the murder weapon in the incinerator. Most of the time she's very sweet to her baby sister. It's just that every once in awhile Big A seems to forget Little A is not a crash test dummy to be dragged around by the heels or rolled off the bed. So I always have to keep a close eye on the two of them, just in case.

Nonetheless, it was really not very nice of me to insinuate that Little A's absence was Big A's fault. But rather than be hurt by my statement, Big A simply channeled her future-inner teenager. She put her hands on her hips and said, "Mommy. I don't know what you think I did, But I did NOTHING to NOBODY."

Before I could answer there was a faint bah, which we both followed into the master bedroom. Little A had let herself into DH's closet and then shut the door behind her. There she sat amongst the dust bunnies, happily sucking on a sandal.