Two years old. In honor of Abby and Elise's second birthday, they got sick and then John and I packed our bags and left them, for the first time ever, for four days. :) Seriously, the day of their birthday bash, Elise spiked a fever for the first time in TWELVE months. The last time we even had a reason to check temperatures was last summer when the girls got roseola (a mild and common infant rash). After 2 days of sad-baby-syndrome, Elise perked back up. Then Abby went down. And to top off the fact that I was feeling terrible about the girls feeling so yucky on their birthday, I was dealing with the stress and anxiety of leaving them for the first time. *Sigh* The silver lining - we haven't truly had sick babies until now. Sure, there's been a runny nose here and a cough there, but the girls made it to two years old, visiting the doctor only for well-baby check-ups and for that silly little rash.
I think that their health is such a significant marker to me because the odds should have been stacked against the girls. We were warned about preemies getting sick easily with weak immune systems. We were told to be prepared for developmental delays. And the health, strength, intelligence, sense of humor, curiosity, compassion, determination, and overflowing love of life that Abby and Elise have shown us in their two years are remarkable. Simply remarkable.
So... what to share at this two year milestone.... what to put in writing to look back and read down the road...
- Crocs. I hate them. Elise began her love affair with "Coco... crocs.... blue....me.... share". Translation: "Cohen has blue crocs that he shared with me". And the girls woke up at 6:00 am while staying with Gran and Grandpa and began a full-on battle for possession of the blue crocs we gave Elise for her birthday.
- "Coco". Abby talks about Cohen every single day. She calls Cohen's parents, Mike and Sara, on the phone. When you ask her what she wants to do, she says "Coco...house". And her most striking memory about her birthday party is "Rock... Coco... me.... kiss!". Translation: "In the rocking chair, Cohen kissed me". She relays this with her chin tucked to her shoulder and a giggle and grin that I wish I could bottle and sell.
- Blue hat. Wow, the blue hat that is shown in a picture or two was as critical to Elise's wardrobe as I would consider underwear to mine... for 4 consecutive weeks. She wore the blue denim hat with her jammies, in a diaper, with her swimsuit, at the store, etc... This blue hat obsession is only a trivial element in the daily Elise fashion capers. Crocs. Flip flops. Green shirt. Tiny, size 12-month white t-shirt with hearts. Jayhawk shirt. And all of that could by by 10:00 in the morning!
- "Yesth!" Abby's expression and animation is priceless, especially when she is declaring "Yesth!". Translation: "Yes!", with a wee bit of a lisp at the end. Cute, so cute. The evolution of this 3-letter word for Abby: Head nod...."Chess!"... "Yup!"... "Yesth"... and currently "YESHH!", paired with the mouth wide open, eyes open as wide as possible, eyebrows up, and often a jump or two and hand clap, as if the face alone wasn't enough.
Abby and Elise love the pool. Abby adores her "Uncle" (who does have a name, however the girls prefer this simple title instead). Elise is struggling the most with her separation from Gran after the 4-day stay. Abby has a great throwing arm and we are working on learning that balls are better for throwing than blocks (all in good fun, of course). Elise reminds us daily that Gramps climbed on a ladder to fix the broken light in the bathroom ("Light... Gramps... lada... climb... fix"). When you ask Abby "Who loves you?", she says "Bapa" (Grandpa). Elise tickled herself pink when she shared that "Sam... work.... jeep... teeny... Merc". Translation: "Sam (cat) drives a tiny jeep to work at the Merc". Abby can't wait to go "Gammy.... house....me.... Chlo-Chlo... hide.... waaaaaa.... Gammy.... hold". Translation: "I want to go to Grammy's house. Chloe (cat) hid. I cried. Grammy held me". Abby and Elise both get a charge of energy from 5:15-6:00 each night, when play-time with Daddy happens while I fix dinner. Definitely one of their favorite times of the day.
Two years old. Before the girls, two years in my life may not have seemed like a long enough time span for great things to happen, for significant changes to occur. I stand corrected. Two years of life with Abby and Elise has taught me that great things happen every single day.
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