My Big Girl!

I came to a few realizations today.

For one, Maya is a big girl. Not physically, because she really is a teeny little thing, but mentally, yes. What's funny is that Nikos was only two months older than she is now when she was born. Instantly, he went from being my baby to being this HUGE kid. I never realized just how big he was (or how advanced, or anything like that) until I suddenly had a newborn to compare him to. Overnight, his small hands suddenly seemed bigger and rougher, his hair coarser and thicker, and he seemed so much more mature and responsible.

With Maya being our second (and final) child, there is nobody coming after her to force us into the realization that she isn't a baby anymore! And with that in mind, I've decided lately to really start paying better attention to the things she does. Of course, I pay attention anyway, but by making a focused effort to do so, I have picked up on a bunch of amazing things. For example:

-She DOES have a lot of words. At this age, Nikos had at least 20 words that were recognizable and clear. While Maya's words may not be as clear or as loud, they are in there. And it even seems like she tries to string them together into sentences pretty often. Just recently, I've noticed that she can say "milk," "baby," "all done," "clean up," "want that," "what's that," "thank you," and "book," in addition to her old standards (Mommy, Daddy, Yeah, No, and various barnyard animal noises). she doesn't say them very loudly, but she SAYS them. And she means them. And she gets upset if you don't listen!

-She also understands just about everything we say. If I ask her if she wants her diaper changed, she will nod her head, hop down off the couch, and run to her bedroom to stand by the changing table. If Nikos whines (to me) that he wants his blanket and bear(or any other specific toy), she will run back to his room and bring them to him. If he says he got an owie and needs a kiss, she will run over and kiss his head (in her unique Maya way) or give him a hug. She knows EXACTLY what we are talking about!

-She gets how things work. If she wants to climb something, she will move other things (chairs, stools, etc.) into position so that they can give her a lift. She will even go in search of a stool if one is not readily available! She has mastered several of her pop-up books, and can make them "do" things without ripping the book. She also understands routines. Today, I went to pick the kids up from daycare, and she was the one who saw me first. She instantly turned away from me and ran for the back yard (where Nikos was playing) yelling, "Mommy! Mommy!" It was like she was getting him and telling him it was time to go. As he walked inside, Maya ran past me, grabbed our bag (from the many bags that were sitting there), walked over, handed it to me, grabbed Nikos' hand, and headed for the door. She knew the drill.

-She can walk backwards! While this seems like an odd thing, it obviously takes a certain amount of coordination. And she thinks it is absolutely HILARIOUS to exit a room in this fashion, waving goodbye to us all the while. She's pretty quick at it, too!

Anyway, it hit me that my baby is really not a baby, but a Big Girl. I decided to finally stop giving her bottles. Cold turkey. She drinks water from a sippy cup just fine, so I knew she would be okay, but the problem has been ME. I am so used to making bottles for her, and it's so easy to think of her as this little baby! But I did stop giving her bottles, and she didn't complain at all. She was ready.

sigh. What happened to my little newborn? Seriously, I would like to know. I have no clue how she became so big, so quickly! :(