These Two

They are starting to really play together, interacting in the most primal ways, with hand gestures and grunts and facial expressions. Today she set up a fort and he knocked it down and she said good job lee and that was that, as if that was her intent all along. She tickles him. He lights up when he sees her. You can see the evolution taking place, slowly, week by week, as his awareness reaches new levels and his coordination begins taking shape.

You can't really call it fighting, but they are definitely starting to push buttons and wear on each other. He steals her juice.  She lords over his food intake in the back seat of the car. She says no, he screams. They are working it out though, one dilemma at a time. She never looks at us for intervention, and I hope he learns to do the same.

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After a year of Leo struggling and crying, with the dominant mood being needy, I treasure almost every hour of this boy's happiness. He is as happy as I can imagine a kid his age being, which is something six months ago that I couldn't imagine. He is playful. He jokes. He wakes up satisfied, eats like a boxer and cuddles and kisses his lovey in a way that suggest some kind of mysterious real friendship.

She is tough. Independent. Comfortable in her skin. We knew these things about her, but they seem to grow in sync with her own growth. Her vocabulary, the way she strings certain words together, has been surprising me almost daily recently. When she couldn't sleep a few nights ago, she picked out a learning book and spent most of her time solving math problems, shouting out six! and three! as she added numbers together. I can already feel her slipping out the back door sometimes, heading off into the night for some grand adventure. I treasure the hugs and afternoon waltzes and the way she looks at me when she tries on a new dress.

I am reminded these days how little actually matters to me. As my two living children roam the house together, searching for climbing mechanisms or lost toys, I am at peace. This is enough, I think to myself.