Music to my ears

As I stood in the kitchen tonight listening to the girls scream, laugh and run around the house playing before bed, I realized that the loud noise, while possibly annoying and obnoxious to any other normal human being, was welcomed and soothing to me.

The gleeful, lighthearted screaming was abundant in the house tonight and I wanted to freeze the moment...wanting to remember the sounds of laughter and burn the images of their little faces in my memory.

I had to dodge the girls as they zoomed around my feet on their cars. Jumped over dropped sippy cups, baby dolls, and various toys while trying to clean up the kitchen and then decided I had better move some of this stuff before the girls trip and fall while chasing each other. So I picked up some of their toys and put them back in the toy bin (a.k.a. the clothes hamper) and moved their now discarded "cars" to another area where they wouldn't be in the way. I laughed to myself when within 1 minute of moving said items to a safer spot, the girls promptly plucked them out of the toy bin back onto the kitchen floor and rolled their cars back into the middle of the walkway.

It is so much fun to see their little personalities develop.

Makena, for the most part, is the most easy going. When someone makes her mad, she definitely lets you know, but usually gets over it quickly and moves on. She has this funny way of "prancing" when she runs, since most of the time, she runs on her tiptoes. We often see her running back and forth in the entryway or just entertaining herself and she always has the biggest grin on her face.

Alyssa is our emotional girl. She needs lots of hugs and cuddling throughout the day and can be very dramatic when she's not happy. Alyssa loves to be chased. She giggles so loudly when she thinks you are coming to get her and she'll take off on her "car" if she thinks someone is on her tail. She is also developing a love for purses and shoes.

Riley is just a character. Definitely the "class clown" who loves being silly and making everyone laugh. She enjoys snuggling and being tickled and most of the time wants to be the center of attention or always the one sitting in my lap, or closest to mommy etc...

As a mother, watching the bond between the girls is so much fun and I hope that they will always cherish each other and protect one another as they get older. They are starting to show more empathy and caring for each other and it is so fun to see. Offering food or even a binky (gasp) to each other usually happens now on a daily basis. When they see each other in the morning or after waking up from naps, they break out in huge grins, point and say "sissy."

Listening to the girls scream tonight was music to my ears. I hope I always welcome the sound of their gleeful screaming, never hearing it as just noise.