Toddling Thru: Eloise as a big sister

The Burning Question: How is Eloise doing? 

She's doing better than to be expected. She is absolutely obsessed with her baby brother. Just like any almost 3-year-old, she's a little bit of a drama queen these days and can be quite bossy. Lucky for us, Eloise knows everything - what to eat, where to go, how to do things and when to do things. It can be a challenging age at times but is honestly the most entertaining stage so far. She makes us laugh everyday. Whether she is reenacting a scene from My Little Pony or telling us a story, we are entertained.  

Since Eloise has started preschool, she has learned so much. She tells us the days of the week, the month & the year almost every day at dinner. She loves to tell us what her job is for the week in school. Her absolute favorite is being the line leader. A close second is probably the lights. She loves to turn our lights on & off now.  I've also noticed that she's really interested in helping us out. She will  regularly ask, "can I help?" or "can I go with?" 

I'm doing my best to try to make sure that Eloise feels special or at best just as special as she thinks her new baby brother is. Sometimes all it takes is to get her sunglasses that match mine.

#Matching

With all the baby gear making a reappearance, Eloise has adopted some items as new toys for her.  It often takes repeated attempts to tell her that these items are for babies to ensure that she doesn't climb into the swing or suck on the pacifier.  We've gotten to the point where she understands that she was once a baby and used to use all these things but now uses different stuff because she is big. We regularly talk about differences between her & Preston - big vs small size, baby vs big girl toys, baby's eating habits vs Eloise's eating habits. 

We are constantly answering 2 questions: "What are you doing?" and "What is baby brother doing?"  

Eloise has had many questions about nursing & pumping since day 1. Little by little, she has gotten it. I can't help but crack up when I see her imitate me so perfectly in regards to this. 

In all honesty, Eloise is a great big sister and is doing a great job adjusting to our growing family.  I can't blame every temper tantrum or naughty behavior on this adjustment because I know that it's her age or simply just her having a bad day. It's funny how we forget that toddlers can have bad days just like grown ups! 

I'm so thankful that I get the opportunity to figure out how to navigate being a mom to these two. I know how blessed I am that I get to wake up everyday to these sweet faces. We all know it's not 24/7 rainbows & sunshine, but it's worth it if all you get on some days is just one moment like this...