It’s been a LONG time since I wrote about the kids on here, but today, I wanted to do a Sibling Snapshot post…because my babies are growing up so fast it hurts. But also, watching them grow is amazing.
First of all, these two are sooooo siblings. They love hard and fight harder. I kid you not: this is a very real and common occurrence in our house–Harlyn gets mad at Maverick and tells on him. Maverick gets in trouble, as Harlyn was clearly trying to accomplish. When Mav starts crying, Harlyn follows him immediately, comforting him and loving on him. I mean…it’s confusing, but it’s pretty cute.
Anyway.
They are also getting really great at finding things to do together. Now that Maverick is able to totally grasp playing pretend, they can play anything. Store, school, Barbies, dinos, superheroes, whatever. I’m always very appreciative of the moments where they close one of their bedroom doors and play happily for anywhere from 2 minutes to 30. 😉
Alright, now time to chat about each of my little loves.
Harlyn
Harlyn is now in 1st grade, and she’s actually physically at school this year. She has had one quarantine so far (KNOCK ON WOOD), right when school first started and she was exposed to a high schooler who got COVID. We’re incredibly thankful for Harlyn’s school and that she’s been able to be in person. This girl is doing SO WELL right now. She has had a great school year, and seems to be grasping concepts, getting good grades, and enjoying her friends.
She loves Barbies, crafts, and playing outside. Every day when Mav and I get home, Brandon and Harlyn are working on math facts while she plays on the swingset. Then once she is done with her flashcards, she and Mav get time to run around and play before it’s time for dinner. This outdoor time is one of her very favorite things right now. I think it soothes her soul. I feel that.
Harlyn has super long, curly, beautiful hair that she gets complimented on all the time. She has very faint freckles, a smile that lights up the room, and she really, truly looks all “BIG GIRL” to me now. And nothing accentuates that “Big Girl” look to me more than seeing her with a chapter book in her hands, reading silently. I’m still blown away every time I see her like that…it just adds to how grown up she seems to me these days.
Harlyn cares deeply and feels deeply. She is sensitive, but not in a bad way or something that we want to “fix.” No, her sensitivity makes her a wonderful friend, an amazing daughter, and the (almost) perfect big sister. She wants everyone to feel loved and will do her part to make that happen. She also needs to feel that love back–so listening to her, voicing your understanding of her feelings and thoughts, and spending time together are incredibly important to her.
Maverick
And then, there’s my “baby” boy who is almost 4. He’s currently in the “Older Threes” classroom at school, and he’s working hard on all the preschool things, like learning to spell his name, working to write letters and numbers, and knowing what month it is. 😉
Maverick is ALL BOY–and I mean that in every sense of the word. This kid ruins at least a pair or two of his pants a week with all the crawling, falling, and dancing he does. I’m more shocked when he comes home without holes in his pants than with.
He runs fast, loves to breakdance and will show off his moves to his church teachers on Sundays, and tells stories like he’s been on this earth far longer than a few years. I drive him to school and home almost every day, so we’ve come into a little routine for our drives. We look for the moon and see if it’s following us. We check twice a day to see if the little fountain is on. At Christmastime, we’d look for our favorite Christmas decorations and check to see if they were on. And after school, Mav tells me about his days. When I first pick him up he says “Mommy, I have a question for you.” And then he NEVER proceeds to ask me a question, because what he’s really gearing up for is his first story about whatever happened that day.
What else about Mav? He’s scared of being alone in a room with Alexa (you know, Amazon Alexa!) because he worries she’ll talk to him. He watches Home Alone and Home Alone 2 every chance he gets. He has a king costume he wears every single day before or after school (and sometimes before AND after). He loves to play “Witch” and “Bad Guys” but it’s pretty much me playing it with him because Harlyn is a bit too scared to play those with him. He wants to be a firefighter when he grows up. He sleeps with us every. single. night. He wanders in usually around 11 or so, and I kick him out at 4 am.
His eyes are so big and beautiful it’s crazy. He sings me made up songs about how I’m his best friend. He calls Harlyn “SISSY.” He’s a biter. He naps 2 hours a day and I hope we continue that for like, ever. He’s still squishy and snuggly and I love how he still curls right up into me, even as he’s getting older. Somehow, he’s still a baby even though he’s not. The kid gets himself fully dressed every day, but at night wants me to call him “Baby Maverick.”
My kids are crazy and exhausting, and I love them so very much.
Wow–that ended up being way, way longer than I imagined this post would be…but hey, someday I’m gonna look back at this post and be so glad I wrote it.
