Time for a post all about my baby who is not such a baby anymore. Sweet baby Alyssa who entered this world in such a scary unforgettable way has turned into this little spunky, princess loving, spit fire of a girl. This strong personality is just what she needs to help her navigate through life. Her sister requires a lot of attention from us so I really think Alyssa’s strong personality is her way to make sure she is “heard” in our little family.

I spent a good portion of Alyssa’s first two years watching her like a hawk making sure she was meeting all the developmental stages. I wasn’t going to miss any signs and even as she was meeting all the stages, I still worried. What if suddenly she regressed? Very possible because they did for Courtney. I’ve stopped worrying about her development. In fact, I now think I’m raising a genius! When you have spent so many years teaching 3-5 year olds with significant delays and then raising your first child with the same significant delays, you become a little warped on what typical development is suppose to look like. Did you know two year olds can talk in 4-5 word sentences, answer yes/no questions, tell you what hurts, tell you their likes and dislikes, call you “mommy” and already catch on that her big sister needs her help with things? In my eyes, that’s a genius! She amazes me every day!

Now I worry about other things with her. Am I giving her enough attention? Does she ever feel like her life revolves around her big sister? Does she already feel like she has to be mommy’s helper when it comes to her big sister? Loved ones are probably reading this laughing because they know I give Alyssa plenty of attention. Alyssa demands it! I’m sure there are times where I bow down to her demands quicker than I should but I also look at how her wants and needs quickly become second place some times. She is brought to therapy after therapy with her sister, she has had to play in other parts of the house while her sister has therapy in the main play area, she gets left on the swing while I have to run after Courtney to stop her from escaping. Sometimes she handles it well but sometimes she handles it like any child going through the terrible twos would handle it.

I think the thing that has amazed me the most about Alyssa is watching how she is with Courtney. Yes, they already get on each other’s nerves. There are times where you can tell Alyssa has had enough of Courtney and times where you can tell Courtney has had enough of Alyssa. Alyssa goes through this period every day where she can’t handle Courtney’s noises. Poor Courtney makes the slightest noice and Alyssa will scream, “stop CC!” Oh my gosh does this drive me CRAZY!!!! But then she makes up for it when we are trying to leave the house and Alyssa will try to grab Courtney by the hand and bring her to me. She will bring Courtney her talker if she needs it, she will try to get Courtney to play with her and every night she tries to give Courtney a hug good night. I was so excited to have two little girls and watching them grow and bond has already been the most beautiful thing ever.

I struggle watching her turn in to a little girl. She’s no longer my little baby. She will forever by my princess though.