I laughed to myself today at the sight of BabyGirl in her sister’s outgrown dress under a red ruffled top with her brown suede boots on the wrong feet. The dress is really still too large for her, so even if the weather were, in fact, warm enough for spaghetti strap sundresses, the shirt would still be required to prevent flashing the world through the too low neckline and gaping armholes. As we headed towards the glass doors of her school, she confidently slung her lunchbox on her shoulder like a purse and sauntered towards the defunct green button marked “EXIT” that she insists on pushing daily before crossing the threshold.
She is quite a character.
Today, the spring in her step reminded me sharply of Meg Ryan’s quirky walk in You’ve Got Mail. Then, the more I thought of it, I realized she is Meg Ryan. Well, in a matter of speaking.
First off, let me point out: she’s a Gemini. The twins. Soooooo true.
Twin #1: Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail
Feminine, yet not overly prissy. She’s smart, quirky, spunky, and independent. She isn’t afraid to speak her mind – no matter how giant the foe….and all of this tucked neatly away beneath the exterior of sugar and spice and all things nice. She is just so “cute”.
BabyGirl has a side of her that is sweet as pure honey. “Esscuse me, Mommy. When djou are done can djou please get me som’mor golefish?” She loves and dotes on the doggies with the gentlest of hands, pulling them to her and kissing their cheeks. She holds me, kisses my face and rests her head on my shoulder and spontaneously says, “I love you.” She’s been a little cuddle bunny from her own very beginning, wanted to be held even more so than BigGirl (always described as a cuddly baby herself) ever did. Because of her sleep struggles, BabyGirl sweetly, pitifully asks us to “soffly” her (rub her face and arms softly) until she falls asleep.
Yet, she has that joyful quirkiness and independence to her spirit that tells her to wear a short-strapped purse across her body like a messenger bag and sport shoes on the wrong feet, despite repeated corrections. (She likes them that way.)
Twin #2: Meg Ryan in Addicted to Love
I told you about her first cat fight at school, didn’t I? I’ve long thought it humorous that I am more often than not rescuing her older sister from her rather than the other way around. (In fact, I cannot think of a single time I’ve had to rescue her from her sister.) She does everything with a passion – all the way back to nursing and taking bottles. (That’s when FireDaddy and I started joking that we fully expect to walk into a party one day and find her upside-down beneath a funnel.)
She is just starting to give BigGirl a run for her money with the smarts. Just the other day I overheard her spouting off (with a tone of sass, might I add) in the backseat to her big sister about Pluto’s status as a dwarf planet.
And you know the old trick of promising dessert for those who finish their dinner? Forget it. If she doesn’t want it – she isn’t going to eat it. She’ll sooner pass on her favorite dessert than let you get your way. The end. No negotiating. “Akch-ually, I don’t want chocolate ice cream,” and she’s finished. For real. You may as well save your breath.
As for cleaning up toys? “BabyGirl, if you don’t help clean up I’m going to throw these toys away!”
“OK, Mommy. You can frow dem away.”
…and I do…..and she doesn’t care. The girl means what she says.
This BabyGirl of mine surprises me everyday. It is so amazing to watch her start to stretch out her legs as she is figures out which way those legs will take her. I have a feeling, no matter which way her road will lead, it’s going to be a wild ride. We are going to have some kind of fun.
