Ava,
Parenting you is entirely different than parenting your Brother. Largely because with the first you're driving blind and hoping you make the right adjustments to the wheel as you go and gain vision.
But also because you are so different in so many distinct ways.
I guess it makes sense and I should have known this would be the case, but honestly it has surprised me.
You are so engaged with your world and how you fit in to it at not even 2. You understand and communicate so much to us already, we have to comply and get your needs fulfilled. And you know it, because you know you're being clear.
I'm able to tap in to and use the parenting skills I've honed over the years with your Brother, and I find I'm more equipped to manage your toddler emotions with patience and empathy. But it is still surprising to me.
Knowing you are likely our last child also colors this experience in a very different way for me. I find I'm more apt to try and soak up moments, take you in at this age and try and imprint it in to my brain, my heart, my body.
But I know I cannot save all the moments, I know that some will be swept away to be replaced by more immediate needs. Like organizing your second birthday, or developing a new training program for work.
So I take videos from time to time to capture who you are at this age. As much as I attempt to keep my phone tucked away and not involved in our experiences together, I whip it out to capture a moment I know I'll want to remember later, a moment that will bring the memory out from the dusty corner she's living in and flood my body with the feeling of that moment.
Balance.
