Very Funny, Karma

I really don't like to compare kids, but it's hard not to when one of them doesn't really have all that much personality just yet.

Put a lot of emphasis on that yet. We all know that the women in this house tend to have personality to spare. It just takes a little time to get there.

So far, if you just compare Alexis at one-week old and Mila at one-week old (OMG. ALREADY.), you find yourself looking at two humans who couldn't possibly be more different. In every way, shape, and form, Mila is traveling her own path that is so far removed from her sister's path that I'm left just dumbfounded and confused because I HAVEN'T DEALT WITH THIS BEFORE OMG.

Take, for example, their attitudes towards eating.

Alexis was more accurate than any clock in her insistence that she eat every four hours. When she was ready, she made it ridiculously obvious. She was like that annoying customer at the restaurant door screaming, "I HAVE A RESERVATION FOR 6:00 AND IT IS NOW 6:01. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE."

Seriously. She had no patience.

What's more, she showed up for every meal prepared to feast for at least an hour. She wanted a 9-course meal, complete with appetizers, desserts, and between-course snacks. She wanted to take a little nap between courses, chat for a bit, and basically wanted to enjoy her meals in a very European sort of way. Leisurely. Completely. For hours on end.

Mila, on the other hand, approaches meals like the cliche American. She wants to know things like where's the fast food? And what's taking so long? Why can't you just feed me with a tube or something? I have places to be, things to do. What's taking so long? No, I don't want any sides. THIS IS THE SLOWEST DRIVE THRU EVER.

Mila is willing to dedicate ten minutes to eating. Period. End of story. You can't upsell her on that apple pie and she most definitely doesn't want to chat. She is all business when it comes to getting through a meal so she can do something else.

The fun part of it all is that I spent a year of Alexis' life trying to get her to eat faster, and now I'm trying to get Mila to hang out for a minute and enjoy her food.

So much for having done this before and kinda knowing how to deal.

The Little Green Monster

Lest you think it's all sunshine and rainbows up in this joint, there are a few Not So Excellent things happening. For one, our not-that-old air conditioner died. If ever there was a bad time to spend $1000 to repair something, THIS IS IT, but whatever. Being a grownup sucks sometimes.

Being a big sister kinda sucks sometimes, too.

While Alexis is over-the-moon happy to have Mila in her life, she can't help but let a little green inch its way into her veins. She's not ridiculous levels of jealous at all, but ... it's there. A little bit.

The way she's handling it is rather hysterical, if you ask me.

A couple of days ago some fantastic friends stopped by to meet Mila. And by "stopped by" I mean drove REALLY far and in the case of Casey, flew. In an airplane. (My friends. There are no better ones out there.) Alexis was, of course, happy that we had company, even if they forgot to bring more kids with them.

As the adults sat around the patio table fawning over Mila, Alexis did exactly what any jealous-but-unwilling-to-admit-it sibling would do. She performed acrobatic feats in the yard.

(Photo by Casey. You should check out her blog. It rules.)

She didn't yell, "Look at me!" or anything like that. She did, however, pause frequently in her tumbling to see if anyone was watching. There were no parenting rookies at the table, so we all knew to make sure and acknowledge the existence of the the Big Kid. We clapped and cheered at all of the appropriate times.

But I knew she was just waiting for us to fail. She wanted an excuse to be mad.

The EXACT same thing happened the next day when the next door neighbors came over to visit. As we sat on the patio, Alexis did back walk-overs and waited. Staring at us. Waiting to see if we would notice.

An occasional round of applause would break out because we all knew what she was doing.

There are far worse ways to deal with a little jealousy. If we keep having visitors, Alexis might have her back handspring ready for action in time for cheer season.

She Waited a Lifetime for a Mila

She has waited literally her entire life for this.

For all of her days, or at least all of the ones that she remembers, Alexis has wished for a brother or sister. Every day. All of the days. She has never wanted for anything else as long as she has wanted for a sibling.

That is why I paused and answered very carefully when Alexis first asked to go to the hospital when her baby brother or sister was born.

She asked months ago, long before anyone was fully ready to embrace the if-ness of it all, but hearts that have not been shattered should not be broken. So, I explained that she couldn't be at the hospital at the time of the birth because it isn't a good place for kids, but that that we would make sure that she got to meet her brother or sister before anyone else.

"But Daddy will get to be there!" she replied.

"You're second. That's fair," was my answer.

In the time between that conversation and Mila's birth, there was a lot of clarification. "Mom, you can't tell Twitter before I meet the baby," she told me. "I get to meet him or her before anybody puts anything on Facebook," she said. "No email, mom!" She covered all of her bases and I agreed fully to her terms.

It was the right thing to do.

And, really, it's what we wanted anyway. We wanted to contact people one at a time and tell them, either by phone or by text. When you've waited as long as we have, taking a few extra moments to do it the right way makes the whole thing so much sweeter.

(Some of that got messed up. It was beyond our control and I apologize to anyone who saw the news on Facebook before we made the announcement ourselves.)

When Mila's birthday rolled around, Alexis knew what was going on. She knew that we would be gone long before she woke up. She knew that the very second school was over for the day, she would get to finally find out the answer to the question that has nagged her for months, and she would get to meet her brother or sister.

When the hospital room door opened, Mila was snuggled up tightly in my arms. Alexis burst through the doorway, ran across the room, and blurted, "IS IT A BOY OR A GIRL?"

I smiled for a second, then replied, "This is Mila."

Alexis knew that our first name for a girl was going to be Mila. We still, even that day, didn't have a boy name, but Mila was decided a few weeks earlier. It has no significance (other than the fact that it's an AWESOME name), but Alexis knew.

"MOM, IS IT A BOY OR A GIRL?" she desperately whisper-shouted.

Somebody was a little too excited to think straight, methinks.

"A girl," I replied.

For the record, Alexis had been convinced she was getting a brother for months. Months and months and months. She was CERTAIN. I don't know if she convinced herself because she actually wanted a sister and didn't want to be disappointed, or if she really did want a brother, or if she really didn't care either way. I just know she kept saying "boy." But it wasn't.

Reality struck and Alexis pumped her fist in the air then said, "Yes!" A grin spread across her face as she leaned over to kiss Mila on the forehead.

"Hi, Mila. I'm your sister, Alexis," she whispered.

The best things in life are well worth the wait.