I have decided that being "caught up on the laundry" is a myth. It just doesn't happen. Ever.
Sleeping update: Asher had been doing so well (sleeping from 8pm till 7am without interruption and without tears at bedtime) with the room to himself for about 5 days in a row, I decided to move Iris back in. They have been officially sharing a room again for 3 nights and every morning Asher has been waking up earlier and earlier. They both go to sleep just fine, without a bit of hassle or complaint or tears, but he is now waking up at 6am again. And the moment he makes a peep, Iris is immediately yelling for me at the top of her lungs (I don't think she quite comprehends the concept of a baby monitor). It's tiring and stressful. So Iris is going to be spending the night tonight at Nana's house to see if without her the boy will yet again sleep in a bit later. Just an experiment. I don't know what their deal is.
The other day Timm and I took the kids to play at the indoor playground at the mall in Forest Park. There were a couple of other little girls running around- they seemed to be a touch younger than Iris, but it's tough to tell since Iris is so tall for her age. Anyway, I overheard Iris introduce herself to the other girls and try to run around with them. After a few minutes of asking the girls if they wanted to play, asking their names and telling them hers, Iris just froze in one spot, facing the wall, while the other girls ran off. Then she started crying. I went over to her, thinking maybe she'd been hurt. No physical injury. Instead, for the first time that I can think of, she was emotionally wounded by the other girls, who had apparently been ignoring her request to make friends.
"I think so they don't like me," she managed through her tears. "I think so they think I'm bad."
This was the first time I can think of where her self-esteem was rattled.
And my heart broke. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to lie and tell her that of course they like you, everybody likes you. Maybe those girls really didn't like her. My brain went to mush and all I wanted to do was cry with her, but instead I managed to suggest to her that maybe the other little girls were just shy and too afraid to make new friends right away and that it was a shame because they were really missing out because you are so special and good.
She cares so much and feels so deeply and thinks about everything.
All I can think about now is how much worse it's going to get as she gets older! I want her to be strong and confident and self assured- things that I was not when I was growing up. Things I still struggle with.
How can I teach her to be strong when these situations make me feel so weak?
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