The Honeymoon is Over

When I brought my second daughter home, Cora was not quite 2 1/2 years old. To say Cora was excited about a new baby would be an understatement. She was practically obsessed with the new baby's whereabouts at all times. She helped change diapers, get bottles ready, sing songs, read stories, get burp cloths -- you name it, Cora helped do it. Many times a day I heard little Cora say, "Let's go see what the baby's doing," and she'd tip toe to the cradle to watch her new sister sleeping. Cora even named her own new baby doll, Adelle. And she called her new sister Adelle Baby -- which always made me smile because it sounded a lot like A Doll Baby.

Even now, with Adelle 2 and Cora 4, I could not ask Cora to be a better big sister. She's protective when it comes to germs in public restrooms ("Adelle, DO NOT touch anything"), she still helps change diapers ("She's got the yucks!"), and she even shared her juice with her after a soccer game (with no prompting from me).

But I realized that even with all this sister-y goodness, the honeymoon is definitely over. Memorial Day was spent prying the two girls apart and putting them each in their own rooms for some seriously needed Alone Time. They fought over tiny dinosaurs, Barbies, books, Legos, and anything else either one of them touched.
"Mom! Adelle's not sharing!"
"Cora, share!"
"Mom! She's kicking me!"
"Ow!"
"Ow, Mom! She's hurting me!"
Then cries from both girls.

James and I were at our wits end. I suddenly felt severe guilt for having put my own parents through this same plight with my older brother when we were kids. How many times did my parents have to draw an imaginary line in the back seat of the car that we could not cross as to avoid a fight? Or how many times did I complain my brother wasn't being fair? Or that he hit me? Or that he hurt me?

My mother has always told me that she originally wanted three children, but once my brother and I started bickering, she couldn't imagine adding a third child to the mix. So she stopped at two.

I don't blame her one bit.