big sister veda

So, as much as I think my world has changed since the arrival of our two sweet girls...I've got NOTHING on Veda! I can only imagine what went through that big old brain of hers when she got the concept of a babies growing in mommy's belly. I have to say, from the very start, I was so nervous for her. All I could think was that my sweet, spoiled little girl was going to resent me and her new baby sisters. How in the world could I show her the attention that she deserved with two babies screaming at me?? I decided to go ahead and accept the fact that she was no longer going to be my little mommy's girl. =(

But, I was in for a huge suprise! I know I say this a lot, but we were blessed to have really good babies! So, although I still get screamed at a good bit, these girls still give me plenty of time to spend with my sweet Veda. Granted, there are still many times when she doesn't get my undivided attention and she probably says "mama" 50 times before I realize im being spoken too. I feel horribly guilty about it, but she seems to take it all in stride. We still get our alone time every night before bed and I try to take at least 30 minutes a day and just sit in her room and do just about whatever she asks of me.

Even though our relationship has changed, she is still my sweet mama's girl and she is the most amazing big sister! From the first day she came to the hospital, she was so protective of her baby sisters. If one of the girls would start to cry, Veda would try to push that little cart toward me and say "mama...baby cwying..get her!" And then ofcourse, when we finally got the babies home, Veda couldn't go a whole 5 minutes without at least touching/poking/rubbing/kissing a baby. There were a few scary moments of her trying to pick up one of the girls by herself. Eek! But, all in all, she has been a mostly gentle, hands-on big sissy.

Lately, we have really started to see how much she really loves "her" babies. Yes..."her" babies!

Me: Veda are they your babies or mommy's?
Veda: mine!
Me: Oh! Did you carry them in your belly for 9 months?
Veda: Yes. My babies!

Needless to say, she has really taken posession of her precious sisters. I catch her often telling the girls "you're so bootifullll."as she rubs their face, signing the word beautiful. How adorable is that?! Veda could tell the girls apart before I could! I think toddlers are just very good at picking up small differences. Such attention to detail! But now she has her stubborn days where both of the babies are named August. I personally believe she does it just to aggrivate me. I mean, this is Veda we're talking about. But, correct names or not, she is so enthusiastic about her babies. From the moment we had names picked out, she told everyone she met "August and Worawye! Baby sistas." Most people didn't understand her and I just had to laugh. She felt that everyone should be just as interested in her babies as she was. Sounds like someone I know...Shane!!

Don't get me wrong, there have been a few...ugly...occasions with the babies. There have been some scratches and pinches and aggressive "pats" on the head. And there has been one...so hard to admit...bite! Gasp! I know...how awful! But, no permanent damage, and I figure...those babies are going to get her good one day! We will just hope that we have incidents that are bite free in the future. Ofcourse, she gets punished for the injuries she produces. And then she runs to her latest victim and says "ahhh, I sowwy baby! Muah! I kiss you! I so sowwy." I mean, really! How can you stay mad at her after that? Such a sour patch kid!

So, the last 4 months have all come down to one beautiful moment. We recently took Veda to the circus. We decided not to take the babies because I was already anxious about dirt, germs, swine flu, charging elephants, creepy clowns, tortured angry lions...I could go on. Im not a fan of the circus! So, back to the story. We dropped Veda's babies off with their grandparents for the evening and we headed out for a date night with our sweet girl. We didn't so much make it out of the driveway before Veda had a meltdown. Now, we're used to this, so we didn't think much of it. Until she said "I want my babies baaaaack! I want my babies!" It was the sweetest, yet most heartbreaking moment! It took us about 10 minutes to get her calmed down and understand the fact that tonight was just for her and mommy and daddy. She so badly wanted her babies with her. It was so sweet and I couldn't help but tear up a little.

What a big heart she must have! Despite the lack of attention, the passing down of favorite dresses and shoes, the loss of cuddle time with mommy, the problem hearing her favorite movie over the piercing sounds of baby screams, the sharing of toys, the constant "Veda don't do that! Veda don't poke her, Veda don't pick her up, Veda leave the bottle alone, Veda don't don't don't!"...despite it all, she has such an unconditional love for her baby sisters. I couldn't be more proud of my sweet little helper. I have to tell her daily "Veda, you are such a good little mommy!" And she beams with pride! Moments like these, I realize that despite all of my insecurities as a mother, I must be doing something right to raise such a big hearted little girl.