Sisterhood - 44 Months In

Emily and Jessica's sibling relationship hasn't changed much over the last six months, but it's always nice to keep track and collect a few pictures of them together. Here is what they're up to:

- They are still best friends, they love each other very much, and they play really well together.

- Jessica still insists that they will marry each other when they're older (I think Emily is having second thoughts). Jessica casually told this to my dental hygienist last week, explaining that she and Emily already know so much about each other. Hilarious!

-  Some things that Emily and Jessica enjoy doing together: playing outside, colouring, playing with (and trading) stuffed toys, and most recently, watching Mommy and Daddy play Mario Bros Wii.
 

- One major difference between these two sisters is that Jessica is really into feminine things like nail polish, lip gloss, earrings, accessories, dresses, etc, whereas Emily doesn't care much for any of it.

- Emily is already excited at the thought of Jessica going to school with her in the Fall. She excitedly tells Jessica all the details -- like how they'll get to see each other at recess. I'll bet having a big sister at school will help with the transition!

- I asked the girls a couple of questions for their Sisterhood post. Funny the answers they come up with:

Q: What do you like best about your sister?
E: That she's my sister.
J: That she has blue eyes.

Q: Is there anything your sister does that makes you angry/sad?
E: I don't like it when Jessi doesn't stop but I ask her to stop.
J: When she doesn't make a noise but I want her to make a noise.

Q: What is your favourite thing to do together?
E: Colour.
J: Play Snakes and Ladders. (Note: they haven't played this game in months, and I'm pretty sure that when they did, Emily quit because Jessica was getting upset about losing. Ha!) 

- These girls are too cute for words!

Sisterhood - 38 Months In

Time for another sisterly update. Here's what Emily and Jessica's relationship is like these days:

- I feel like I say this every time, but Emily and Jessica's friendship continues to grow stronger. They're so fond of each other and love to play together all day long.

 

"Sleeping" in their "bed"

- Emily is still the boss. She knows how to talk Jessica into doing almost anything -- from trading her favourite toy to giving up her spot on the couch.

- Speaking of trading, the girls trade toys all the time. Our only rule is that the trades are not permanent, so if someone wants their toy back, they can definitely get it back.

- The girls often pretend to be famous pairs like: Elsa & Anna, Mario & Luigi, Gru & Vector, Smee & Captain Hook, Elsa & the Snow Monster, or each other (exchanging their names).

- They disagree on one very important topic: during make-believe play, Jessica believes that there can only be one Elsa, Anna, etc. whereas Emily thinks it's ok if they both play the same character ("There can be TWO Elsas!"). This typically happens because Emily doesn't want to give up who she's pretending to be, but Jessica complains that she never gets a turn being a certain character. They argue about this all the time!
 

Elsa & Anna

- A couple weeks ago the girls were playing together in the basement, and when I came down to join them, they kindly asked me to leave! Ha. The day has finally come where they don't (always) want us around!

- They tried bunk beds, but it only lasted five nights. Apparently they want to give it another try soon; we'll see if we can find a better way to make it work!

- Life with these two beauties just keeps getting better!

Sisterhood - 34 Months In

It's hard to believe we're almost at the 3-year mark of having two kids. What an incredible journey it has been! Here is a quick summary of what their relationship is like right now.

- Emily and Jessica continue to love each other, enjoy each other's company, and play really well together.

- Lately they are also disagreeing a bit more. Jessica is finally starting to show more assertiveness and sometimes says "no" to Emily, which often creates a spat that needs to be resolved.

- Emily can be pretty persistent sometimes, even when Jessica says no. Conversations often sound like this:
Emily: Jessi, can I have that dog?
Jessica: No, I'm playing with it.
E: Maybe you could pretend that this (show her random toy) is a dog.
J: OK! (and happily hands over the dog)

Emily uses the "pretend" card often when she really wants something.

Another example:
Mommy: Do you girls want to have a bath or a shower?
E: Shower!
J: Bath!
E: Jessi, maybe you could just pretend that the shower is a bath?
J: OK! (and happily walks into the shower)

- The girls feed off each other's sadness. Any time Jessica cries, Emily starts to cry. Then Jessica will claim she's only crying because Emily is crying. It can get pretty messy over here! Emily also has a tendency to stress out or be on the verge of tears whenever Jessica disobeys.
 
- They still want to sleep in same room. The plan is to get big girl beds (twin beds) for Jessica's third birthday, with the option for making them into bunk beds. The girls are very excited! Emily's already decided that Jessica will get the bottom bunk and she will get the top.

- Nothing compares to watching these two grow together. 

Sisterhood - 30 Months In

These two have been sisters for 30 months now. Lucky for them, sisterhood just keeps getting better! Here's what they've been up to.

- Their relationship went from being indifferent, to liking each other, to now loving each other very much. Lately Emily tells us that when she grows up she's going to marry Jessica (because she loves her!).

- This evening for whatever reason the girls took off all their clothes, then started giving each other hugs and kisses. Emily said "look Mommy, we're marrying each other!" Haha. Where did they get that idea?! Oh dear.

- The latest nicknames they have for each other: Emily uses the names Tinky, Bucky, Jessi, or Bruce Banner regularly. Jessica uses Sissy, Clank, Hulk, or Emily. Actually, Jessica has learned that she should just ask Emily what her name is, because Emily loves to change her name multiple times a day.

- While they love each other very much, they also enjoy 'alone time' and different activities. Often you'll find Jessica playing Legos while Emily's colouring. Or Emily reading upstairs while Jessica's doing puzzles. Sometimes it can feel like their desires for activities never match up! They also both really enjoy one-on-one time with a parent (typically Emily with Daddy and Jessica with Mommy).

- Emily and Jessica are different in many ways. Emily is a picky eater, she's quiet, sensitive, and not big on physical affection. Jessica on the other hand loves to try new things, is chatty, outgoing, and loves physical affection. Emily needs things to be just so; Jessica doesn't mind going with the flow.

- One thing's for sure: Emily is the boss. Emily chooses what they watch on TV, which colour bowls/cups they get, what activities they're going to do, etc. Luckily Jessica's temperament allows her to accept whatever sissy demands. Otherwise I think things would get pretty wild around here!

- Emily was heartbroken the other day when I told her that Jessica was still too young for a 'sleepover' (for Jessica to sleep in Emily's room). I told her that Jessi needs to at least be out of her crib, so probably around 3 years old. I think it's going to be one big party when they finally get to sleep in the same room. But I'm also predicting that Emily won't last more than a few nights before requesting that Jessica goes back to her room. Ha!

- They don't fight as often as they used to, and it's rarely ever physical. Most of the time they just yell at each other ("Stop!" "Don't do that!"), or argue with each other through me ("Mommy, I don't want her to do that." "Mommy, I don't want to talk [to Jessi]".).
 

- It's been a wonderful 30 months, watching and loving these two sisters! Looking forward to many more.

Sisterhood - 26 Months In

Time for a recap of Emily and Jessica's sibling relationship! I always love looking at old posts and seeing what their relationship was like at 6 months, 10 months, 14 months, 18 months, and 22 months. Amazing how quickly things can grow and change.

6 months

10 months

14 months

18 months

22 months

26 months

- Emily and Jessica's relationship continues to grow stronger. They really enjoy each other's company and now play together for long periods of time. There are even times when they would prefer to play together without their parents. Gasp!

- Although they love each other, the girls get into a few spats per day, especially over the last couple of weeks. Their fights usually consist of Emily yelling or grabbing and Jessica grabbing or biting. By the end of it they are usually both in tears. What causes the fights? Usually it's someone getting too close (in someone's space), or one sister not following the other's directions. They make up pretty quickly after Mommy and Daddy revise/discuss the situation. They always say they're sorry.

- Emily has definitely placed herself in a leadership role. She loves to dictate their play, decide how/what they are doing, and teach Jessica various things. Luckily Jessica is easy going and enjoys being led. Emily gets pretty upset on those few occasions when Jessica does not want to follow along.

- Emily has discovered a clever trick for getting Jessica to give up a toy when Emily wants it. Instead of asking for the toy, Emily will go find another toy and excitedly ask Jessi: "would you like to play with this toy??". It almost always works! If Jessica doesn't answer her usual "ok!", then Emily will ask how many more minutes Jessi wants with the toy, knowing that Jessica always says "2 minutes". After 2 minutes, it's Emily's turn! Poor Jessica doesn't quite see what's happening yet.

- Again, the list of nicknames they have for each other is ever growing. They almost never use their real names (unless they're talking to strangers).

- Their food preferences are quite different. While Emily loves parmesan cheese, noodles, cereal, and kiwis, Jessica does not. Jessica loves a number of foods that Emily will not touch: bananas, oranges, Granny Smith apples, cherries, black/blue/raspberries, carrots, cereal bars, pistachios, yogurt, ketchup, peanut butter, and toast. Even their preferences in cheeses are different: Emily likes chewy mozzarella or marble cheddar; Jessica likes cheese curds and hard extra mild cheddar. Jessica's definitely a more adventurous eater while Emily is about as picky as they get. Common loves include strawberries, chocolate, and batter!

- Activities they do together on a daily basis include drawing, puzzles, Legos, stickers, watching videos, and playing in Mommy and Daddy's room.

- I'm not actually sure what the effect of Emily's activities (gymnastics, soccer, school readiness) has had on Jessica. I can't tell if she really misses Emily, whether she wishes she could go with her, or whether she just enjoys having Mommy/Daddy all to herself. Maybe she's still too young to fully grasp the idea of sissy being gone for an extended amount of time and how to express her feelings about it.

Watching sissy play soccer

"Shopping for plants and dirt is SO boring, Mommy"

- I can't believe how much I love my two little girls and how much joy it brings me to see them together. It is wonderful to see that they know they have each other, especially when Mommy and Daddy are busy. I hope they continue to love and get to know each other. I'm curious to see how Jessica will react when Emily's gone all day for school.