Somewhere along the way I completely missed that my absolutely spectacular son is no longer a baby but a kick ass little boy! I feel like a dunce but I spent the whole day with Miles and my mom and he has a huge personality that I have only seen glimpses of in the “shadow” of his extremely exuberant older sister.
Sophia and Miles are only 19 months apart and Sophia is a bit of a show stealer. I think one danger of having kids so close together is in the difficulty finding their own time with mom and dad and their own special personality. She is outgoing, intelligent, funny and has a very loud voice. She is a wonderful big sister despite her moments of bossiness. She is always helping Miles and teaching Miles and playing with Miles and it is amazing to watch them together. Miles follows her every move if at all possible. It can be hard to see who he is. I rarely, and never for this amount of time, spend alone time with Miles. I got a lot of time with him when he was a baby but this is not the same thing considering he was attached to my boob or sleeping for most of those hours. He still loves to eat and sleep but it turns out he is a really cool kid. Since my baby abandoned the teat and turned into a toddler he and Sophia have been a team and I think I missed some of his shining personality.
Sophia flew to New Orleans with her daddy this morning and I bawled when I dropped them off at the airport. I have never left the kids with my husband and I have only been away from Sophia for a minimal amount of time her whole life. Every night we say “Best Friends Forever” and I mean it. That chick rocks my world.
I cried on the way home and then I walked into the door and got a huge hug from Miles as he yelled “Mama!” I have missed Sophia today, but more I have enjoyed Miles. I am just going to share a few things now because I have through Tuesday with him and I am hoping for some awesome memories and maybe my first Miles in action video!
First, without Sophia he said at least 5 words he has never said before, or I have never been able to hear because Sophia corrects him or talks over him. He now says candy, pants, diaper, pizza and tunnel. These don’t sound perfect but we heard them and more than once. In addition to these specific additions to his vocabulary, without Sophia he talked almost non-stop the whole day and tried to repeat almost any word we asked him to. It was awesome.
Second, Miles is really good at building things and figuring out puzzles. He is patient and thoughtful with blocks, trying to figure out the best way to put them together. He is methodical when he chooses a shape and color. He holds the shapes up and tests their fit in his creation and then very carefully puts his pieces together. He has a lot more patience than his sister. He enjoys silent activities as much as the mind numbing volume of the games he plays with his sister.
Third, Miles is a little friend to everybody. He says hello, gives hugs, shares toys and even sings to people. This little man is really a nice guy. I got so many cuddles today. He was able to play with other kids in the toy store without Sophia dragging us away and unlike his sister, he loves to play with kids his own age (Sophia runs with the older elementary age crowd)! I have never gotten the chance to see him interact alone with other kids and he is just great! He even seems like he is telling jokes and establishing camaraderie with the other toddlers round the Thomas table.
I was fascinated – no floored - by the revelation of my own child’s personality. I am resolving to spend more time alone with him, even if it means hiring a sitter sometimes after this baby is born. He deserves it, and so do I.
Do you think it is hard to get to know all of your kids when they are close together? Did you find that you have to make a real effort to spend quality alone time with each child? I would love to hear any ideas or tips on this one because I do not want to miss all these wonderful individual traits in any of my children.
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I am the Ringmaster of this circus. I have 3 small children who don't know what that means so I just say "Boss" and they get that. I am a mom who loves to write, build things, make things and love on my kids and my hubs. I am also in the midst of a love affair with social media. Always busy, usually laughing and never without words. Thus, Mommy Words. 
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
My two daughters are 5 year apart so I had a chance to have alone time with both. When the second was born the first went to kindergarden so we had time to bond and explore each other. The oldest obviously had my undivided attention until her sister was born.
Little Miles sounds like a wonderful little boy and definitely a mind of his own not to be “taken over” by his sister.
.-= Vodka Logic´s last blog ..Photo Phinish Phriday =-.
I hear you. I have 4 kids, and creating the time to be one-on-one with all of them, is a challenge. I know I need to get better at that. Seems the kid who screams the loudest gets my attention…
I think you’ve figured it out that it takes spending unique time with each child. It can be a challenge no matter what the ages but totally worth it.
We have little “traditions”– special times which is just for the one child. With my son, it’s going on adventure walks outside. With my daughter is scrapbooking.
Always a good time!
.-= Charlene´s last blog ..Great (Grateful) Kids =-.
Hope you enjoy the alone time you have with Miles. Such a lovely post.
.-= Snafflesmummy´s last blog ..Writing Workshop – Week 6 – Its Christmas Time =-.
Mine are 19 mo apart, too. (I think that’s a reason I like your blog so much!) Anyways, I never thought about this before… spending time with my JJ alone. Well, he’s only 7 months… but in the future that sounds good. I think we have the opposite situation though. Lil is quite, passive, and very soft spoken at two. At seven months, JJ already steals the spot light. I’ve been so concerned with making sure she (Lil) and I still have time that I haven’t thought about being alone with him… other than nursing and sleeping! Maybe in a couple of years…
And, you amaze me! I could not imagine being preggers right now! PLUS, the stress you are going through. I admire your strength and sanity.
.-= michelle´s last blog ..A Pagan Christmas =-.
Miles sounds so precious!!! That’s wonderful you were able to spend some alone time with him. I hope you’re able to do it more often- what a joy it must have been! I only have Nathan… he has no siblings just yet… but I’m already wondering how I’m going to handle the whole Mommy Alone Time when and if we have another baby.
-Jen
.-= NathanRising´s last blog ..Thought of the Day =-.
My daughter and I say “Best friends forever” and do the pinky swear thing every night too – so cute! I love it when I’m able to spend time alone with each of my kids – you really do get to see the unique aspects of their personalities during a little one on one time. Nice post!
.-= existentialwaitress´s last blog ..Happy Thanksgiving! =-.
Greg and I make it a point to have at least one night/day a month with Jackson/London. Whomever is with Jackson is spending time with London, and vice versa. Greg has the type of job where he can take Jackson to work with him, which he does at least once a month, which has been great! I get London all day (who knew only having one kid felt like a vacation?) and Greg gets boy time. Not sure if that’s possible in your family or not. Or you could find a friend to do kid swaps with. So, one day you’d drop Sophia off at a playmate’s house (or Miles if you want a Sophia day) and then you’d swap (the next week the playmate would be dropped off at your house so the other mom could get out).
.-= Becki´s last blog ..A Few More Months =-.
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November 29, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Great ideas. Hubby travels a lot so it is hard. I think I will try to take Miles out of school ona day Sophia is in to have some time with him. We should be able to swing 1 day a month – for the 2 months until the baby comes!
great post as usual .. thanks .. you just gave me a few more ideas to play with
I wish I was blogging when my babies were babies. You’re going to be so thankful when he’s seven, eight and nine and you have these posts you can read to him about HIM when he was little. When you read this one to Miles you can say, See Miles? See? We had time together!! You and Me Time!!
I used to write this stuff down, the new words my son learned in one week, or the toys he was playing with lately, but they’re on little scraps of paper. Not in one book. One day, I tell myself, one day I will be a scrap booker and all these little scraps of progress will be in one location. In chronological order!
But you! You have it here in your blog to pass on. You win Mother of the Year.
.-= Amy´s last blog ..When the Certified Letter Comes I’ll Stamp Deceased on it and Return It =-.