Since Ivey was born, both Asa and Addison have been head over heals for her. They'd move over if she wanted them to, let her poke them in the eyes because tell her 'no' would make her cry, and turn cartwheels to make her smile. Then, Asa hit seven years old. Addison still bends over backwards for the girl... which she totally takes for granted. Addison tries every morning to snuggle up with her. Ivey reacts the same way every morning... with a screech and scream that says, "Back off, Buddy! I don't do mornings!"
Although Asa still spends plenty of time playing with her, giving her hugs, reading her books, and all sorts of adorable things, he has started to do things just to get a rise out of her. This is completely new, and completely obnoxious. For instance, Ivey puts on these hysterical goggles in the bathtub. Tonight, she was running around after her bath, in that cute-hyper-happy mood, butt naked and in goggles.... and, for no reason, Asa tried to take them off. Last night, we asked him to clean off the table for dinner and he went straight for the toy that she was playing with instead of the entire table worth of junk.
I know, I know... this is just normal brother/sister behavior! It just so happens that we have had nothing but sappy love for two glorious years... so the antagonistic behavior is new for us! In his defense, I don't know many kids who would allow their little sister to jump on their chests and squeal at the top of her lungs while he's trying to watch Indiana Jones. Ivey is no wallflower. She's in the middle of everything going on, egging on tickle fights, and jumping off the furniture. But, unlike me as a kid, she manages to be rough and tough with perfectly bouncy curls.
The ripe ol' age of seven didn't just bring us a touch of picking-on-sister. Blowing out those candles also left Asa was a newfound need to be dramatic. I'm sure someone with a seven year old girl would roll their eyes at this, but this over reaction with a side of disdain is way more than I can tolerate. I hate drama. I hate the pouty-if-I-can't-have-what-I-want-I'd-rather-pout-on-the-couch ridiculousness. I just can't deal with whining. Does that mean it won't happen? No, not at all! But, I don't have to make it acceptable. Once I lower the threshold on what is acceptable, we're in trouble for sure.... we're greatly outnumbered here! There will be a day when we have adolescents in the house and there will be nothing we can do about it. At that point, there's just no way they can control their emotions. I remember it well, and I teaching middle school was a huge reminder. Yes, we'll have a lot of drama in our future. But, I don't want to put up with any more of it than I have to!
Asa may be in a behavior funk right now, but at least the child sleeps! Last night, Ivey woke up screaming, presumably of a bad dream, at 11:30. I tried to calm her down (which finally involved climbing into her crib and holding her) and finally was successful at 1:30 this morning. At 3:30am, Olive woke up for an early feeding. At 6:00, Addison was at my bedside, having severe abdominal cramps and I spent the morning with him on the bathroom floor. Thankfully, at least one child stayed in bed the entire night!
Life with kids is full of stages, and I'm sure I will make it through a seven year old Asa and a 2 year old Ivey. There's still way more sweetness than not... It's actually not as bad as I made it out to be. But, I'd better consider it a practice run, cause a couple 8 year olds, a 3 year old Ivey and a 18 month old Olive is just around the corner.
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