Sisters!

After five or so weeks, things seem to be settling down. Denbele is no longer attempting to eat cat barf or staples or pebbles and is also no longer inhaling every meal as though it were the Last Morsel of Food on the Planet. Willa no longer seems murderously insecure, fearful that our love for her will vanish like, oh, I don't know, the budget surplus. In fact, now the girls really do seem like sisters, and not just because they own a closet full of matching dresses (grandparents: they can't resist).

A few mornings ago, we woke up at 7:30 (in and of itself a minor miracle in the household of Denbele, she of the let's wake up with the first fingers of dawn). Willa called to us: "Mommy, my baby and I woke up at the same time." We went into their room to discover Willa in D's crib, D on her lap and happily babbling "Wiwwa, Wiwwa," this being the most recognizable new English word she has acquired. Mostly she still speaks in her own language, what my friend Marjorie calls Klingon. Willa, who is as moody as Bette Davis, can be ridiculously sweet, murmuring "Sweetheart, I love you" to Denbele a lot. The foul moods now seem aimed more at me, which is as it was before, though as I write this, there is conflict as Denbele makes incursions onto Willa's food. She's better, but still a food scavenger.

Last night, Willa drew this picture:

It's of her and Denbele in the bunkbeds, the bottom bunk of which still remains vacant as D is too small for it. Willa had to practice. There are a few bunkbed pictures scattered about. But I think this is actually the first picture Willa has drawn of the two sisters (I'm pretty sure the small Martian-esque thing on the bottom bunk is Denbele). This seems Significant. It seems Sisterly.

Anyhow, that's this weekend's milestone. They come fast and furious. We have to go. Everyone clambering to go to the playground now and Denbele is licking the phone. Baby steps.

XX

Gayle