Raising two stubbornly independent little girls has its challenges, they know what they want and sometimes there's no convincing them otherwise! Chloe loves to pick out her own outfits now and gets really offended when you tell her that the coral flowery leggings don't really go very well with the red Christmas jumper (getting her to change is always a real treat!), the upside to this though is that on most school mornings she gets herself up, dressed and usually has her hair done before I have to ask her which I will definitely chalk up as a win! Aryah is just always right, she will argue that black is white, hates being corrected and is developing a very sharp tongue, which at the moment is quite amusing making it difficult to tell her off (not that she listens much when you do) but despite this she is the kindest, most caring little girl who absolutely idolises her big sister and very much keeps us all on our toes.
(<---This picture though......I have so many photos of Aryah sitting pleased as punch and Chloe looking less than thrilled at being forced to take a picture with her sister in it!! )
Independence is wonderful, it's great that they want to do everything themselves, except when its not. Like when you're trying to get ready to leave the house and they refuse to change out of the totally impractical shoes that don't, in any way, match what they're wearing or suit the occasion. Or when they both insist on "helping" with things around the house, which inevitably results in a huge fight over who gets to use the brush, me screaming at everyone, and more mess being created. It's tricky trying to find the balance between letting them do things for themselves and me holding onto my sanity.
Every time I see the girls trying their best to learn something new or trying to do something by themselves, refusing all offers of help, I feel like I'm doing my job well and can envision them growing into strong, independent women. At the same time I'm struggling with the innate, motherly desire to help them and hold on to them a little bit longer, keep them being my little babies, but as they'll both firmly argue, they're "big girls" now. I have no idea where they get their stubbornness from........
So strong willed to strong women? Time will tell, but I do know that it'll be a wonderful, frustrating, but ultimately massively rewarding journey that we get to be on with them. I'm sure there'll be plenty of tears and tantrums along the way but as long as the laugher and fun outweighs that's all that matters.