Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh my!

Lately, Leila has been hitting a bit of a developmental spurt. She comprehends so much already, and it really just amazes me to no end. I think this probably has a lot to do with being a younger sibling and having to learn the intricacies of family dynamics right away as far as having older siblings.

So, anyway.... I noticed that Leila is beginning to develop fears. It started a few days ago when she wanted her baby doll to sleep with at night. I told her to go get it from the doll crib in the game room. She goes running over there full speed, but suddenly stopped on a dime when she realized the game room did not have a light on. Oh, the fear of the dark phase has just begun. I am still going through this with Ava, so now I have another child to deal with constantly.

I encouraged her to go ahead in and get her baby. I told her everything was fine, but she wasn't budging an inch. So, I went over and nudged her back to walk. She was digging her heals in, though. So, I pushed a bit harder until she started at a slow pace. All the while, I was telling her there was nothing to be afraid of in there. She found her baby doll and took off to the safety of the lighted hallway.

Well, today I discovered she has yet another fear. We have had a major cold front heading into this area. With it brought a pretty significant thunderstorm. Every few minutes, there would be a large crash of thunder. It first started without incidence. However, I suddenly had Leila running up to me screaming her head off like she had just seen her Grrr's head ripped off and eaten by our ferocious Persian cat, Bella.

She crawled onto my blanket clad lap practically shaking. I was in the middle of reassuring that she was perfectly safe when the thunder crashed again. This time, she pulled the blanket up over her head hiding herself from the threatening sound. I could not help myself but laugh at her innocent display of fear. She just could not be anymore precious. This behavior was repeated over the next hour as the storm moved past us.

I just love the innocence of little children. I know the day will come, probably sooner rather than later, when something as silly as a thunderstorm will seem like just that...a silly thunderstorm....instead of a threatening force.