Ava and Lucie, my little loves.  So different and yet so similar.  As Lucie's personality emerges, I find myself thinking back to when Ava was her age and the differences between them.  A few examples:

• Ava LOVED her bath as a baby; she would splash and kick and scream and never wanted to get out.  Lucie...she could take it or leave it.  She loves the water, but is cautious. 
• Ava is the most patient child ever and always has been.  On her changing table, I could just hand her a toy to manipulate and she would let me lotion and dress her, no matter how long it took.  Lucie on the changing table: you better do it and do it fast, or she will let you know.  Currently, the only thing that will entertain her while dressing is her toothbrush.  All other little toys - forget it!  She pushes or throws them away. 
• Lucie cries and yells instantly if I leave the room, if she can't reach a toy (learn to crawl, Luce!), if Ava has a toy that she wants, if she's in the high chair for one second too long....the list goes on.  She is such an overreactor!  (Gee, who is like that?  I'm examining my own faults these days...)

I would like to think that perhaps Ava was just born with her laid-back personality, but a part of me can't help but visit my "what if" world when I think about this.  I have always had this alternative vision of Ava, her "second life," if you will - I wonder what Ava would have been like if she could see.  Would she still be as patient if she had the ease of mobility, the luxury of choice and visual desire for things and places?  Or, is this just her?  I guess that I will never know, but I wonder about it sometimes. 

Despite their differences, Ava and Lucie get along very well together.  Ava has grown to understand Lucie's wildness and sudden outbursts - this doesn't bother Ava anymore.  Ava loves to grab Lucie's feet and hands and shake away, saying, "Hiiii, Luce!" - she is the sweetest big sister.  Lucie wants Ava - not just her toys, but she wants HER - Ava is really in trouble when Lucie finally gets this crawling (or walking) thing down.  Lucie wants to throw herself on top of Ava, I just know it! 

Now that Bobby and I are both working from home, Lucie gets lots of attention.  This is nice because our focus has so often been Ava, but since Lucie is the only one at home during the day, she has us all to herself.  I have been taking Lucie to her Kindermusic class on Thursdays and she is really getting into it - clapping, waving, reaching out to the other little ones.  She loves to dance to the music and play with the instruments.  She and Ava both have a love of music and it's fun to get out all of our instruments at home and have a dance party. 

As for Bobby and I - we are slowly figuring out how to make this at home thing work.  It's a bit more stressful than I thought because we haven't totally figured out a good schedule yet.  Sometimes, we both have things to do at the same time and Lucie is shuffled back and forth between us - it's a battle for private work time!  We're getting there, though and this weekend, we've been reorganizing our work space, cleaning out our desk and totally reorganizing the girls' toys, which were totally out of control.  With Christmas and birthdays coming up, we're sure to have an influx of new things to play with!

Ava is doing so well with her cane at home, school and out in public.  She has to work on her form a bit, but I am thrilled with the way that it has helped her to navigate strange places.  I used to dread the idea of Ava having a cane (when she was a baby) because to me, that was the time when I could no longer fool the world: hello, world - my daughter is blind.  I thought that I would feel so much fear and shame and lived inside of my secret for a long time before Ava could walk.  It was easy to pretent that she was just a shy baby in the shopping cart or stroller, more focused on her toys than people who approached her.  Now that the time is here, I am so proud of Ava's cane.  Taking it out in public the first few times made me a little nervous, but it was a nervousness that came sort of half-way through our outing - like this moment when I stopped and realized what might happen if someone looked at Ava funny or said something about her.  I just kept my eyes on the prize and focused on our carefree, confident little girl, finding her way through a strange world.  She kept me from allowing my fears to overtake me. 

Now we're full swing into Fall, looking forward to some exciting things coming up soon: a trip to a farm/pumpkin patch with Ava's preschool (we're all going with her!), Halloween parties, our neighborhood's Fall Fest, trick or treating for the first time with both Ava and Lucie.  Can't wait for all of these good things!