Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Hair - the Truth
And here is the truth, the view of her hair that is rarely seen:
Yup. Down to the middle of her back. Not that you'd ever know it to look at it dry.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Dear Gwen: Month Forty-Six
Today, you are forty-six months old.
You are so close to Four, you can taste it. This year, for the first time, you are able to anticipate your coming birthday and the accompanying party. Just about every day, you mention something about your party – what kind of cake you’d like (banana chocolate), where the party should be (All-over Woods), and when the big event is going to happen (in the springtime).
Aside from your birthday, another thing you talk about often is your plan to plant a sunflower in the spring. You are also very interested in science right now, and we do an experiment a few times a week. Our experiments are not usually very scientific, as they often just consist of various permutations of “What will happen when I put [substance] in water?” or “What will happen if we put [substance] in freezer?” When you realized recently that one of your great loves, cooking/baking, was really just one big science demonstration (water gets hot, turns into steam; hot water turns hard things into soft things; baking in oven turns soft stuff into hard stuff) I do believe your mind was blown.
You continue to be an extremely social little girl, and this is reflected in your latest idea to build a “move machine” and a “grow machine”. The move machine would move all our friends to our house without getting wet in the rain, and the grow machine would make our house big enough to hold all our friends. I’ve encouraged you to draw me a picture of these machines, but mostly you just enjoy talking about them.
You are growing and changing in fascinating ways right now. You have a new saying, “Tell me all about that,” which I think you must have picked up at preschool (perhaps the teacher says this at Show and Tell?). In any case, it has changed our conversations quite a bit. Your attention span is starting to be a bit longer, and you seem interested in what people have to say. For example, a few days ago you told me you really liked my “city pictures”, which are oil paintings I bought on my long-ago trip to Rome. I showed you on the globe where Italy is, and told you that I’d taken a plane all the way across the ocean to get there and be in a race. You wanted to hear more, so I took down my Rome scrapbook and we looked through it together. I showed you pictures of me in the race and pointed out the medal that hangs with my “city pictures” – you are very aware of races and medals because of a Backyardigans show that you enjoy. It was a really neat moment, sharing my memories and experiences with you. Your only confusion was asking me – “Mom, did you miss me? Didn’t you come back to see me?” You couldn’t quite understand that you weren’t even born yet!
Another thing I am really proud of is that you had your second dentist appointment and you were an absolute HERO. Your first dentist appointment, which was several months ago, did NOT go well. You wouldn’t let the dentist near you – I think this is because he was wearing a mask and strange glasses and looked pretty scary to you. Although we reassured you over and over that all he wanted to do was count your teeth, you stubbornly kept your mouth clamped shut. I decided to try again, and between you and me, if it hadn’t worked out this time I was going to book you in with a pediatric dentist, figuring they must have special tricks up their sleeves to help kids cope. But even before the appointment, we tried some different strategies.
We borrowed a book called “Show Me Your Smile!: A Visit to the Dentist'>Show Me Your Smile,” about Dora’s trip to the dentist, and we read it every day and practiced opening wide for the dentist. I took a few tools out of your doctor kit and we took turns playing dentist and patient. We talked about the dentist constantly for the weeks leading up to your appointment. And it worked! You were calm and accepting and even let the hygienist scale your teeth, to which she commented, “Wow, usually kids don’t let you do that until they are at least 5 or 6.” SUPERSTAR! We were very proud of you.
You are becoming more interested, and more proficient, at various computer games. You have a LeapFrog computer that hooks up to our television, and we also recently discovered all the cool, educational, and FREE games that you can play online at pbskids.org. You can easily spend 40 minutes on the Curious George games alone. When we’re stuck inside on a rainy February Saturday, I really don’t mind you spending time with these games – they’re better for your brain than passively watching videos, and aside from the educational value you are also learning mouse skills, which you will indubitably need in today’s computer-based world. Last week you were playing online and I was blown away by your skill at tangram puzzles, in particular.
We’ve found a new church to go to, and you seem to really enjoy Sunday school and your friends at church. I am so thrilled that you have a church “home” and have found joy in that community. A few weeks ago at church, the topic of the children’s talk was water, as our congregation is working to raise money to build a well in Malawi, Africa. The teacher asked about different ways that we use water, and one kid mentioned that she has a pet fish who lives in water. You decided to get in on this action and stood up proudly in front of the whole congregation and announced, “When I am five years old, we are going to get a pet and I am going to name it Sparkles.” For the rest of the day the adults in the congregation kept coming up to me with a wink and a smile and saying, “Sparkles, hmm?” Hey, it’s news to me but it sounds like a PERFECT name for a goldfish, don’t you think?
I have to tell another church story as well. This past week, after the service, you were playing with an older child (8 or so years old) outside the hall. A few minutes later, the older child appeared, but you did not. Apparently, you had sent her back to the hall to get something (because even as the younger child you are the BOSSY one) and when she went back to where you’d been playing together, you were gone. A few minutes’ search revealed no Gwen, and suddenly the icy weight of panic crept into my stomach. Other moms joined in to help me find you. In my rational mind I felt fairly certain that you wouldn’t just wander away from the church, as it has friends, a playground, toys, and a playroom to keep your interest, whereas the street has nothing fun about it. On the other hand, I was running out of places to search and there was still no sign of you. Finally (after what felt like 10 minutes but was probably less than 5) someone found you, back inside the church sanctuary. They guided you towards me and when you saw me you said, “I couldn’t find you and I was scared.” I thought, GOOD! and told you I’d been scared too.
I guess every parent goes through this with their kid, but I have to say I feel like we go through it more than most. Maybe because it’s just you and me so much of the time, maybe because you are by nature a super curious and active kid with little regard for safety, or maybe it’s just your age. Your dad suggested a ‘rendezvous point’ so that if we do get separated again, you have a specific place to go to find me. Of course, we’d both like it a lot better if you either stayed with me, or kept me updated on your whereabouts, but that doesn’t seem to be happening very consistently, so the planned meeting spot seems like a good Plan B until you get a little less crazy.
So, that’s our life these days, Gwen. You are turning into a fascinating (though sometimes aggravating) little person, and I am doing my best to keep up. I love you a million, billion, kajillion and three, and can’t wait to see what’s next.
Love,
Mama
Friday, February 17, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Feb Photo a Day Challenge Day 16: Something New
Today Gwen wanted "one ponytail over on the side" instead of her usual two. As you can see, it's already falling apart mere minutes after being put in. Not that the ponytails last very long under the best of conditions...
Incidentally, this is the face she makes when you ask her to smile for a photograph. CHARMING, yes?
But THIS is the face she makes if you make her laugh by saying, "Stinky Underwear!" before taking a picture.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Feb Photo a Day Challenge Day 15: Phone
My plan is to buy myself a smartphone (probably an iPhone) as a graduation gift this Spring. Well, maybe I should say "intention" rather than "plan" because "plan" kind of indicates that I have some idea of how I'm going to pay for it, and I do not.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy Valentine's Day to the Love of My Life
aka Feb Photo a Day Challenge Day 14: Heart
Monday, February 13, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Feb Photo a Day Challenge Day 12: Inside My Closet
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Feb Photo a Day Challenge Day 11: Makes Me Happy
Friday, February 10, 2012
Feb Photo a Day Challenge Day 10: Self Portrait
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Feb Photo a Day Challenge Day Nine: Front Door
Some Highlights
She said, "You didn't know because I didn't tell you."
This was HUGE. She melts down all the time about stuff and we don't even know why, and by that point she is enraged/devastated enough that she can't clearly tell us. Then in the calming-down stage she will blame it on us; "You made me angry," or "You made me sad." I've told her about a million times that I can't read her mind and that if she doesn't tell me what she wants, I don't know. This is the first time she seemed to recognize that concept. Naturally, I praised her to the skies, both for that and for calming herself down.
She had another meltdown a few minutes later about something completely different, but whatever. One step at a time.
+++++++++++++++++++
This morning when I went to drop Gwen off at preschool, another car pulled up at the same time as ours. This is always fun because the kids are always excited to see who is in the other car. Well today it was Matthew, whom Gwen has always been quite fond of. A couple of weeks ago we ran into him and his Mom at the grocery store and Matthew was SO excited, like it just BLEW HIS MIND to see a preschool friend somewhere other than preschool. Ever since then he and Gwen have been pretty inseparable at school, and when I come to pick her up he always comes to say hi to me too. Anyway, Matthew’s mom and I said good morning to each other and Matthew got out of the car and came straight over to Gwen, and without a word the two of them joined hands and started leading the way into school. It was the most adorable thing ever. Needless to say when we got inside the school we exchanged contact info and promised to arrange a playdate soon.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Feb Photo a Day Challenge Day 8: Sun
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Feb Photo a Day Challenge Day 7: Button
I got a Kobo e-reader for Christmas and I LOVE IT SO HARD. However, I needed to buy a new purse in which the Kobo would comfortably fit. I went to Bentley last week and bought this one. I love how many pockets it has, I love the size and style and versatility of it. I HATE that it is black and boring and immensely sensible. If you asked 100 conceptual artists to illustrate their idea of a Mom purse, and then amalgamated the results into one purse, this would be it. BLECH!
In the interest of flairing it up a bit, I have attached a singluar button. I could attach twenty-seven more, but I am not sure it would help. Feel free to share other suggestions.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Feb Photo a Day Challenge Day 6 - Dinner
We are, of course, having stir-fry.
First Time at the Movies
The movie more than delivered on its promise, and having read the books as a kid I thoroughly enjoyed this very faithful vision. It was action packed and a very, very fun movie. Gwen, on the other hand ... well. I guess she isn't ready for the movie theatre experience. Problem #1: she is not heavy enough to properly weight down the movie theatre seat, and ends up being a bit squished, which aside from tempting her to constantly bounce the seat up and down (fun for everyone around, am I right?!), can't possibly be comfortable. Be that as it may, she didn't want a booster seat or to sit in my lap. Problem #2: WOW THAT WAS LOUD. As soon as the pre-show was over and the actual movie came on, I could tell she was quite uncomfortable with how loud it was. She was also pretty alarmed when the lights suddenly went off, but that didn't last long. Problem #3: About an hour or so into the movie, she just decided she'd had ENOUGH of this sitting down business, and proceeded to explore all the surrounding seats, sitting in each for a maximum of three minutes before getting up and trying another one.
The saving grace here is that we were in the very back row with no one else around us, so she wasn't bugging anyone except me. Also, by virtue of the fact that she is not quite four years old yet, she got in for free - so I didn't have to lament the loss of $9.75 while watching her frib around like a baboon on meth. And hey, ~I~ was enjoying myself, so WHATEVER, kid.
On the whole, though, I find I am hitting a brick wall with Gwen's behaviour. She pulled the same kind of stunts the next day at church, when it was WAY less cute. She refused to sit in one seat, wouldn't stay with either me or the other children, kept running up and down the aisles ... it was madness. I've put in a concerted effort in the past few weeks and have really truly learned and internalized the concept that yelling at Gwen does not yield the desired results. However ... I have nothing in my toolbox to use instead. In the case of church, I actually considered leaving, thinking that might get my message across; but as I mentioned in yesterday's photo post, I was part of a presentation that morning and so I couldn't just take off. The only privilege I've got to hold over her head is her bedtime story, and honestly - it's a pretty empty threat. I love our bedtime reading as much as she does, I'm just as loathe to call it off.
I'm planning to (re-)read this in the next week or so to come up with some better tools and strategies, because otherwise I'm just never going to leave the house with her again.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Feb Photo a Day Challenge Day 5 - 10am
I love these stained-glass windows, btw.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Feb Photo a Day Challenge Day 4 - A Stranger
Friday, February 3, 2012
Feb Photo a Day Challenge Day 3 - Hands
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Feb Photo a Day Challenge Day 2 - Words
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
#FebPhotoADay
Here's today's photo - the view from my desk at work.
Beautiful sunny morning - what a treat. The office was quiet today as I was the only one there.