A day late, like so much in my chaotic life with two girls.
—1—
Yesterday morning Bella appropriated my little moleskine notebook and declared that it was “my GPS.”
—2—
Bella really likes it when I tell her stories. But I’m not very good at it. Really the only one I feel I can do a good job of is Goldilocks and the Three Bears and I get bored of that. So the other night when she kept pushing and pushing me for bath time stories, I started embroidering stories by putting Isabella into them. Now she can’t get enough of Isabella stories. So I’ve started putting her into various Pooh stories, which she really likes.I know Pooh well enough as I’ve read them all over and over and over again. And so we have tales where Isabella goes visiting in the Hundred Acre Woods, having tea and honey and haycorns with the various characters and finding herself in the midst of all sorts of adventures.
Last night she even helped me when I got stuck and said that she joined Pooh and Piglet in a song. I couldn’t think of a Pooh song at that moment and so I asked her if she could sing it. And so she did. She sang: “How sweet to be a cloud/ Floating in the blue / Every little cloud / Always sings aloud.”
—3—
Phia taught herself to suck out of a straw this week. She was playing on the floor and I handed her one of Bella’s straw cups, curious to see what she’d do with it. I doubted she’d learn to suck, but hey, it couldn’t hurt. And within minutes she was slurping down water and filling her mouth so full it dribbled down her chin.
—4—
Funny how kids change everything. Last year Dom and I kept forgetting to light the Advent wreath. By the end of Advent, the candles were still pretty long. this year I don’t think Bella let us miss one night. We had to replace the smallest candle with a leftover stub because it burned too low.
I’m almost reluctant to put away the Nativity set. Poor Bella is going to miss her chats with Baby Jesus and Holy Mary and the shepherd and sheep and the wise men.
—5—
Tactical error of the week. Telling an Isabella Pooh story I wove Bella into Eeyore’s birthday. And then she desperately wanted to give her new book to Eeyore as a birthday present. Only problem: Eeyore was in the bedroom with the sleeping baby. Can we say toddler meltdown? Good one, mom!
—6—
Sophia’s dolly.
Best present ever. Already it’s a comfort object. She gets the biggest grin when I ask if she wants dolly or I hand her the dolly. And it certainly helps at bedtime. She’s much calmer with her dolly to cling to. Though it does not make her any less intent on getting her hands on Bella’s dolly. Oh well.
—7—
Now Bella is throwing Birthday parties. She just told me she is lighting candles (two small play food boxes, lit with a ballpoint pen.) Now Pooh is lighting the candles. Now Bella is singing, “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you.” We’re officially gaga over birthdays.
Thanks to Jen at conversion diary for hosting. Go to her blog to read more 7 quick takes.
Hi – I was just offering to take Isabella because of the wonder in the “fantasy characters” skating around to music. She is so mature for her age and so aware. I thought it would be fun for all of us to go and see and hear the music of the characters she may read about some day. I would love to take her myself or if you didn’t want to go maybe your sister and/or Dom would like to attend. How about to a Children’s theater or puppet show? That would be local and less expensive but either way, I would love to go too. Let me know, either you or Dom.