We found lobsters at the farmer’s market today for cheap, cheap, cheap. So of course my lobster-loving husband had to buy some. We were curious about what Bella’s reaction would be when we got them home. Would she be all lovey-dovey like she was last year? Or would she run screaming. I rather thought it would be the former given the way she always runs for the lobster tank at the grocery store and greets them with a happy, “Hi lobster!”
Sure enough, when Dom pulled the lobster out of the bag she gave it a very enthusiastic rendition of the traditional greeting. She had no qualms about touching it, though we didn’t let her play with them as much as we did last year.
The next question was how she’d react after they were cooked. She was a bit disappointed that they wouldn’t move anymore; but not upset, just took it in stride when Dom said that they’d been cooked and couldn’t move. She then proceeded to eat almost an entire lobster all by herself. She kept poor Dom so busy that at first he could hardly eat a bite. The funny thing was between bites she’d still lean over and talk to the lobster. She wanted to touch it. And she declared, “I love you, lobster.” Not like she loves ice cream but rather more like she loves Pooh or a dog. And then, “The lobster loves me!” Dom an I couldn’t stifle our giggles. I’m sure it does, dear. So no Charlotte’s Web sorts of moments yet. She’s in love with lobsters both as pets and as food and doesn’t see any contradiction there.
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Speaking of loving creepy six-legged creatures… When she got up from her nap this afternoon and I was helping her clean up after an accident, Bella suddenly declared that she loved ants and spiders and all the beautiful creatures. I have no idea where that came from. I asked Dom if he’d been talking about loving creepy-crawlies and he was as mystified as I was. Maybe my sister?
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Bella playing outside before dinner suddenly put a hand on the small of her back, “My back hurts,” she declared.
Yes, I’ve had a very hard day today, woke up with major lower back pain and have been limping along and trying not to pick up Sophie. So very funny to be able to laugh when I see Bella imitating me.
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I know I’ve said it before, but it struck me again this week how much Bella is a bookworm and how happy that makes me. I often find her sitting with a book on the couch, on her bed, in the beanbag chair, on the floor, on the toilet. She calmly turns the pages, lost in the world of the book, or she “reads” it out loud, having memorized most of the text. More and more now she “reads” to Sophie (who is also turning into a little bookworm and can often be found paging through books on her own). Some days she reads to Pooh or other of her imaginary friends.
Reading is one thing I’ve never pushed on either of the girls. It always happens at their suggestion, never mine. I have worked hard to create a house friendly to young readers with bookshelves at their height and easily accessible boxes and baskets of books not only in their bedroom but also in the family room. We have lots and lots and lots of books and Bella and Sophie see Dom and I reading for fun. Heck, I’m a bookworm I’m hardly ever not reading. I do try to put down what I’m doing and read to Bella when she asks, and now Sophie too. I’m not always very good at disengaging from a task and of course sometimes I have to set boundaries (can’t read while i’m cooking or in the midst of a chore, I don’t read until a meal is over) but I’m working on making it a priority to respond promptly to their requests for my attention, especially if its asking me to read to them.
Anyway, that turned into a tangent more about parenting than Bella but there you have it.
I can relate! Cherub hovers between the 2nd and 5th percentiles for both height and weight …. she didn’t grow out of the 9-12 month clothes until she was two, and still isn’t even close to the age 2 size. My friend’s daughter is 18th months younger and by 15 months was heavier, had larger feet and was almost Cherub’s height. We joke that she will soon be handing down clothes to Cherub! We get the same reactions when people hear this tiny little tot chattering away – I keep having to explain she is older than she looks. Petite little girls are very cute
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I know what you mean about comparison bringing the size difference home. But we always had a constant reminder—ds is more like his dad and has always been at 95%+ in both height and weight, since infancy. Since early feeding issues, dd is the opposite end of the scale. We had the same thing with her looking tiny, but talking and walking. Since she was born with a full head of dark curls, people always said she looked like a doll—since she was tiny, with tiny features, and all that hair!
At 8 years old, she’s now up to about 20% in height, but just 10% in weight. She pretty much could wear size 4 or 6 in some things, except for the length. She was once at a friends house (at age 4 or 5) and we realized that the jeans shorts she was wearing were 24 month size! They were hand-me downs from her brother, so they were cut “boxy” and were sufficiently long.
The hardest part of her size now is finding pants, shorts, or skirts that will stay on her tiny hips! So she has lots of adjustable waist pants all year around and sundresses for spring and summer.
Delightful! so tiny and yet learning SO FAST and trying to catch up with Bella!
Thanks for posting!!
It goes both ways too: my girl (now almost 7) was alwyas 90-95th height, 80th weight, so I would get looks from people who assumed she was older than she was. (Typically, when she was not yet potty trained and they thought she should be, or when a tantrum was blowing up…)