It's been a while since I've done an Ari entry, so here goes.
Ari knows that we have pictures on our cell phones--and she likes to ask to see certain ones. I watched in fascination the other day when she told Tony she wanted to see pictures of Sara (not me--the girl who cut her hair). Tony looked the pictures up for her, handed her his BlackBerry Storm, and she expertly swiped her finger across the screen to scroll through the pics. I laughed, but it really is an amazing thing, the kind of technology our kids are growing up with. I'm sure she will know more about computers than I do by the time she's 5.
She loves to count and will count everything in sight. (I'm hoping this is a sign she's inherited Tony's math skills and not mine.) Tony's been working with her, and she can pretty much count to 40. She still messes up (like, sometimes she'll say "twenty-ten" instead of "thirty"), but if you're helping her along, she can go pretty smoothly. Her favorite little "game" right now is to ask, "How many ____?" Of course, I reply, "I don't know... how many?" Then she'll say, "Count with me!" and start counting, whether I join in or not. Sometimes she's right, sometimes she's wrong... but either way, she counts so excitedly.
Lately, she is very aware of noises around her, and will often suddenly notice one, gasp dramatically, and ask, "What's that sound like?" (her way of asking what the sound is). And sometimes she'll make her own noises, and, with a gleam in her eye, pretend to be clueless as she asks, "What's that sound like?" When we ask her to tell us, sometimes she'll just tell us, and other times she'll make something up. It's fun to see her imagination take shape.
Her obsession with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is complete now--I think she'd watch it all day if we let her. And I'm not above admitting that we use it as a bargaining tool as well.
She's finally starting to participate with the show (saying the magic words, answering questions, counting, etc.). And her memory is really great too... if you ask her what an episode was about, she'll excitedly start telling you, and if you "quiz" her, she'll get almost every answer right. I am amazed at how much she recalls, even sometimes hours after she's watched the show.
She also has definite "favorite" episodes... though figuring out what she means when she says "The one with a cows!" can be a bit tricky--especially for me, since I'm not home as much with her.
A couple Saturdays ago, Ari woke up and started calling for us. Specifically, me. She started chanting, "Oh Mommy, oh Mommy."
I didn't want to get up, so I playfully replied, in a singsong voice, "Oh, Toodles!" (referring to a character on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that they call to come help them).
There was a pause... then Ari quite-seriously replied, "Toodles not here, Mommy."
One time, a few months ago or so, I was being silly with Ari, so I told her, "Come here... I have a secret to tell you." When she came close, I whispered in her ear, "Let's go tickle Daddy." Now, apparently, that's what she thinks a "secret" is--telling someone to tickle someone else--because every time she tells us she has a secret, that's what it is. So I've been attempting to show her that there are other "secrets" you can whisper in someone's ear.
The other day, I told her I had a secret and whispered, "I love you."
She pulled back, grinning, but looking a tad confused. But she cheerily replied, "I love you!"
I playfully answered, "But I love YOU," poking her tummy on the word "you."
Without missing a beat, she mimicked my tone perfectly as she said, "But I love YOU!", poking me on the nose with her index finger as she said "YOU." I know she was only copying me, but it was still so sweet.
I was watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with her the other night--she was snuggled next to me under a blanket. The show wasn't even over before she started asking to see another one. "I don't know," I replied. "It's almost bedtime."
She fell silent for the rest of the show (only a couple more minutes) and when it was over, she suddenly flung her little body against, hugged me tight, and said, "I love you, Mommy."
Yes, I'm fully aware that she was being manipulative. And yes, she got to watch another episode.
She's learning the fine art of bargaining, too, though she's not that good at it yet. When we tell her things like, "Only 5 more minutes until bedtime," she'll sometimes reply, "10 more minutes." She doesn't ask it as a question--she just states it calmly, as though saying it makes it true. It's even funnier, though, when she gets it all wrong and answers, "No, 2 more minutes." To which we'll reply, "OK, fine, if you insist. Two more minutes, then."
If she asks to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and we say no, she'll counter with, "Only ONE Mickey Mouse Clubhouse." I like to reply, "How about ZERO Mickey Mouse Clubhouse?" since she doesn't fully get the concept of what zero means. It's fun to watch her contemplate my "offer."
I was attempting to sing Ari her bedtime songs last night when she decided to start acting like a total nutjob. She started off by grabbing handfuls of hair on the side of her head and pulling on them while making a weird grimace with her mouth, and then quickly moved on to pulling at the corners of her eyes with her fingertips until they were all slanted. I burst out laughing, and then jokingly told her, "Knock that off, Ari. It's offensive."
"I 'fensive!" she chirped proudly.
"Ari, stop," I tried, but my laughter gave me away.
"What are you laughing at for?" she giggled, knowing full well what I was laughing at.
I tried my best to keep singing, but couldn't stop laughing. I finally laid her in her bed (I couldn't hold her anymore because I was laughing so hard) and tried singing to her with my eyes shut. I got through a few lines before I felt tiny fingers poking at my nose and heard her yelp, "I got you nose!"
She was so totally stalling. Devilish little thing.
One last story... from the babysitter, and passed on to me through Tony...
Ari: I winned!
Babysitter: Yes, you won!
Ari: I winned.
Babysitter: You won.
Ari: (annoyed) No, I two and a half!
Babysitter: (laughing) Fine, you "winned."
(Number of hours it took for it to dawn on me that Ari wasn't just being random but thought the babysitter was saying "one" instead of "won"... 6.)
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2 comments:
Such cute Ari stories! Can't wait until she's here for Easter!
Ha! I may not have gotten that "won" was "one" if I didn't see it written down. I can be so clueless sometimes.
It's fun hearing how Ari's personality is developing. Matthew's starting to outgrow baby-ness and is acting like a real little person sometimes. If I take something out of his hand before he's done with it, he lets me know for sure. And he'll laugh all by himself, when no one is even playing with him.
Kids are crazy sometimes.
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