Every night at bedtime, Ari asks me, "What am I going to do when I wake up?" No matter what my answer is, she usually doesn't react much.
But last night, when I said, "Well, you're going to go to Zane's house--"
She interrupted me excitedly with, "And go to preschool?!" When I said yes, she replied, "Woo hoo!"
(Oh yeh, by the way... Ari's starting preschool. Through a lady in our church, who also has a little boy around Ari's age [which is why she calls it "Zane's house"].)
This morning, I was running late and asked Tony to help me get her ready, which meant he had to wake her up. Her first words to him were, "Daddy, Mommy said when I wake up today, I'm going to go to preschool!"
Maybe I should have taken a picture of her this morning, to mark the occasion. She's been going to this house for the past 2 weeks, though, so it doesn't feel like a big change yet. Maybe it will sink in later this week or next week, when I realize I'm taking her there every single day.
I'm really hoping she does well with this, and I think she will. It's not like she's been home with Tony all the time--she's gone to a babysitter's twice a week for the past 3 years of her life. I'm assuming she'll adjust easily to a 5-days-a-week schedule. And it will be different because she'll be with other kids her age now. And besides all that, I really think she's ready for it. I'm excited to see all the things she's going to learn.
Speaking of that, her drawing skills have really improved lately. And by "lately" I mean literally within the past week or so. She's enjoyed drawing for a while now, but it's usually mostly unrecognizable scribbles. And even when it is something recognizable, it's just a few random shapes, or a couple numbers or letters--nothing that really looks like a purposeful drawing. But last night at the restaurant, she drew a picture of a monster on the back of her placemat. I really should have kept it, or taken a picture of it before we left, because I was so impressed. She made the outline of the monster in jagged lines, and drew 2 eyes and a mouth (a smiling mouth, too, which she said meant it was a happy monster). Then she drew what looked like 5 or 6 buttons going down its body. There were 2 crooked horizontal lines for arms, and 2 vertical ones for legs--and at the bottom of each leg was a little scribble that looked like a foot.
Her imagination is expanding too. Her newest thing is to make her toys talk to us. For example, we'll be in the car, and she'll say, "Mommy?" When I reply, she'll say, "No, Bunny wants to talk to you." And then Bunny (or whatever toy she happens to have) will ask a question like, "When we get home, can we play outside?" Yesterday, she was playing with her plastic spoon at lunch, and when I asked her what she was doing, she said Spoon was singing a song. Then she said Spoon wanted to tell me a secret, and held the spoon up to my ear, right next to her mouth, as she whispered to me. I'm just waiting for her to learn how to disguise her voice when she does this.
She told me a few days ago that she wants to be a princess. When I told her she already was, because she's my princess, she replied, "No, I want to be a REAL princess." If I hadn't known better, I would have sworn she rolled her eyes at me. As imaginative as she can be, she can also have her moments where she's amusingly realistic.
The next day, I watched her kiss Tony on the cheek and declare, "Daddy, now you're a prince!" I giggled and told him, "I guess that means she thinks you were a frog before."
She's taken to calling me "Mama" now, which totally baffles me. She alternates between "Mommy" and "Mama" but I really have no idea where she's getting "Mama" from. We never use it ourselves, and I don't think I even know any friends of hers who call their mothers "Mama." Sometimes it even comes out as "Mumma" which amuses me even more.
I have just been so moved lately by how big she is getting... all the things she can do for herself now, the way she can carry on a conversation, the crazy things her imaginative little brain comes up with, and so much more. And yes, there's the flip side--the meltdowns and pouting and tantrums and yelling and downright meanness. But as much as all that kind of stuff frustrates me, I can't help but realize that it's just further proof that she's growing up, trying to learn to deal with strong emotions and the unfairness of life and the rejection of friends and not getting her way all of the time.
I really need to take some videos of her soon. If not for posting here, then at least for my own sake. She's growing and changing so rapidly lately that I feel like mere words are not enough to "capture" her.
Just got a text from the preschool teacher (sent to all of us parents)...
I just love your children. Thank you for this opportunity! They are all truly wonderful, so good, so helpful, so kind... just all around great! Hope u have a great afternoon!
Guess they're all having a good first day. :)
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Randomness, courtesy of Ari
In the car on the way home last night...
Ari: Mommy?
Me: Yeh?
Ari: Are we off the highway yet?
Me: Nope, not yet.
Ari: Don't lie to me.
Me: I'm not. We're still on the highway.
Ari: (very seriously) Don't lie to me, Mommy.
Me: (thinking) What...??
Ari's excuses for not sleeping and/or getting out of bed last night:
No more than 2 minutes after I laid her down... "I just can't close my eyes."
After shouting, "Mommy, I need you!" over and over... "I just can't go to school if I don't know all my numbers."
To Tony, when he asked why she was out of bed... "I just want to look at you."
Friday, March 12, 2010
Gimme that Filet-o-Fish
Just some random stuff...
The weather has been so nice this week... sunny and in the mid-50s. We've all been taking advantage of it--including Ari. We got her a bike helmet and knee and elbow pads for Christmas, and this is the first chance she's had to use them. She's ridden her bike a few times before, but this is the first time she's done it with all this gear, and somehow it makes her seem so much older...
Wednesday, after work, I embarked on a sneaker-shopping mission. I've had my sneakers for... well, for too long. I mean, when the tread on the bottom has been all smoothed away, you know it's time for new ones. So off I went to Kohl's, armed with a 20%-off coupon (side note: Seriously, Kohl's, don't I deserve a 30%-off coupon sometime soon?). Turns out they were having some good sales too. So I am now the proud owner of these shiny new sneakers...
And I'm also the proud owner of these snazzy shoes. (C'mon... did you really think I would enter the shoe department and only look at sneakers?)
I have never bought shoes that color before, and normally wouldn't, but they were on clearance, and I thought, why not? I always buy black or brown, to be practical (since they go with almost everything), but these will go with quite a few pieces of my clothing. Plus, they're cute!
I also came home with this shirt. But I blame Tony for that one.
A co-worker of mine came into our room earlier with this...
It plays that annoying McDonald's "Gimme that Filet-o-Fish" song. It even includes a dance remix of it (though he spared us from that version).
Grrr....
We went to Coldstone last night so that Tony could get his free birthday ice cream. Of course, I planned to get some ice cream myself. But they were having issues with their freezer, and the only flavors they had were sweet cream, pumpkin, and mint. Ew, ew and ew. I was highly disappointed.
We went to the mall last night, figuring we would let Ari play in the play area while we were there. But as we approached it, she asked if we could go to the bookstore (AKA Barnes and Noble) instead. We asked her if she was sure, and she insisted she was, so off we went. I was so proud. I parked myself next to her on a kiddie-sized bench, and must have read her at least 10 books.
Note to self: On Idol elimination nights, stay away from Twitter and Facebook until AFTER you've watched the show.
This just makes me so sad...
So this weekend, we "spring forward." Sure, we lose an hour of sleep, but I'm looking forward to having more daylight at the end of my workday.
Also, Tony and I have a date night planned for Sunday night... dinner, and then Alice in Wonderland. And Ari is spending the night with my parents again.
Plus, "Celebrity Apprentice" starts on Sunday!
It's going to be a good weekend.
The weather has been so nice this week... sunny and in the mid-50s. We've all been taking advantage of it--including Ari. We got her a bike helmet and knee and elbow pads for Christmas, and this is the first chance she's had to use them. She's ridden her bike a few times before, but this is the first time she's done it with all this gear, and somehow it makes her seem so much older...
Wednesday, after work, I embarked on a sneaker-shopping mission. I've had my sneakers for... well, for too long. I mean, when the tread on the bottom has been all smoothed away, you know it's time for new ones. So off I went to Kohl's, armed with a 20%-off coupon (side note: Seriously, Kohl's, don't I deserve a 30%-off coupon sometime soon?). Turns out they were having some good sales too. So I am now the proud owner of these shiny new sneakers...
And I'm also the proud owner of these snazzy shoes. (C'mon... did you really think I would enter the shoe department and only look at sneakers?)
I have never bought shoes that color before, and normally wouldn't, but they were on clearance, and I thought, why not? I always buy black or brown, to be practical (since they go with almost everything), but these will go with quite a few pieces of my clothing. Plus, they're cute!
I also came home with this shirt. But I blame Tony for that one.
A co-worker of mine came into our room earlier with this...
It plays that annoying McDonald's "Gimme that Filet-o-Fish" song. It even includes a dance remix of it (though he spared us from that version).
Grrr....
We went to Coldstone last night so that Tony could get his free birthday ice cream. Of course, I planned to get some ice cream myself. But they were having issues with their freezer, and the only flavors they had were sweet cream, pumpkin, and mint. Ew, ew and ew. I was highly disappointed.
We went to the mall last night, figuring we would let Ari play in the play area while we were there. But as we approached it, she asked if we could go to the bookstore (AKA Barnes and Noble) instead. We asked her if she was sure, and she insisted she was, so off we went. I was so proud. I parked myself next to her on a kiddie-sized bench, and must have read her at least 10 books.
Note to self: On Idol elimination nights, stay away from Twitter and Facebook until AFTER you've watched the show.
This just makes me so sad...
So this weekend, we "spring forward." Sure, we lose an hour of sleep, but I'm looking forward to having more daylight at the end of my workday.
Also, Tony and I have a date night planned for Sunday night... dinner, and then Alice in Wonderland. And Ari is spending the night with my parents again.
Plus, "Celebrity Apprentice" starts on Sunday!
It's going to be a good weekend.
Friday, March 5, 2010
There is nothing for me but to love you
Is there anything sweeter and more soothing than watching your child sleep? Especially when it's "accidental." She was watching TV, and was so worn-out from her busy day that she drifted off to sleep, just like this.
This picture makes me smile.
This picture makes me smile.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Parenting skillz
In the car on the way to dinner Monday night...
Ari: What happens if we meet a mean giant?
Tony: Daddy would beat him up.
Me: (to Tony) Way to promote violence...
Ari: But Daddy, if you beat him, he would get back up.
Me: Well, maybe we could talk to him, and tell him to stop being so mean... and tell him that we want to be friends.
Ari: Or we could shoot him!
Me: (muttering) Great...
Ari: What if we see a ghost and the big bad wolf?
Tony: Well, Daddy could shoot the big bad wolf and we could eat him for supper.
Me: (to Tony) Dude...!
Ari: No, we not going to eat the wolf!
Tony: Well, maybe the ghost would scare the wolf--
Me: (cutting him off) OR we could talk to the ghost and the big bad wolf, and we could all be friends.
Tony: (grinning at me) Or that.
Ari: What happens if we meet a mean giant?
Tony: Daddy would beat him up.
Me: (to Tony) Way to promote violence...
Ari: But Daddy, if you beat him, he would get back up.
Me: Well, maybe we could talk to him, and tell him to stop being so mean... and tell him that we want to be friends.
Ari: Or we could shoot him!
Me: (muttering) Great...
Ari: What if we see a ghost and the big bad wolf?
Tony: Well, Daddy could shoot the big bad wolf and we could eat him for supper.
Me: (to Tony) Dude...!
Ari: No, we not going to eat the wolf!
Tony: Well, maybe the ghost would scare the wolf--
Me: (cutting him off) OR we could talk to the ghost and the big bad wolf, and we could all be friends.
Tony: (grinning at me) Or that.
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