19 Month Update
Dear Lana,
It certainly didn’t take me 19 months to figure out that you are running the show around here, but seriously, kiddo. Do you have to be so bossy about it? You spent most of the past month barking orders at anyone who will listen: “Mama, come. SIT DOWN! Geese, come. Eat, eat, eat. Doggy, move. Hush! GO! JUMP!!!” For the most part your orders are well intentioned – anyone or anything that sparks your interest is instructed to come and sit down. Unfortunately, your tone gives the overall impression that you are training an unruly puppy, not speaking to adults who’ve managed just fine for years without a toddler telling them what to do. You’ve even developed the very adult habit of sometimes calling your father John instead of Daddy, which he finds disturbing and I find hilarious.
Bossiness aside, you’ve been a real treat to be around this past month. The warmer weather and longer hours of daylight have allowed us to enjoy an array of after-dinner activities, your favorite of which is strolling down to our neighborhood lake to feed the resident geese. You chant “Geese, Geese, Geese!” all the way to the water’s edge and then delight in feeding our fowl friends an array of leftover sandwich bread and hotdog buns.
One of our most exciting lake adventures, however, had very little to do with the geese and a lot to do with “Doggie” (known as Rico to everyone but you). When the geese failed to appear as usual one evening, your father began throwing rocks into the lake to get their attention. A few minutes went by with no geese, so I scooped you up and turned to walk up towards your father (still busy throwing rocks). I heard the small splash of a pebble hitting the water a few feet from the shore, followed immediately by a large splash of unknown origins. We turned around quickly – expecting to see a goose – and instead found Rico treading water in the lake. The expression on his face told me that he was as surprised to find himself in the water as we were, which makes sense given that he has spent nine long years avoiding water at all costs. My initial horror turned to delight as Rico doggie-paddled himself back to shore and then ran around in circles celebrating his unexpected (and likely accidental) achievement. You were proud of him, too, and spent the next couple weeks telling anyone who would listen about how “Doggie jump…water…swim!” Now whenever we return to the lake you encourage him to, “Jump, Doggie, jump!”
Our other recent outings have been to a Mommy and Me class for toddlers, where you have the chance to play in a little gym and then move to a classroom where we sings songs and play instruments. After four weeks of classes you still refuse to actively participate in the singing and dancing, so I’m left to move your arms back and forth like some awkward marionette. You are, however, showing signs of coming out of your shell in this new setting. You are quick to participate in the gym activities and can do a better forward roll than anyone in the class. You also made your first friend in class – a little girl named Gracie who was kind enough to return the balls you were busy hurling out of the ball pit one day and who you talk about frequently between classes.
You may be reluctant to sing in class, but you’ve been happy to serenade us with “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” here at home. You do a rowing motion that looks like you’re operating an imaginary jackhammer, and you sing about every fifth word: “Row, row, stream, dream!” You continue to show little interest in television as a whole, but you sure do enjoy singing along to American Idol. I had difficulty critiquing the performances last week because you joined in on almost every song with a very loud chorus of “Gomi, gomi, gomi, gomi… gomi.” I have no idea what “Gomi” means, but I’m sure Randy and Paula would be proud of the way you made the songs your own.
All my love,
Mama
It certainly didn’t take me 19 months to figure out that you are running the show around here, but seriously, kiddo. Do you have to be so bossy about it? You spent most of the past month barking orders at anyone who will listen: “Mama, come. SIT DOWN! Geese, come. Eat, eat, eat. Doggy, move. Hush! GO! JUMP!!!” For the most part your orders are well intentioned – anyone or anything that sparks your interest is instructed to come and sit down. Unfortunately, your tone gives the overall impression that you are training an unruly puppy, not speaking to adults who’ve managed just fine for years without a toddler telling them what to do. You’ve even developed the very adult habit of sometimes calling your father John instead of Daddy, which he finds disturbing and I find hilarious.
Bossiness aside, you’ve been a real treat to be around this past month. The warmer weather and longer hours of daylight have allowed us to enjoy an array of after-dinner activities, your favorite of which is strolling down to our neighborhood lake to feed the resident geese. You chant “Geese, Geese, Geese!” all the way to the water’s edge and then delight in feeding our fowl friends an array of leftover sandwich bread and hotdog buns.
One of our most exciting lake adventures, however, had very little to do with the geese and a lot to do with “Doggie” (known as Rico to everyone but you). When the geese failed to appear as usual one evening, your father began throwing rocks into the lake to get their attention. A few minutes went by with no geese, so I scooped you up and turned to walk up towards your father (still busy throwing rocks). I heard the small splash of a pebble hitting the water a few feet from the shore, followed immediately by a large splash of unknown origins. We turned around quickly – expecting to see a goose – and instead found Rico treading water in the lake. The expression on his face told me that he was as surprised to find himself in the water as we were, which makes sense given that he has spent nine long years avoiding water at all costs. My initial horror turned to delight as Rico doggie-paddled himself back to shore and then ran around in circles celebrating his unexpected (and likely accidental) achievement. You were proud of him, too, and spent the next couple weeks telling anyone who would listen about how “Doggie jump…water…swim!” Now whenever we return to the lake you encourage him to, “Jump, Doggie, jump!”
Our other recent outings have been to a Mommy and Me class for toddlers, where you have the chance to play in a little gym and then move to a classroom where we sings songs and play instruments. After four weeks of classes you still refuse to actively participate in the singing and dancing, so I’m left to move your arms back and forth like some awkward marionette. You are, however, showing signs of coming out of your shell in this new setting. You are quick to participate in the gym activities and can do a better forward roll than anyone in the class. You also made your first friend in class – a little girl named Gracie who was kind enough to return the balls you were busy hurling out of the ball pit one day and who you talk about frequently between classes. You may be reluctant to sing in class, but you’ve been happy to serenade us with “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” here at home. You do a rowing motion that looks like you’re operating an imaginary jackhammer, and you sing about every fifth word: “Row, row, stream, dream!” You continue to show little interest in television as a whole, but you sure do enjoy singing along to American Idol. I had difficulty critiquing the performances last week because you joined in on almost every song with a very loud chorus of “Gomi, gomi, gomi, gomi… gomi.” I have no idea what “Gomi” means, but I’m sure Randy and Paula would be proud of the way you made the songs your own.
All my love,
Mama
Labels: monthly update
posted by Guest at Saturday, March 29, 2008
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