What If?

You've become our little philosopher lately: constantly asking "What if...?" You really like sorting through these hypothetical scenarios with our help. The "what ifs" have replaced the "whys" in terms of the way you are exploring your world right now. And if we are reluctant to entertain a counterfactual, you push it. As tonight when you asked me "What would happen if you hit daddy?" When I explained that would never happen, you asked: "But what if you were really angry?" You usually push it until you get a response that you deem satisfactory.

Where are all the leaves?

On our walk to school today, you noticed that the sidewalks were clear of leaves. Then we saw a lady raking up leaves and you wondered what she was doing. When I told you they were clearing the streets of leaves and would then throw them in the garbage, you said: "But why? Mommies and daddies and little kids like to pick up leaves? Why are they taking them and putting them in the garbage. If you wipe your nose with a tissue and get snot on it, you throw that in the garbage. Not leaves." As always, I can't really argue with you. You've got a good point there! You then rescued one lone leaf and gave it to me as a gift to treasure.

Measuring Yourself

You like to step on the scale to "measure" yourself. As of November 1, 2009, you weigh 36.5 pounds and are probably 39 inches, give or take.

IKEA

I can't believe it. You played by yourself in the IKEA play area today. As soon as you saw it, you wanted in. We explained that it was for kids only and you were fine with that, saying: "Maybe I can make some new friends." We watched you walk in, carrying your own box with your shoes, and then you disappeared. 45 minutes later we picked you up and you were having a ball. What a big girl!

Red Crayon

For Halloween you decided you wanted to be a red crayon (you had seen a picture of a DIY costume in my Parents magazine). Thanks to Debbie's craftsmanship, you had your wish granted. You were the cutest red crayon ever! It was so much fun to see you enjoy your first Halloween where you really had an idea of what was going on. While you were scared of some of the odder costumers, you were very brave and enjoyed approaching strangers with your trick or treat request for candy. And you were thrilled to have a lollipop and your first tootsie roll which you licked like a lollipop. Amazingly, you were still asleep by 8:30pm!

Sleep Treat Calendar

We'd reached our limits with the long drawn out night-time routine so we institued a new regime: the sleep treat calendar. The rules, to start, are simple: no whining, no crying, no complaining, no excuses, straight to bed with only requests for hugs or water. If you follow the rules, you get a sticker. If you get 7 stickers in a row, you get to pick 1 treat out of a treat bag. so far, it's working. You are your mommy and daddy's little girl when it comes to rule following! 7 nights out of 8 you've stuck to your end of the bargain. Tomorrow morning you'll get you're first treat. We're so proud of you. And just starting to believe that one day bedtime will be easy peasy...

Imagining

You have always been very good at the game of pretend. You eat pretend ice cream, play with pretend dolls...all sorts of pretend. Lately, this idea of pretend has stretched into the concept of imagination. You often tell me that you are imagining this or that and encourage me to go along with your imagination.

Sharing Your Feelings

The other day you told Agatha you loved her. Later we were reviewing this moment and I told you how pleased you had made Agatha by sharing this with her. I told you that it is very nice to tell people how you are feeling -- that it makes them happy. You thought about this for a moment and then asked: "Should I tell someone if I DON'T love them?" I told you that this was not necessary.

Teddy Bear Group

Your class at school is divided into 3 groups: Red Spiders, Tigers, and Peacocks. You are in the Red Spiders group...though you don't admit to this fact. When the name was chosen, you were not very interested in it. You told me that you were instead thinking about teddy bears and flowers. When I ask you if you are in the Red Spider group, you tell me that you are not; you are in the Teddy Bear group. Apparently the Teddy Bear group is a group of 1. You just go along with teacher Hazel when she asks for the Red Spiders to join her. Some might call this a bit delusional, but I think this is a great, creative coping mechanism!

New Friends

You are becoming a kid! You are very interested in playing with other kids and making new friends, whether at school, at the playground, or somewhere else. You have new friends at school whom, though they haven't displaced Ella and Marcel, have been added to your friend list. Agatha, Nami, and Ron -- especially Ron -- are all your new good friends and you spend a lot of time happily playing with them. You like to tell me about these new friends and look forward to playing with them.

You're not that into the boys in your classroom; you told me that you "don't pay attention to boys." When I pointed out that you pay attention to daddy and Josh and Papa, you noted that they are daddies and not boys. Mattias, however, you admit that you do pay attention to. Apparently he's nice!

14

You've been able to count to 20 now for a while...but you always missed the number 14. We'd always prompt you to include this missing number, but you would ignore our prompts. For a while, we thought you might think that the proper way to count to 20 was to repeat from 11 onwards, since that's where we'd pick it up to squeeze in the missing number. Just the other day, you included 14...as though it had always been there. And now it's there to stay. And now, of course, I'm sort of missing your own version since this is just another sign of how you're growing up.