She likes to wear HATS!!
We were reading The Mitten, and I pointed at Nicki, the boy in the story, saying, “See? He’s wearing a hat!” So she slid down off my lap, found her (now too small) hat, put it on her head and began playing with her toys.
Mommy’s Little Helper
Yesterday . . .
Mara was walking all around the house with socks (no shoes), and of course, her socks became dirty. After awhile, she sat down and tried to pull them off, so I went over to help her.
“Look at your socks!” I exclaimed. “They’re REALLY dirty!”
She looked up at me very seriously, then took the socks back out of my hand and walked over to put them in the trash. . . I guess, most of the time when I say something is “dirty,” I throw it in the trash. So she was trying to help.
Today . . .
Mara has been having some tummy trouble, so tonight I was giving her watered-down ginger ale, and in my laziness, I just grabbed the sippy cup, without the little “sip-ease valve” that keeps the liquid from leaking out. As I should have expected, when Mara reached for it, she turned it upside down, spilling ginger ale on her tummy, my pants and the floor. I was a little frustrated thinking about everything getting sticky, and I said, “Mara! you have to hold on to it!”
I grabbed a paper towel and dabbed at her stomach. Then she took the paper towel, bent down and started wiping the floor!!! I couldn’t believe it! That’s nothing I’ve ever encouraged her to do or even intentionally shown her how to do! But she must watch me–all the time. Which is kind of frightening.
Speaking of watching me (all the time), I’ve noticed that she’s started imitating me “talking on the cell phone” ALL the time!!! She will grab any small object or toy, clutch it next to her cheek and jabber VERY loudly!! “YAH!. . . . Mah-DAA!!!” It seems like whenever she is between thoughts, she is “talking” on the phone. I was telling Daniel about this, and he said, “I know why that is. . . come look at the Verizon bill!”
He showed me my minutes and said, “That’s most of the minutes there are in a month. . .”
So Mara is watching me all the time and learning. . . it’s sobering . . .
The Simple Things in Life . . .
As one who tends to be task-oriented or focused on goals, rather than enjoying what life brings each moment, I have purposed to spend a little time each day purely enjoying the simple things of life with Mara. Over the past two days I have had a sinus-related migraine (which meant neither Mara nor I left the house or did anything fun INside the house). My headache broke this afternoon, so we were both ready for a change of pace!
When Mara woke up from her nap, I told her we could put on her shoes and coat and go to Dunkin Donuts. I don’t think she knows what Dunkin Donuts is yet, but she was excited to “go” somewhere and stood pounding on the front door.
While I was setting up the stroller outside, some of the neighbor kids came over to see Mara. The girls each had balloons left over from a birthday party earlier this week, and Kimmy, seeing that Mara was excitedly reaching toward the purple one, handed hers to Mara. I wish Mara could say “Thank you!” because that was really sweet. It made her day!
As I pushed the stroller down the street, Mara was holding the purple balloon in one hand, and waving at passers-by with the other! I looked down and saw a huge smile on Mara’s face. Wow, there’s something about the excitement of a child and the newness of everything in life that is so refreshing!
It was kind of chilly out, so I was glad that Dunkin Donuts is only a few blocks away. The warmth inside felt good. Mara sat on my lap at one of the tables, and we split a blueberry cake donut. I think she was more excited about all the shiny, sparkling hearts and Valentines decorations hanging from the ceiling than she was about the donut! The entire time we were there, she pointed at the decorations, jabbering. So I told her about hearts and Valentines Day. . . Daniel can correct her later . . . ha ha!
On the way back, Mara “dropped” her balloon several times. The brisk breeze blew it in the opposite direction, and she laughed as I spun the stroller around and ran after her balloon. She would clap when we came near it. One time, another man walking nearby caught the balloon and brought it back for us. After the fourth time, I began to suspect that she was “dropping” it on purpose–to laugh at Mommy running after it!
Once home, she ate dinner. After dinner I made a cup of hot chocolate to share, and we sat down together on the sofa to enjoy it. I brought a spoon to give Mara her “tastes.” Every time I dipped the spoon in the mug, I would hear an anticipatory sip from Mara as she eagerly watched the spoon approach her mouth. Everything seems so delightful to a 13-month-old! Somehow, she makes life that much more fun for this 31-year-old!
After quite a bit of play with her purple balloon (including Verona pawing at it and trying to pick it up in her mouth–and McCheyne jumping against it as Mara carried it across the floor), Mara fell on top of it, and of course, the balloon popped. This was her first experience popping a balloon, so I didn’t know what to expect. Her response surprised me. She looked a little surprised–sort of like “Hm?! Where’d it go?” and then began crawling around to pick up the pieces! She brought them to me–it was just “trash” to her now . . .
We played her FAVORITE game. . . where mommy chases Mara and growls! She runs into a corner and hides, giggling and shrieking the closer I get, then collapsing on the floor when I tickle her.
Of course, after this game, she is completely wound up! So when I try to rock her to sleep and softly sing to her, her dancing blue eyes meet mine as she leans forward to “kiss” my cheek. (Now, “kissing” in Mara’s mind means opening her mouth WIDE and placing it on the other person’s face, usually with baby drool attaching itself to them.) But I can’t help laughing. The more I laugh, the more she “kisses” me laughing . . . But we need to pray and go “night-night.”
Thank you, God, for healing from that headache. Thank you, God, that Kimmy shared her balloon. Thank you for blueberry cake donuts and shiny, sparkling Valentine hearts.
Her thumb is in her mouth, and she’s drifting off now.
Thank you for mugs of hot chocolate. For a giggling little girl with dancing blue eyes. For good-night “kisses.”
I wouldn’t trade them for all the accomplishments in the world!