The Princess has Arrived

Having had a boy first, I was really surprised by how early the feminine traits emerged in my daughter. I kind of figured all kids behaved in more or less the same way as infants and toddlers. They can hardly speak, how do they know if they're a boy or a girl? Wouldn't it take a while for them to understand gender differences and show certain preferences? Apparantly not!

My daughter loved to be held. She spent much of her first year as an accessory to my left hip. I have the unbalanced back pain on my left side to prove it. She would ride there and observe the world as though on a chariot. I'm not a big jewelry person, or at least not since having kids. But I do always have earrings in. Ash would stare at my earrings in amazement. She couldn't take her eyes off the occasional necklace. You might say babies just like shiny things, but her interest in the feminine jewelry and in watching me do my makeup struck me, because my son never showed any interest in either of those things at that tiny age.

At about age 2, Ash declared all must be pink. I'm not the kind of mom who dresses her in only pink, so I don't know where this came from. I actually prefer her in dark blue to match her eyes. But for quite a spell, she would not wear it if it wasn't pink. Then came the dress fetish. We're still in that today. I used to save dresses for special occasions, maybe events where there wouldn't be a need to run outside with exposed legs or things to climb and show off the diaper - events which are few when you're 2. But Oh no. We must wear a dress EVERY day now. Half way through the day, she often finds it's time for an outfit change just so she can twirl around in a different dress. I personally NEVER wear dresses. I think Ash may have seen me in one twice in her life. Again, I am struck by how this baby is emerging into such a feminine being.

But I truly knew I was living with a girly girl when she pronounced herself a princess. We were talking about how her brother Z is a boy and she is a girl. And she said "No, Mommy, I'm a princess!" And so she is.

In the past couple months, she has learned the names of many of the famous Disney princesses as she studies the faces on her PJs. She hasn't mastered the word "white" however and calls Snow White - Snow Wipe! Her favorite is Sleeping Beauty, or as she calls her - Beauty Sleeping. I bought her a wind up toy that displays the princesses dancing around to Nutcracker music. Just a silly thing from a garage sale. But oh my goodness. She shooed everyone away, took that toy in another room and sat down and watched in wide-eyed wonder, then began dancing around herself.

Between the jewelry, dresses and dancing, she'll be ready for the ball in no time.

Friend

My 2 1/2 year old melted my heart the other day. Her big brother was at camp. Just she and I in the kitchen after lunch. I was at the sink washing dishes. It was completely quiet. (Again, her brother wasn't there!) Out of no where she turned around in her chair, paused to look at me and said "you're my friend." It was so sincere and innocently pronounced. Like she had just been thinking about what a friend was and who her friends were. I'm so honored that she feels that way about her mommy. I gave her a giant hug and told her she's my friend too. She then told Cheeto that he was her friend too. Cheeto is our cat. I'm still holding on to our precious moment anyway!

Plumb the car

"I'm going to go plumb your car then!"

Z screamed this out in some random attempt to fix the car ... which isn't broken in any way incidentally. I had told him that today a friend's grandma would pick him up from camp. This was somehow unacceptable to him, and begged me to pick him up instead. I think he understood it that our car was broken and needed to be fixed.

Guess What the Kids Said Today

I have started this blog to remember the silly, smart, hilarious, charming and genuine things our kids say. Years from now, I know it will be nearly impossible to remember how adorable they put words together when they were so little and just learning about the world. I've made it a blog to share with family, friends, etc., and to keep a place for them to visit when they're older to have a glimpse of themselves at a young, precious, innocent age.

My son Z is 6 years old and has a very big, outgoing personality. He tells it like it is, and unfortunately, has not yet learned how to censor himself. In a crowd, he is a sarcastic, cartoon clown in search of an audience. One on one, a sweet, inquisitive little boy offering a unique understanding and perspective. I will try to feature both sides here!

A, my 2.5 year old daughter, is just beginning to declare her independence in a strong way. While still a sweet baby girl with many needs one minute, she will be determined and self-sufficient the next. Her vocabulary increases daily and the way she puts words together to express herself is innocently endearing.