Motherly Instincts?

Why is it that mothers are so affected by their children’s cries? Well, I know the answer to that. I know that we are biologically engineered to have an instinctive desire to care for and protect our offspring. But what about whining? Why is it that I feel so bothered deep down inside whenever Grace whines? Even when it is annoying and stressing me out, and even when I know it is about something ridiculous? For example, tonight she doesn’t want to go to bed. I know she’s not hurt. I fed her dinner, so I know she’s not hungry. Her diaper is dry. She is totally okay, but I still feel this sense of frantic motherly instincts whirling up inside me when she starts to cry, “I don’t want to go to bed! I want Mommy! I’m just sad! I want more milk! Mom, I’m sad! I want a song!” (Some of these things she is actually crying out at this very moment.) Whatever her reason or excuse is, the story is still the same. I can see the manipulation trying to work its way with me, and I know that whatever I do, I should not give in. But regardless of that, my heart is still slightly shattered each and every time by the utter devastation in her pathetic voice. Sometimes I get this crazy (and I really mean crazy) urge to just go get her out of her bed, bring her into my room, cuddle her under my blankets and let her nurse. (Yeah, the nursing thing is particularly weird, especially since I’m not lactating at the moment.) I think the Super Nanny would tell me I need therapy.

Simon Says

So, Grace does this new thing that just cracks me up. Sometimes she likes to pretend that she is a princess. (What little girl doesn’t?) Or sometimes she’s a baby or a tiger or a kitty cat or whatever she can think up. And it is very important when she is pretending that you go along with it. You have to address her properly each and every time you say anything to her or she won’t respond. So a conversation can go something like this:
“Grace, what do you want to eat for lunch?”
“I’m a princess. Say Gracie Princess.”
“Gracie Princess, what do you want to eat for lunch?”
“The Princess wants noodles.”
“You had noodles for breakfast. I want you to eat something else.”
“Say Gracie Princess.”
“You had noodles for breakfast, Gracie Princess. I want you to eat something else.”
“The Princess wants chocolate milk.”
You get the idea. Sometimes she can’t make up her mind and wants to be multiple things at once, like Gracie Princess Baby Froggy. It can get pretty complex.
She’s also very good at speaking in third person. She uses all the right pronouns and everything. It’s pretty impressive.

Hair

Okay, so Grace’s hair is impossible. It’s super thin, wispy, and tangles if you look at it the wrong way. Also, 75 % or more of it likes to naturally fall right in front of her eyes. For a long time, that 75 % was cut into bangs that started way back on the top of her head. (It created sort of a mullet look. Ugh.) So, I decided to grow some of the bangs out. Next problem: hair in the face. If I ever managed to get Grace to let me pull it up into an elastic or clip, it would last for about three minutes before she decided she didn’t like it an yanked it out. Consequently, she had extremely impaired vision for several months. She also developed something that looked like a nervous twitch. When she wanted her hair out of her face she would just tilt her head back a bit and shake it side-to-side.

Well, I finally got sick of the hair in the face and chopped it all back to bangs again. Now, I’ve cut hair before. I am pretty good at it. But when the subject won’t hold still, it’s an entirely different story. Last summer I tried to give Grace a “trim” and ended up cutting her hair to about her ears. I cried. She had the most beautiful baby curls that got chopped as I kept trying to even out the “trim.” So after I cut Grace’s hair this time, and it looked awful again, I decided it was time to visit the experts.
I took Grace to the hair salon last Saturday, and she did so well! It was awesome. She held still. She was calm. And her hair doesn’t look like a disaster anymore! Hurray!
They thinned out her bangs and added some subtle layers.

This is Grace noticing the suckers at the front desk. “I want purple! Purple’s my faborite!”
I dont think I'll try to cut her hair again myself for several years. It's just so much less stressful to have a pro do it.

Bubbles are like Magic

I found these Giant bubble things at the store. Grace couldn't get enough of it. They are actually pretty cool.
Bubbles are just plain fun. It’s amazing the wonder you see in the eyes of a child playing with bubbles. I wonder what thoughts are racing through their little minds.

Where a Kid Can Be a Kid

Grace’s cousin, Chase turned four recently and had a family party at Chucky Cheese. I hadn’t been to a Chucky Cheese since I was two. (I really don’t think I missed much.) But Grace enjoyed herself. I think she rode the carousel at least 17 times.
She found these ribbons on the ground (leftover from some other party) and made me put them on her. They were actually kind of cute.
She developed a unique riding style, too.
Pizza, cake, rides, tokens, tickets, prizes, exciting gifts, staying until well past bedtime, what more could a kid want?
Bows from Chase's presents. That's what.

Making Faces

Grace enjoys making silly faces. She saw an ad in a magazine once with a girl making the face where you stretch your mouth out and stick out your tongue. So whenever she does it she says, “Remember this face?”

I Want to Ride my Tricycle

Now that the weather is warming up, we can spend more time outside. Here is Grace practicing riding her tricycle. She is very determined, but pedals can be “ree tricky,” especially when the ground isn’t flat.