Every night as Elliot and I sit down to finish our work that didn't get done during the day - one of us will ask, "What was your favorite thing that Ada did today?" We do this to help us remember all the wonderful things she does, which are sometimes over looked by the typical toddler tantrums over things like having to eat a baked potato instead of chicken nuggets. How dare we?!?!
The other night Elliot recalled one of the most heart meltingly cute things that Ada does. When she is hanging out with just one of us (usually Elliot), she will start to feel really comfortable so she snuggle in a little closer, put her arm around you, put her face right next to yours, look you in the eyes, and say "Hi" in a way that makes you want to just gobble her up so that you can fully enjoy her sweetness.
It is these moments of cuteness that allow us to forget about all of the sleep Ada has robbed us of, all of the confusion she has caused as we tried to figure out what "Dowda dee dee DAAAA" meant while she screamed at the top of her lungs, and all of the times she hears us say "Ada don't touch X" and she goes right along and not only touches X but throws it across the room. Yes, these moments of cuteness are Ada's way of wiping out our memory of all of the bad things that she does.
A sign of things to come? We'll see how well that "Hi" works on Elliot the first time Ada tries to sneak back into the house after missing curfew.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
green eggs and ham
If you ask Ada to bring you a book so that you can read to her, she will march right over to her book shelves and pull out a book. Sometimes it will be a Miffy book, sometimes it will be 'Goodnight Gorilla', but most of the time it will be 'Green Eggs and Ham'.
She won't actually let you read the entire book, she likes the first few pages. She likes to point out the green eggs and the 'Hem' (Ham), but once you get past the "Would you like them in a box? Would you like them with a fox?" she gets bored and flips to the last series of denials. I honestly think that now that she knows the protagonist actually ends up liking green eggs and ham she doesn't want to hear any of his whining. The part she really likes is when he is saying how he will "eat them in a car, and in a tree they are so good, so good you see!" And the reason she likes this part is not because of all the positivity, it is because she is that much closer to the last page of the book - Ada's favorite page in the book.
In the early days of reading to Ada I tried to find ways to get her interested in the story. So one day when I was reading 'Green Eggs and Ham' to, well myself, as Ada had walked away after the first page, I called Ada over to me when I got to the last page and showed her that at the end, on the last page, the grumpy cat like character says "Thank You, Thank You" and showed her using her signs because at the time she wasn't really saying actual words. And it clicked. Words, signs, and OMG books. At that moment she started 'reading'.
So now, when we read 'Green Eggs and Ham' Ada sits, and not so patiently, waits for that last page to come. Because then SHE gets to read.
She won't actually let you read the entire book, she likes the first few pages. She likes to point out the green eggs and the 'Hem' (Ham), but once you get past the "Would you like them in a box? Would you like them with a fox?" she gets bored and flips to the last series of denials. I honestly think that now that she knows the protagonist actually ends up liking green eggs and ham she doesn't want to hear any of his whining. The part she really likes is when he is saying how he will "eat them in a car, and in a tree they are so good, so good you see!" And the reason she likes this part is not because of all the positivity, it is because she is that much closer to the last page of the book - Ada's favorite page in the book.
In the early days of reading to Ada I tried to find ways to get her interested in the story. So one day when I was reading 'Green Eggs and Ham' to, well myself, as Ada had walked away after the first page, I called Ada over to me when I got to the last page and showed her that at the end, on the last page, the grumpy cat like character says "Thank You, Thank You" and showed her using her signs because at the time she wasn't really saying actual words. And it clicked. Words, signs, and OMG books. At that moment she started 'reading'.
So now, when we read 'Green Eggs and Ham' Ada sits, and not so patiently, waits for that last page to come. Because then SHE gets to read.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
jazz maven
Ada loves music. She'll even start dancing to a series of "bum, bum, bums" if I clap while I sing them. At first I thought she didn't have any taste in music, but somewhere along the lines Ada has developed an interesting preference for Jazz. My alarm clock randomly ended up on a local Jazz station, and now when the alarm goes off 30 minutes after Ada has woken us up and joined us in bed we have a little impromptu dance party.
Now I have tried to distract Ada with music on the radio before and she usually pastes a disinterested look on her face, or continues to scream bloody murder; whichever is the most painful at the time. So I am pretty excited about this new Jazz development. Imagine the power I will have if this interest lasts. Quiet, peaceful, Jazz filled rides to and from daycare. Fun playtime dance sessions filled with more and more varied Jazz tunes.
Now if she starts to ask for cigars and well drinks I'm going to have to put my foot down. For now I'm going to enjoy Ada's adult taste in music and thank God every day that I don't have to listen to the Wiggles sing about Old MacDonald's Farm; but get to enjoy the melodious tickling of piano keys and the sassy trumpeting of brass elements providing backup to Ada's infectious laughter.
Now I have tried to distract Ada with music on the radio before and she usually pastes a disinterested look on her face, or continues to scream bloody murder; whichever is the most painful at the time. So I am pretty excited about this new Jazz development. Imagine the power I will have if this interest lasts. Quiet, peaceful, Jazz filled rides to and from daycare. Fun playtime dance sessions filled with more and more varied Jazz tunes.
Now if she starts to ask for cigars and well drinks I'm going to have to put my foot down. For now I'm going to enjoy Ada's adult taste in music and thank God every day that I don't have to listen to the Wiggles sing about Old MacDonald's Farm; but get to enjoy the melodious tickling of piano keys and the sassy trumpeting of brass elements providing backup to Ada's infectious laughter.
Monday, May 12, 2008
sentences
Yesterday was Mother's Day and as Ada gave me the greatest present of all, a three hour nap through brunch that Elliot cooked, I had a chance to reflect on what an amazing and incomparable experience motherhood is. To this point, Ada has started to push her vocabulary to include sentences, or at least semblances of sentences so that Mommy can understand what she is saying, without my prompting. The pride I felt the first time I realized she was actually understanding the concept of language beyond the repetition we practice each day on our way home from school was equivalent to every great accomplishment I've ever accomplished in my life. Who knew. Friday, May 9, 2008
safety first
Today Ada's daycare class hosted a Mother's Day Tea, I was actually shocked that it was time for Mother's Day, but such is the life of a mother of a toddler, they suck away all concept of time. But I digress. Since they held the tea in the morning I was able to attend, YAY.
Ada and I arrived just as they were starting the tea, and they situated all of the kids around the little tiny tables they eat all their snacks and lunches at. Then, they brought out little tiny chairs for the three moms that showed up, and we got to sit next to our little ones. Ada seemed at a loss - what in the world is MOM still doing here? But her buddy Reese was very excited to see me and kept talking to me throughout the whole tea. Reese and I are now officially buddies.
The tea consisted of little croissants and iced tea for the parents and apple juice for the kids. While we ate, Miss Claire read us a nice book and then led the kids through a wonderful rendition of "If you are happy and you know it" and "Slippery Fish". During the performances all of the kids and Moms ate and drank and when they were done, all of Ada's classmates got up one by one to throw away their trash and then progressed to play time. All but Ada. She didn't get up because, well, she was still eating. And not a second or third helping. She was savoring every last bite of croissant like it was flown in, fresh that day from Paris. I can attest that it was not. And as I was prodding Ada, asking her if she was all done, Miss Claire came over and told me about Ada's ability to draw a bite of food out all morning long. This doesn't surprise me, this is the Caruso part of her lineage coming out (Elliot is famous for this). BUT the second part of what Miss Claire said made me wonder a little bit. When she is FINALLY done eating, Ada will not rush to get up so she can quickly get to the toys, nope, she sits there watching all the other kids, almost as if she is waiting for something. We all know that Ada likes to observe things that are new to her, but kids getting up and playing shouldn't be a new concept at this point. So I started to wonder what she might be contemplating as she finishes her meal. Then it dawned on me, SAFETY. As everyone knows, you should really wait 30 minutes after eating before you start running around again. Otherwise you cramp up and have to take a break.
And I can just imagine what is running through Ada's head each day, "Sure, play hard now, but don't come crying to me later when you want to dance with me during circle time and you cramp up while trying to pull off my new 'hip jerk, swivel, bop' move. You only have yourself to blame." Our little safety monitor.
Ada and I arrived just as they were starting the tea, and they situated all of the kids around the little tiny tables they eat all their snacks and lunches at. Then, they brought out little tiny chairs for the three moms that showed up, and we got to sit next to our little ones. Ada seemed at a loss - what in the world is MOM still doing here? But her buddy Reese was very excited to see me and kept talking to me throughout the whole tea. Reese and I are now officially buddies.
The tea consisted of little croissants and iced tea for the parents and apple juice for the kids. While we ate, Miss Claire read us a nice book and then led the kids through a wonderful rendition of "If you are happy and you know it" and "Slippery Fish". During the performances all of the kids and Moms ate and drank and when they were done, all of Ada's classmates got up one by one to throw away their trash and then progressed to play time. All but Ada. She didn't get up because, well, she was still eating. And not a second or third helping. She was savoring every last bite of croissant like it was flown in, fresh that day from Paris. I can attest that it was not. And as I was prodding Ada, asking her if she was all done, Miss Claire came over and told me about Ada's ability to draw a bite of food out all morning long. This doesn't surprise me, this is the Caruso part of her lineage coming out (Elliot is famous for this). BUT the second part of what Miss Claire said made me wonder a little bit. When she is FINALLY done eating, Ada will not rush to get up so she can quickly get to the toys, nope, she sits there watching all the other kids, almost as if she is waiting for something. We all know that Ada likes to observe things that are new to her, but kids getting up and playing shouldn't be a new concept at this point. So I started to wonder what she might be contemplating as she finishes her meal. Then it dawned on me, SAFETY. As everyone knows, you should really wait 30 minutes after eating before you start running around again. Otherwise you cramp up and have to take a break.
And I can just imagine what is running through Ada's head each day, "Sure, play hard now, but don't come crying to me later when you want to dance with me during circle time and you cramp up while trying to pull off my new 'hip jerk, swivel, bop' move. You only have yourself to blame." Our little safety monitor.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
swimming with fishes
I have mentioned before that Ada loves her Baby Signing time, and aside from the sign for 'owie' Ada's favorite sign is by far the sign for "fish". Before signing time I don't think Ada had any idea what a fish was, aside from a tasty treat that Auntie Jackie brought down from Seattle. So imagine our surprise when we happened upon the Pigmy Hippo display at the Zoo - which just happened to have many many fishes swimming around with the Hippos - and Ada ran up to the glass and started wildly doing the sign for fish and shouting 'fissshh, fissshh, FISSHH'. Somehow, Ada was able to make the connection between the animated fish on the Signing Time DVD and the real live fish in the tank.
As parents you have these wonderful moments, Eureka moments, where you realize that you have just found something that your child loves so much they will do anything, ANYTHING, to get that thing they love so SO much. When Ada carried on for over 10 minutes at the Pigmy Hippo display, in awe of the tiny little fish, I had one of those moments. So this weekend, as we prepared for a trip to SeaWorld I used Ada's love for fish to get her to do everything she has been refusing to do lately. Our morning went a little something like this:
"Ada, do you want to get dressed?"
"No"
"Ada, do you want to go see fish? Well then you need to put on pants."
"Ok"
"Ada, can I put up your hair?"
"No"
"Ada, do you want to see fish? Well then we need to brush your hair and get it out of your face"
"silence as she thrust her brush at me"
And we did see fish, lots and lots of fish. And Ada, she was clean, groomed, and well dressed while she plastered her body against the aquarium glass given the leopard sharks smooshy face.
As parents you have these wonderful moments, Eureka moments, where you realize that you have just found something that your child loves so much they will do anything, ANYTHING, to get that thing they love so SO much. When Ada carried on for over 10 minutes at the Pigmy Hippo display, in awe of the tiny little fish, I had one of those moments. So this weekend, as we prepared for a trip to SeaWorld I used Ada's love for fish to get her to do everything she has been refusing to do lately. Our morning went a little something like this:
"Ada, do you want to get dressed?"
"No"
"Ada, do you want to go see fish? Well then you need to put on pants."
"Ok"
"Ada, can I put up your hair?"
"No"
"Ada, do you want to see fish? Well then we need to brush your hair and get it out of your face"
"silence as she thrust her brush at me"
And we did see fish, lots and lots of fish. And Ada, she was clean, groomed, and well dressed while she plastered her body against the aquarium glass given the leopard sharks smooshy face.
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