About Our Katie » September 2007 Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

< > September 2007

Thu, Sep 13, 2007 11:00 PM
These days, Katie is doing quite well when it comes to certain aspects of manners. Saying "please," "thank you," and "you're welcome" is almost (almost) second nature. Upon receiving something to eat, she'll often ask, "Lure buying dis 'nana bor me?" When I say "Yes, I bought the banana for you," she'll reply with utmost sweetness and sincerity, "Oh, GANKS, Mommy!" She's also a bit of an enforcer. The other day in the car, she thanked me for something. When I didn't respond to her, she gave me a gentle reminder: "Day 'lure welcome,' Mommy!"

Of course, there are other aspects of etiquette where she has room for improvement. In fact, she can be downright devilish. Tonight after I tucked her in bed, I headed down to the study to finish up some e-mails. Not two minutes later, I heard her bellowing my name. I walked back up to her room. "I need djew, Mommy," she said. I didn't say anything back (I try not to engage her in conversations once she's in her bed). Usually she asks for "hugs-iz" or "kitz-iz" or "pats-iz." But tonight she proceeded to tell me that I was NOT to give her any more kisses. I guess I was already at my quota: "Lure can't gib me TWO kitz-iz... own-y ONE... and lure already did."

Come to think of it, maybe she was just full of meanness today in general. Before heading to work, Danielle had left Katie a letter on her bed. I told Katie about it when I picked her up from school, and then told her to look for it when we went up for bath time. She did find it, and then she laid on it so I couldn't get to it. When I eventually got it from her and started reading, she became enraged!

She never articulated why, but I believe Katie either (a) felt like the letter was hers, not mine or (b) felt frustrated because she couldn't read Dee's letter on her own or (c) both. At any rate, rather than have ME hold and read the letter, she crumpled it up and put it in the trash can! I assumed a somber look and said, "That would make Dee and Daddy so sad to hear that you did that to Dee's letter." No lie: Katie then picked up the phone, brought it to me and said, "Call Daddy... tell him 'bout Dee letter in duh tratch." It was as though she was CERTAIN that *I* was in the wrong by touching her letter! (A few minutes later, she retrieved the letter from the trash, but instead of smoothing it out, she ripped it into three pieces and "buried" it under her Mickey and Minnie pillow. Bizarre.)

Comments:
Susan: LOL... it was all about our upcoming (now past) trip to Orlando. I didn't want to post that on the site, lest someone realize our house would be vacant. Anyway, in the letter, Danielle reminded Katie about how much fun they would be having, and how she needed to go to bed so she'd have lots of rest for flying in the airplane and swimming in the pool, etc. It was very cute. If it hadn't been ripped into pieces, I'd have kept it for Katie!

Sarah: So what I really want to know is, what did this letter say? ;-)

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Wed, Sep 5, 2007 8:30 AM
It's only the second day of class in the "Forest," but I can already tell that Katie is in a preschool room.

This morning, her teacher showed her two laminated poster boards with Velcro on them. Each child's name is on a laminated shamrock with Velcro on the back. Every morning, while I autograph the parental sign-in sheet, Katie is to move her shamrock from one board to the other, indicating that she's at school. At pick-up, she's to move it back, showing that she has gone home. After explaining the process, the teacher asked Katie to find her own name. I was standing there, sweating bullets and hoping she'd do it right--and quickly--and she did. (Based on her past behavior, it's only a matter of time before she wants to implement something similar at home using refrigerator magnets.)

Another noticeable change: if she carried on when I left her in the Twoddler house, a teacher would pick her up and bring her to the window to wave goodbye. Her new teachers didn't even flinch when she did her Oscar-caliber performance; they just ignored it. Pretty soon I bet she gives it up entirely (and that's fine by me!).

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Tue, Sep 4, 2007 9:30 AM
Last week Elbow Lane was closed, and Katie passed her time with her dad, her sister, and her friends from the neighborhood. She definitely enjoyed herself, but it's time to get back into her normal routine.

That started today--Katie's first day of school in her new building and her new classroom, "The Forest." At drop-off, she started to walk to her old digs, and I had to remind her that she's now in a different building. She whimpered a bit at first but then was thrilled to see her friends Tori, Matthew, and Gabby (especially Gabby, since she had spent the summer at another camp with her older siblings). Katie put her Hello Kitty backpack and sleeping bag in her new, big cubby and placed her lunch in the new fridge.

As for me, I really liked the looks of the new room, and her new assistant teacher seemed very nice. Of course, I'm still in knots over the change. I know I need to get over it, but I've been experiencing back-to-school anxiety for over a quarter of a century. It's hard NOT to get nervous--even when Katie is perfectly fine!

* * *

Katie's personality continues to be strong and independent. Anything we do or say she wants to do or say herself. She also wants to reciprocate any joke we tell or game we play with her.

She insists on using public restrooms on her own ("Cloh da do', Mommy! I need PIE-DEE!"). She prefers to handle her own financial transactions. She no longer wants to use "baby" plates, bowls, or utensils (and she prefers to drink out of the coffee cups with lids that Steve so often uses; "I drinking CAW-PEE!" she announces before howling at her own joke).

She even orders for herself at restaurants. In fact, the last two times we ate at a restaurant, she also played waitress, taking our orders by asking "What djew want?" and then inquiring of our bread plates, "Djew done wit' dat?"

Steve has an old game he plays where he puts his palm on Katie's belly and then "feels" what's in there: "Banana... milk... yogurt," he'll say. Katie now does it back to him, and even did it once to Angel, which was hilarious: "Doggie bood... warduh," she said with her hand on the shih tzu's belly.

Her sense of equality extends even to comparatively "deep" conversations. A couple of weeks ago, she had some sharing, ah, issues with her friend Madison. They both wanted the same white-bodied baby doll. The whole thing ended with both girls in tears heading up to their beds. Later that night, after the dust had settled, I talked to Katie about the incident, reminding her that as the host, it's her responsibility to share her toys, especially since Maddie is her friend and a bit younger. Katie looked me square in the eye and, matching my "lecture" tone note for note, said, "Mommy. I not want Maddie play wit' the white baby. I want play wit' the white baby, 'kaaaaaaaay? 'Kay."

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates