Castle

Mia really loves these bristle blocks, and Jeff and I do, too. Mia likes her castles tall, which means we have to design them together (child and adult) to ensure structural integrity. I particularly like this one that Mia and Jeff built. Jeff reports that the ducks were all Mia's idea.

Time Out for the Potato Heads

Mia is quite a disciplinarian. She lined up all of her Mr./Ms./Baby Potato Heads last week and gave them a talking-to. She informed us they were in Time Out. When asked why they were all in time out, she said, "They weren't listening." I asked, "What did you want them to do?", but that failed to extract a more specific description of their infractions. They've now been in the same position for an entire week. Periodically I repeat my question, "Why are the Potato Heads still in time out?" hoping for more details. Still waiting.

Vital Statistics

We saw Mia's pediatrician today for something minor. What interested me is her height and weight statistics - 39.5 inches and 36 lbs. That puts her at the 95th percentile for height and 93rd percentile for weight. She was previously in the 97th percentile, I think. She is significantly taller than most of the children her age at camp. I wonder how early you can predict how tall a child will be as an adult.

We're Open Again!

After several months of being "invitation only", I've decided to re-open the blog. We want to make it easier for you to stay in touch, so this eliminates the need for you to sign in. We still want to limit readership to our friends and family - people we know directly. Therefore, we ask:
Please don't share the blog address with anyone. If a mutual acquaintance asks you for the address, please have them send me an email and I'll give them the address.
Please do not link to our blog on your blog.
No comments that have last names, our home city, or other identifying information.

Sorry if I'm seeming too controlling. We received a comment from a total stranger a few months ago that made me uncomfortable and indicated where we live.

Fashion Statement

I woke up Sunday morning to find Jeff and Mia having breakfast. Jeff explained that Mia had dressed herself. Our gal is developing her own sense of style. Fortunately for her Mother, who didn't really want to take her out of the house in that getup, she spilled on her clothes and had to change.

Mystery Solved

On Saturday, I had written about Mia's preschool class assignment. In Spring, she'd been told she'd advance to Busy Bees in the Fall, but last week we got a postcard saying she would be a Lucky Duck again. I ran into another preschool Mom this morning and mentioned this. She said the Director was in this week, why not call her? The Director explained that they'd reshuffled the classes based on enrollment. Busy Bees ended up being younger 2-year-olds (not young 3's as previously planned) and Lucky Ducks is older 2-year-olds. The Director tells me all the children in Mia's class will be 3 by Christmas. Mia loved being in Miss Diane's class last year, so I'm sure she will have a great year again. They'll have a different assistant teacher, who previously taught 4-year-olds. Our girl is a Lucky Duck, indeed!

Academic Progress

Mia just received a post card from the woman who was her preschool teacher last year. It said that when preschool starts in 3 weeks, Mia will be in the same class she was in last year. There was no explanation for her parents' benefit - just a reminder about the orientation in 2 weeks. I don't quite know what to make of this. Here are the facts:

• Mia adores the teacher, Miss Diane.
• Mia's 3rd birthday is in November.
• Last year, she was the youngest in her class by a full 6 months. Some children were as much as 11 months older. She is as tall or taller than the other children and generally held her own, but in some situations -- like the singing and dancing performance at the May graduation program -- the difference in age really showed.
• This school isn't rigid about age-grading children. The classes have animal names (like Elegant Elephants and Zippy Zebras) rather than age names ("the 3-year-old class") Also, depending on enrollment, they adjust the number of classes for these loosely-defined age groups from one year to the next.

Here is what is nagging at me. Before school let out, Miss Diane told us Mia would be moving into another classroom in the Fall where she'd be the oldest child in the group. Apparently they were planning two classes for 3-year-olds, one for older and one for younger children. Diane said it would be good for Mia to be the oldest in her class for a change, so she would have opportunities to be a leader rather than always a follower. I thought that was wise. Why am I now questioning this change?
I can ask the question at orientation in 2 weeks. In the meantime, I have to admit I'm wondering whether Mia did something during summer camp (Miss Diane wasn't there, by the way) that led them to question her readiness for promotion. Is it because she wasn't (at that point) showing much interest in toilet training? She doesn't seem to talk much in school - do they realize what her verbal skills are?
And what will be the consequences of holding her back? (There. I said it. My baby is being "held back"!) Will it slow her progress toward reading?
Jeff and I agree that this is a good school and Miss Diane is fantastic, so my head tells me they can be trusted to make the right decision. My heart still wonders. So, I have 2 weeks to craft a tactful way to say: What's the deal here?

The World According to Mia - Act 3

Mia's habit of referring to her parents by their first names continues, despite our efforts to discourage it.

Scene 1:
Me: Mia, you have two ponytails today. Did Daddy put them in for you this morning?
Mia: Jeff did.
Me: That is Daddy to you.

Scene 2:
Mia is in the babysitter's car. They pull into our driveway.
Mia: This is Donna and Jeff's house. It's not my house.

The World According to Mia - Act 2

Scene 1:
Babysitter: Mia, did you poop in your diaper?
Mia: Don't sniff it. It's gross.

Scene 2:
Mia has become fascinated with the fact that Jeff and I have names other than Mom and Dad. She demonstrated this new knowledge one day when the babysitter brought her baby girl, L, with her.
Mia (with authority): Donna is my Mom and you are L's Mom.

Scene 3:
I picked up Mia at camp and was informed that Mia's poopy diaper had overflowed and some had landed on the floor. (Confirming my suspicions that the supervision is rather lax there.) As we drove home in the minivan...
Mia: Somebody pooped on the floor.
Me: Who did that?
Mia: I don't know.
Me: Was it you? (Yes, I knew better than to ask, but I couldn't help myself.)
Mia: NOOOOO

Scene 4:
Mia (to me): You the guy.
Me: What?
Mia: You the guy.
Me: I am the guy?
Mia: Yes.

The World According to Mia - First in a Series

Mia has been becoming quite the conversationalist. Some of the things she says show that she is really thinking about how the world works. I've started keeping a notebook to capture some of these gems.

Conversation starter: Picture of a face with tears coming down the cheeks.

Jeff: Why is he crying?
Mia: His balloon broke.
Jeff: What should he do?
Mia: He go to Kroger. Get Dad juice (i.e., Fresca) and strawberries and blueberries. And new balloon.
Jeff: Then what happened?
Mia: He not crying. He OK.

The Lifebook

In case you were wondering why Donna had written so few blog entries in the last half of July, the answer is: The Lifebook.
I'd started planning and journaling for Mia's lifebook almost a year ago. I have a great guidebook written by Kay Graap that discusses the topics you should cover. Graap recommends that parents create two books, one for the preschool years and another more comprehensive book for when they are older. The latter will cover topics like the one-child policy. I've been accumulating various Asian papers and embellishments and during business trips (back when I had business trips!) I would work on the text for the toddler version - a book that will serve Mia for the next 2-3 years. A couple of weeks ago, I decided it was time to finally get started on creating the book. I've been telling Mia the story of when she was born in China almost every night, and it is high time I gave her the illustrated version.
Up until this point, I'd created all of about 10 scrapbook pages in my entire life. I have tons of supplies from the years when I used to make handmade greeting cards. (In case you are wondering, the card-making has dwindled to the point where I'm lucky if I made my own Christmas cards.) It has taken a lot of time to select the photos and design the pages, but I'm making progress. I've now completed 13 of 25 pages, and hope to complete 3-5 more over the weekend. I'm really enjoying finding my own style. This project could easily take another month. I can't wait to share it with Mia.

The Reader

Mia's new favorite book is One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. I got it about a week ago and she already can finish lots of the sentences. That girl should join the Dr. Seuss fan club. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is getting a lot of play as well. Mia makes us read it often and has most of it memorized. Our copy of the book came with a CD, and for the past week we've been playing it in the minivan. (A welcome reprieve from Laurie Berkner.) Mia has been requesting Curious George quite a bit: Curious George Feeds The Animals, Curious George Rides, and Curious George At The Aquarium.
K. reports that today when she took Mia upstairs for her nap, Mia picked several of her dolls and stuffed animals off the bed, arranged them on the rocker and said firmly, "You're going to take a nap in my chair." She then proceeded to get a book and "read" them a story. After the story was over, she said sternly, "Now you close your eyes and go to sleep." Did I mention she has entered a bossy stage? We're insisting that she not give her parents orders, but she can boss her animals around as much as she wants to.

Diving to Heaven

Mia's response to Sam's departure appears age-appropriate and empathic.
At the suggestion of the vet- a lovely woman who'd lost her dog when her daughter was Mia's age- we'd warned Mia last week that we were taking Sam to the doggie doctor and she might not be able to come home. We explained that Sam was old and very, very sick. Mia understood this - Sam's illness had been obvious even to Mia. She repeatedly told me that the doctor was going to make Sam better. (Yeah, try holding it together when your daughter tells you that.)
After Sam passed, we explained to Mia that Sam had died, her body didn't work any more and we wouldn't be able to see her again. Mia listened, looked at me and repeated, "Sam died. Mommy sad." then returned to what she'd been doing.
Yesterday, when Mia got up from her nap, she immediately brought up the subject.
Mia: "Sam dived."
Me: "Yes, honey, Sam died."
Mia: "Did she go in the swimming pool?"

My Girls

Having grown up in a household without small children, Sam never got too comfortable with Mia. She would never sit on Mia's lap -which I have to admit is smart if you are a dog with leg bones about the size of a chicken's. She did allow Mia to walk her on the leash. I was able to get them together a couple of days ago for a photo shoot.

My Other Angel

Today is a sad day for me. We lost our little Sammy, my toy poodle of 15 years. Sam was one of the world's greatest dogs. She was a 6 lb. bundle of love. She liked being carried around and I liked it that she was just the right size to fit under my arm. My sisters called me Mrs. Pynchon and other people referred to Sam as my Furball. People think of toy poodles as being nervous and nippy, but Sam had a lovely, calm disposition interwoven with the high energy of a puppy. Until recently, it was difficult to think of her as an older dog.
Jeff and I used to joke that Sam had more friends in the neighborhood than we did. Everywhere we lived, she had a big fan club - vet staff, groomers, dog walkers, and boarding kennels. When she was just a few months old, I boarded her at a vet clinic. When I went to pick her up, the attendant went to the back, then came back out looking harried, saying "I can't find her." The receptionist told her to look some more. Since this was the first time I'd ever boarded Sam, I was concerned that Sam was lost, and a bit puzzled as to how they could have misplaced her. The attendant finally came out with Sam, saying, "I'm sorry, one of the assistants has been carrying her around with her all day."
The last few months have been difficult for Sam, so we knew it would soon be time to say good-bye. Even so, I find myself in a state of disbelief that she is really gone. Throughout the day, I found myself looking for her in her usual hangouts - the couch in my office, the front porch, the sunny spot under the skylights in the playroom. I am now realizing it will take some time to unlearn my 15-year-old routines of letting her out and filling her food dish.
I am trying to find comfort in knowing that Sam had a long, wonderful life with the best care and companionship we could provide. For the last few months, I've been working at home on my job search, and Sam sat on the couch next to me almost every day. We celebrated her 15th birthday on Sunday with a miniature cupcake, complete with pink frosting (color chosen by Mia). I was with her at the end, and I trust it felt no different to her than than settling in for a nap.
Rest in peace, my little lovebug.