Fighting Fires

Our local Families with Children from China group has a preschool play date every Thursday morning. Mia is still a bit young to enjoy these, since she is the youngest in the group by 6 months, but I enjoy connecting with the other mothers on occasion. Today I was off work, so Sarah and I decided to brave it and take Mia to the play date, which was a fire station tour. Mia was a squirmy worm during the fire safety cartoon, which wasn't exactly geared to preschoolers, much less a toddler. Mia wasn't too interested in the fire trucks either, but when we got to the part where the firefighter demonstrated how he dressed up in his protective gear, she was the first in line to check out the suit. She likes her new junior fire chief hat, too.

Bedtime Snack

We've told you that Mia loves her vegetables. I was reminded of Mia's great affection for broccoli the other night. I'd opened the fridge to see what we had for a bedtime snack. Mia spied the broccoli I'd cooked for her lunch the following day and insisted (I think pointing and screaming amounts to insistence, don't you?) on eating the broccoli NOW. I was thinking that next time I should put it on a higher shelf or in a container that isn't see-through, but then I realized that broccoli consumption should be permitted at any time of the day or night.

And that wraps up our coverage of Mia for the month of April. Thanks for watching, and join us in May for all-new episodes.

Swimsuit Edition

Last week Sarah went shopping for Mia at the preschool's consignment sale. I was out of town and this sale is not to be missed, so Sarah gladly took over the role of Mia's personal shopper. (What's not to like about spending OPM?) Mia got several new summer outfits, a Little Tikes kitchen, a swimsuit, and some hair bows. The pool will not be opening for another month at least, but Sarah got Mia to try on the swimsuit for Daddy's benefit. He reports that Mia didn't want to take it off. She wore it all evening.

New Words

I've started keeping an Excel spreadsheet listing the words and signs Mia uses. I'm not trying to pressure her, it was just getting hard to keep track of what she said, which I need to report to the speech therapist every week. Besides that, I was on an airplane and I got bored.
We are thrilled to see that Mia is signing a lot more, including: eat, drink, more, all done, thank you, ball, and the newest sign, drum roll please... mommy :). She also has some sign approximations, including yes, no, help, and cookie. Mia now says 8 words (pronounced correctly) and about 20 more word approximations. This week we heard several new words, including apple and hippo (yes, we were reading one of those Sandra Boynton books). New word approximations include hair bow and headband.

Big Shoes to Fill

Mia has become very interested in shoes. There is usually an extra pair of her shoes on her changing table, and she’ll insist on examining them while having her diaper changed. (We welcome any and all distractions that keep Mia lying still long enough for us to fasten those darned tape tabs.) Sarah reports that Mia sometimes goes into the kitchen, picks up her (Sarah’s) flip-flops, and delivers them to Sarah as if to suggest bare feet aren’t acceptable in our home. Mia really loves carrying her Dad’s big clod-hoppers around, one at a time of course. Her latest trick is trying to walk in Daddy’s shoes.
Fortunately for our wallets, Mia’s fascination with shoes does not extend to shopping for shoes. Every time we take her to Stride-Rite, she tries to run out of the store, leaving us to chase after her and the harried sales associate wondering if she should call, "Next!"

Retail Spectacle – Chapter III

Mia has a few extra bumps and bruises these days. All of a sudden, she wants to run whenever she can. She particularly loves being chased. It is quite a sight. She is not all that sure-footed yet, so her arms flail around and we worry she could take a tumble at any moment. Last week, we went to the mall together. She is usually content to sit in her stroller, but that night she cried to be let out. After all attempts to calm her failed, I relented. At first, she wanted to push the stroller herself. Then she decided it was time to run away. I’m faster than her, but the mall wasn’t crowded at all, so I let her run while staying 2 feet or so behind. She ran through the center of the food court then continued past various shops and kiosks. As she neared the Lindt Chocolates store, I though she was going to veer in for a free sample, but she changed course at the last minute. She was giggling hysterically the whole way, entertaining store clerks stationed at the entrance to their shops with the uneven slap-slap of her shoes and her rubbery waving of her arms. A few times, she headed toward a signpost or other hazard, but I herded her away from the danger with all the finesse of a well-trained border collie.
Finally we reached the entrance to one of the department stores, and I decided it was time to go back in the stroller. Well, she didn’t like that. I put her in the stroller and as I attempted to fasten her seat belt, she slumped down so far that she was about to fall out of her seat. (Did I mention we’d purchased this stroller in China? Somehow I think it would not pass U.S. safety standards, despite its well-known but likely counterfeit brand label.) I grabbed her under the armpits and tried to pull her back up, without success. By now, she was getting uncomfortable and scared, so she started crying. My efforts to pull her up were hindered by the fact that the stroller’s brakes weren’t engaged, and I couldn’t reach them without letting go of Mia. Besides that, the shoulder strap on my purse had become wrapped around my neck and was swaying back and forth in close proximity to her head. Panicked, I looked around for a friendly-looking stranger whom I could enlist to put the brakes on the stroller. Darn – nothing but a fountain and some potted plants! My pride in my border collie moves turned to fear for Mia’s safety.
I’m not quite sure how I managed it, but I ditched the strangling purse, stabilized the wayward stroller with my knees, and lifted Mia back into a proper seated position. After getting her seat belt securely fastened, I swiveled my neck in search of video cameras. As far as I can tell, no one captured my Lucy Ricardo moment for the benefit of the authorities. I then made a quick getaway to the parking lot. By the time we drove the 5 miles home, Mia had apparently forgotten the incident and was sound asleep. The Sominex-mobile had worked again. (Note to self: Buy a better stroller.)

The Reading Corner

It is hard to imagine that I ever worried that Mia wouldn't like books. (Until 12 or 13 months she showed ZERO interest, even in the pictures.) Now she can't get enough of them, pulling book after book off the shelf and bringing them to us to read. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that Sarah is an exceptional story reader. I myself love listening to her!

On Sunday morning, I went into Mia's playroom and discovered she'd pulled the throw pillows off the sofas to make a quiet little reading nook for herself.