Swimming in the Clouds

Mia's got a thing about swimming now. I guess it is the convergence of the swimming lessons and the cruise. She "swims" Alex the stuffed dolphin through the air, and last night she came in from playing outside with Daddy announcing that they'd been swimming in the grass. My favorite, though, is this morning on the way to church she pointed and said, "Look, bird. Swimming in the clouds."

The Napping House

Goodnight, Moon has met its match. In Mia's eyes, at least. A couple of weeks ago, Sarah took Mia to the library and brought home The Napping House. I had never heard of it before, but boy was it a hit with Mia. She made me read it again and again and again. The style is called a "cumulative rhyme", and it is really soothing. It starts with a "snoring granny on a cozy bed", then a "dreaming child" climbs into bed, then a "dozing dog", etc. etc. Mia made me read it at least 5-6 times a day. Right before we went on vacation, I had to return the book to the library. Knowing that Mia was likely to declare World War III when she found out the book was gone, I went out and purchased a copy. During our cruise, I read it to Mia so many times, I now have it memorized.
If you haven't ever read it, I highly recommend it. A wonderful tale for winding down before a nap.

The Cruise

We just got back from a 4-day cruise (with me being unemployed, vacations are much easier to schedule!), and boy was that an experience. Neither Jeff nor I had been on a cruise before, but people assured us it was a fine thing to do with a toddler. Unfortunately, Mia behaved quite badly. Sometime between the time we booked the cruise and our actual departure date, Miss Mia entered the "terrible two" stage with a vengeance. I felt bad for the people who lived in the staterooms on either side of us. Fortunately, I came face-to-face with them only once. (Not the warmest greeting I've ever received.)
I don't blame the poor girl for being bored. Soon after we boarded the ship, we discovered there was no kiddie pool, and swim diapers were not permitted in the main pools. (Oops, I guess they forgot to mention that. ) We'd been told there was a children's play area, but we discovered only 1 hour per day was set aside for "toddler time." (Oops again.) Jeff took Mia there every day to give me some downtime, and on one occasion she was expelled by the staff (very tactfully, Jeff assures me) because she wouldn't sit down and engage in the activity - she preferred running around the room. (I wasn't there, but I can picture her running helter-skelter, arms flailing, giggling hysterically with her best "I bet you can't catch me" devilish smile.)

And then there was the lifeboat drill. A long, drawn out affair where we were required to put on the most bulky orange life vests I've ever seen, then walk to the casino where we had to wait and wait in a hot stuffy room full of flashing lights with a similarly orange-clad mob for an eternity until we were instructed to walk down to the lifeboat area to stand for another eternity while someone explained the evacuation procedures over a loudspeaker whose sound quality rivaled a drive-through window. This all happened at about 4 in the afternoon, and Mia had been up since 5:30 a.m. to catch the flight to Miami. She hadn't eaten her lunch or napped. (The phrase "recipe for disaster" comes to mind, doesn't it?) About 5 minutes into the drill, Mia had the meltdown to end all meltdowns. We've never seen anything like it. We tried everything we could think of to calm her down, including taking off her life vest, then ours, so we could hold her in our arms. I spent much of the time sitting on the deck with Mia, cuddling her and trying to reassure her, to no avail. The people around us kindly tried to pretend nothing unusual was happening. (Except for one couple in their 20's, who kept looking at us incredulously. If they were on their honeymoon, I suspect they might be thinking twice about starting a family.) If that wasn't the longest half hour of my life, I don't know what was.

Despite its challenges, it was a nice getaway. In Cozumel, Mia went in the ocean for the first time. Mia delighted in seeing dolphins swimming in the ship's wake, right below our stateroom balcony. I purchased a stuffed dolphin for her at the airport, and she enjoys making it swim through the air. Jeff reports that she walked right up to an intimidating-looking man at the airport to show him her new dolphin. Though he was the kind of guy most of us would avoid, he was very friendly, asking Mia what the dolphin's name was. Mia surprised Jeff by announcing, "Alex." It was surprising because up to this point, Mia has referred to her dolls as "Baby Doll" and "Big Baby" and her stuffed animals as "Lambie" and "Blue Bear" and "Brown Bear." This is the first time she has given one of her toys a human name. (Alex happens to be the name of the boy on the Signing Time videos, and we've suspected she had a crush on him.) We had lots of play time together in our stateroom and out on our balcony. I read the story of "The Napping House" so many times I now have it memorized. We also taught Mia to respond to the questions, "What is your name?" and "How old are you?" Somehow we hadn't got around to that before, and a TSA agent had given us a hard time when we were going through security in Atlanta.

TSA (looking at Mia's passport): Does she speak?

Me (puzzled): Do you mean, does she speak English?

TSA: Does she speak?

Me: Yes, she can talk.

TSA (to Mia): What is your name?

Mia: Silence.

TSA: What is your name?

Mia: silence.

TSA: I thought you said she spoke.

Me: She DOES.

TSA: Then why can't she tell me her name?

Me: She doesn't know how to answer that question. (I prepare to pull out the family photos that show the 3 of us together, assuming TSA's concern is that I might be kidnapping.)

TSA (grudgingly): OK, you can go.

I have to admit I still don't understand why he had to ask. Was her passport photo really that bad? Anyway, Mia can now say her first and last name, though I doubt she'd give it up willingly for a TSA agent.

Spring Break

Mia's preschool is on spring break this week. With no nanny, I am suddenly very aware of the challenges of keeping one's child amused during school breaks. I hadn't planned many activities. We had a swimming lesson Monday night. The Wednesday night lesson was cancelled minutes before we entered the pool, when a child in the class right before Mia's class threw up (yes, in the pool). I bet the people at the Country Inn & Suites weren't counting on that when they agreed to host the swim classes.
Mia has been begging me to play the song, "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas" all week. Sarah had it on her iPod and frequently played it for Mia in the car. I've been trying to explain to Mia that I don't have that song, but Mia has been unforgiving. Yesterday I broke down and bought it on iTunes. When Mia got up from her nap, I told her I had a big surprise for her. I played the song on my computer, and she asked me to play it again. And again. I eventually set it up to repeat and I am not kidding when I say she made me play it for 90 minutes straight. I might still be playing it if we hadn't received a package in the mail from Mia's paternal grandparents. Contents: One Hallmark Easter egg that plays "The Chicken Dance." We played that about 10 times. I didn't mind, especially since I got a little exercise by dancing along, to Mia's amusement. I could have used an instructional video, since I've never actually danced the chicken dance at anyone's wedding. Hop around, flap your wings... How hard can it be?
Fortunately, the weather was warm so we could play outside today. And if we get bored, there is always the bounce house. Tomorrow, we have a play date with Quincy. Yay, I could use some girlfriend time myself.

Life Changes

We've had some big changes at our house. I have joined the ranks of the unemployed, if you can call caring for a 2-year-old while looking for a new job "unemployed." My company had a restructuring and lots of jobs were eliminated. I was giving the option of reducing my hours or taking a severance package. After doing the math, it was clear that after 13 years, it was time to move on. Mia is now attending preschool four days a week instead of two, to give me time to look for a job. We were sorry to lose Sarah, but as it turns out her boyfriend has been transferred to Colorado Springs and she will be moving there in May.
Mia has been demonstrating classic "terrible two" behavior for the past month. (Remind me to tell you the one about the evacuation drill during our recent cruise vacation.) Time-outs haven't been working - Mia turns them into a game of "Ha ha, I'm not going to sit on this chair and you can't make me! If you pick me up and put me back on the chair, I like the extra attention!" (Thankfully, Mia's teachers tell me she is quite well-behaved at preschool.) I've been studying my child development books, which help me understand some of the likely root causes for the behavior, but don't offer much in the way of tips for handling the situation. Finally I decided to consult my sister Paula, whose children are remarkably well behaved. I mean that literally. People walk up to her in public places and remark on how nicely her children handle themselves. Paula gave me some suggestions that are challenging for me to implement but they do seem effective. My friend Linda has been a sympathetic ear as well. When I tell her about some of the things my little darling has been doing, she helps me regain my sense of humor about it.
But, let's get back to the positives. Mia and I are spending much more time together and we're getting closer. We're making progress on toilet training. Mia constantly amazes me with how quickly she is learning new words and concepts. Bottom-line, we have a healthy little girl who is really talented at testing limits. Maybe she'll become a lawyer, or a test pilot.

Jump

For months, Mia has been jumping on (or off) everything in sight. Furniture, stairs, parents, you name it. After playing in a friend's "bounce house" we decided it might be a good investment, i.e., save on furniture. Mia spends a few minutes in it every evening and, if I'm not mistaken, I'm seeing a lot less jumping during the day. Can't wait to have a play date.

In the Swim of Things

We took Mia for her first swimming lesson. She is in the "Minnows" class for 18- to 36-month old children. As it turned out, there are only 2 children in the class. We did simple things like blowing bubbles in the water. (Well, actually, I did it. Mia isn't so sure that is a good idea yet.) Mia was pretty apprehensive at first, clinging to me tighter than Velcro. But instructor Whitney made it fun with songs like ABC and Ring Around the Rosie and The Wheels on the Bus. It wasn't long before Mia was yelling, "More, more!"