The best things in life are free
Caitlyn's favorite thing to say these days is "follow me" and she puts her tiny little hand into mine and pulls me in the direction open to her. Last week at the park, she met a little boy whom she proudly announced was her friend (as all children she discovers at the park are). The little boy was sort of uninterested in her. When she yelled, "follow me", he did not follow. So she ran up to him in the direction that he was already going and got in front of him and yelling excitedly "follow me." Pretty soon he was following her without even knowing it and in no time at all he was fully engaged. Caitlyn is quite the dynamo.
Last Saturday we were driving and I needed to stop an look at my map, so I pulled into a 7/11. She started yelling "Snoopy, snoopy". I looked at the windows of the 7/11 and I couldn't see any snoopys, but she was very insistant. Being the doting Aunt Kathy that I am, I agreed that we could go into 7/11 to find her snoopy. "Follow me" she said pulling me toward the back of the store. How in the world could she see snoopy in the back of the store from the front window I was thinking. She came to a halt in front of the Slurpy machine and said, jumping up and down with much excitment, "snoopy, snoopy." [I was in my brand new car and Caitlyn is brand new at being three. It's only about a week since she drank only from a sippy cup. A cherry slurpy in my car???] Being the doting Aunt Kathy that I am, I filled half the cup with cherry slurpy, but I did lecture her all the time we were in line to pay and all the way to the car and some more when I put her in her car seat, to be careful and not spill her slurpy. She only spilled a little on her shirt and her chin was all red, but not a drop on my car. What a good girl.
When she first sees me, she yells Kathy! and she races over to give me a big hug. She's a very good hugger too, but she doesn't like to be held and after a bit, she is skriming to get down (good thing, now that I am a bunch older and carrying kids is a bunch harder). I say "Hi baby" and she says, "I'm not a baby" kind of matter of factly.
When I get home in the evening, Caitlyn says "Are you done with your work? Good." When I say that I have to go to work in the morning, sometimes she says "ok" and turns back to Oswald on tv, but this morning she ran in front of me and said "Stop!" "Why?" I asked and she whispered, "because there's a monster." She was soon distracted and I was able to leave to go to work. I said "see you later, alligator" and she said "I'm not an alligator."
She has her yelling moments to be sure. Screaming at the top of her lungs is a favorite past time, but being Doting Aunt Kathy, I look on benignly and ignore such outbursts. Surely she wants some candy or a movie to coax her out of her bad mood.
We have little habits between the two of us. When we are in my sitting room I must turn on her tv shows (noggin) and sit at my desk. She gets very annoyed if I sit on the sofa and if Adam tries to sit on the sofa, watch out. After a while she will lay down on the sofa and pretty soon she announces that she wants some milk. In my bedroom, she has a set of shelves that she plays on with the little miniture houses. She rearranges them endlessly and could cheerfully stay there a long time.
I am enjoying my grandma moments, but soon the real grandma will get back from vacation and I will go back to being just part of the crowd of amusments laid at the feet of a delightful three year old.
Last Saturday we were driving and I needed to stop an look at my map, so I pulled into a 7/11. She started yelling "Snoopy, snoopy". I looked at the windows of the 7/11 and I couldn't see any snoopys, but she was very insistant. Being the doting Aunt Kathy that I am, I agreed that we could go into 7/11 to find her snoopy. "Follow me" she said pulling me toward the back of the store. How in the world could she see snoopy in the back of the store from the front window I was thinking. She came to a halt in front of the Slurpy machine and said, jumping up and down with much excitment, "snoopy, snoopy." [I was in my brand new car and Caitlyn is brand new at being three. It's only about a week since she drank only from a sippy cup. A cherry slurpy in my car???] Being the doting Aunt Kathy that I am, I filled half the cup with cherry slurpy, but I did lecture her all the time we were in line to pay and all the way to the car and some more when I put her in her car seat, to be careful and not spill her slurpy. She only spilled a little on her shirt and her chin was all red, but not a drop on my car. What a good girl.
When she first sees me, she yells Kathy! and she races over to give me a big hug. She's a very good hugger too, but she doesn't like to be held and after a bit, she is skriming to get down (good thing, now that I am a bunch older and carrying kids is a bunch harder). I say "Hi baby" and she says, "I'm not a baby" kind of matter of factly.
When I get home in the evening, Caitlyn says "Are you done with your work? Good." When I say that I have to go to work in the morning, sometimes she says "ok" and turns back to Oswald on tv, but this morning she ran in front of me and said "Stop!" "Why?" I asked and she whispered, "because there's a monster." She was soon distracted and I was able to leave to go to work. I said "see you later, alligator" and she said "I'm not an alligator."
She has her yelling moments to be sure. Screaming at the top of her lungs is a favorite past time, but being Doting Aunt Kathy, I look on benignly and ignore such outbursts. Surely she wants some candy or a movie to coax her out of her bad mood.
We have little habits between the two of us. When we are in my sitting room I must turn on her tv shows (noggin) and sit at my desk. She gets very annoyed if I sit on the sofa and if Adam tries to sit on the sofa, watch out. After a while she will lay down on the sofa and pretty soon she announces that she wants some milk. In my bedroom, she has a set of shelves that she plays on with the little miniture houses. She rearranges them endlessly and could cheerfully stay there a long time.
I am enjoying my grandma moments, but soon the real grandma will get back from vacation and I will go back to being just part of the crowd of amusments laid at the feet of a delightful three year old.
posted by KathrynVH @ 9:37 AM
1 Comments:
At December 8, 2008 at 1:26 PM,
Marcel said…
You have tapped into the best of relationships, trust from a child. It is pleasurable while it lasts and it gives heart ache when time allows it to fade away.
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