Dear Lila,
After you came home from school today, I changed you into your tap class leotard and tights and took you to class. When we arrived at the building, the elevator that takes us up to the dance studio had an "out of order" sign on it. So we walked to the door that leads to the stairs that go up to the dance studio and that door had a sign on it that said the buzzer to the dance studio was broken. So, um, there was no way to get to the studio or let anyone in the studio know that we were downstairs waiting. And it was FREEZING outside. Two of your classmates soon showed up and their parents were equally confused as to how we were supposed to get to class. I found the number to the reception desk and called . . . and called . . . and called. But no one answered. Another mom checked her emails and there it was: We had missed the part that said that the dance school's winter break was through January 2; classes would resume on January 3. The public schools started up again today so I had assumed that your dance class would, too. *sigh* I dragged you out into the freezing cold afternoon for nothing!
Then, on the walk back home, you suddenly had to pee very badly, even though you had gone before we left the house. We were nowhere near home or even PoiPoi's apartment, so I had to sneak you into a nearby grocery store's employee bathroom. We technically weren't supposed to be in there, plus the bathroom is the size of a postage stamp--there's barely room for the toilet and sink, much less two people wearing puffy winter coats and carrying bulky purses and backpacks. So we're in this crawl space of a bathroom and I somehow have to take off (and find somewhere to put) your parka, scarf, hat and backpack and oh yeah, you can't even just pull down your pants and go because you are wearing a FRIGGEN LEOTARD, so I also have to find the room to bend down and pull down your pants, tights and leotard, all while you are wiggling and whining and I am freaking out because I don't want you to wet yourself and then go back out in the cold . . . there was really no room in the bathroom, so I ended up throwing all of the winter gear and bags on a hummus display next to the bathroom and I had to leave the door open while I peeled off your clothes because that was the only way I was going to have room to bend down and reach them. I don't know if any customers or employees saw but I was too stressed out to care at that point.
Good news, I took off everything in time and you peed in the toilet and not on yourself, we didn't get in trouble for using a non-public restroom and the manager didn't approach us afterward and ban us from the store. But gah, all of that when we didn't even have to leave the house!
Love,
Mom (who will check school vacation dates more closely from now on)
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Friday, December 29, 2017
Grown-Up Goals
Dear Lila,
Me: Lila, what do you want to be when you grow up?
You: A grown-up.
Makes sense.
Love,
Mom
Me: Lila, what do you want to be when you grow up?
You: A grown-up.
Makes sense.
Love,
Mom
Current Faves
Dear Lila,
Your current stats:
Age: 5 years and 2 days
Clothing size: 8 (GuhGaw only wears size 7!)
Shoe size: 13.5 (same size as GuhGaw!)
Favorite color: "All the colors except brown, black, white and gray."
Favorite music: the Trolls soundtrack
Favorite book: princess books
Favorite TV show: Team Umizoomi
Favorite movie: Trolls
Favorite activity: napping
Favorite food: mushrooms
Love,
Mom
Your current stats:
Age: 5 years and 2 days
Clothing size: 8 (GuhGaw only wears size 7!)
Shoe size: 13.5 (same size as GuhGaw!)
Favorite color: "All the colors except brown, black, white and gray."
Favorite music: the Trolls soundtrack
Favorite book: princess books
Favorite TV show: Team Umizoomi
Favorite movie: Trolls
Favorite activity: napping
Favorite food: mushrooms
Love,
Mom
Thursday, December 28, 2017
All Dolled Up
Dear Lila,
This year, you have already had a birthday party at school, a birthday party at a play space and a mini family celebration with birthday cake at home yesterday but your birthday festivities continued today with a trip to . . . drum roll please . . . American Girl Place!!!
You love dolls and you love poring through the American Girl doll catalogs that are mailed to our house (you enjoy looking at the dolls and their plethora of posh accessories, I enjoy shouting to your dad, "Oh my god, look how expensive this is! Look how expensive that is!"), so I knew I wanted to take you to American Girl Place someday. And someday was today! (A whole month ago, I tried to book a table for afternoon tea in the American Girl Place Cafe for our family of five on your actual birthday but the place is so dang popular that I could only snag a reservation for two on the day after your birthday, grrr.)
Today's high temperature was a toasty 15 degrees but we bundled up in a whole lotta layers and rode the F train to Rockefeller Plaza. We visited the famous Christmas tree (twice--DiDi had fallen asleep on the subway and missed the tree the first time we walked around it so we went back when he woke up) and warmed ourselves up with hot chocolate and coffee at Bouchon Bakery. Then it was off to the main event! We walked through the revolving doors at American Girl Place and the smile that spread across your face was everything! There were dolls everywhere, obviously, and you and your brothers had so much fun looking at them all and playing with the various toy sets that were on display. There was a giant play house and a cute washing machine/dryer/ironing board set that you guys especially liked. Daddy, however, looked so bored and kept saying he should take GuhGaw and DiDi to the nearby Nintendo Store but your brothers were enjoying themselves and I told your dad, "They're fine." He wasn't going to escape that easily, haha!
When it was time for our afternoon tea reservation, you and I headed over to the cafe. You don't own an American Girl doll (I love you and want to give you everything but seriously, one doll is more than $100!) but there were shelves of loaner dolls at the front of the cafe and the hostess said you could pick a doll to join us. You selected a cute baby doll and the waitress set her up with her own doll-sized dishes, place mat and high chair at our table.
We enjoyed yummy sandwiches, pastries and sweets and topped off the meal with a special birthday dessert:
I am still regaining the feeling in my nearly frostbitten fingers and toes, haha, but I so enjoyed our special trip to Manhattan today. Happy birthday, my love!
Love,
Mom
This year, you have already had a birthday party at school, a birthday party at a play space and a mini family celebration with birthday cake at home yesterday but your birthday festivities continued today with a trip to . . . drum roll please . . . American Girl Place!!!
You love dolls and you love poring through the American Girl doll catalogs that are mailed to our house (you enjoy looking at the dolls and their plethora of posh accessories, I enjoy shouting to your dad, "Oh my god, look how expensive this is! Look how expensive that is!"), so I knew I wanted to take you to American Girl Place someday. And someday was today! (A whole month ago, I tried to book a table for afternoon tea in the American Girl Place Cafe for our family of five on your actual birthday but the place is so dang popular that I could only snag a reservation for two on the day after your birthday, grrr.)
Today's high temperature was a toasty 15 degrees but we bundled up in a whole lotta layers and rode the F train to Rockefeller Plaza. We visited the famous Christmas tree (twice--DiDi had fallen asleep on the subway and missed the tree the first time we walked around it so we went back when he woke up) and warmed ourselves up with hot chocolate and coffee at Bouchon Bakery. Then it was off to the main event! We walked through the revolving doors at American Girl Place and the smile that spread across your face was everything! There were dolls everywhere, obviously, and you and your brothers had so much fun looking at them all and playing with the various toy sets that were on display. There was a giant play house and a cute washing machine/dryer/ironing board set that you guys especially liked. Daddy, however, looked so bored and kept saying he should take GuhGaw and DiDi to the nearby Nintendo Store but your brothers were enjoying themselves and I told your dad, "They're fine." He wasn't going to escape that easily, haha!
When it was time for our afternoon tea reservation, you and I headed over to the cafe. You don't own an American Girl doll (I love you and want to give you everything but seriously, one doll is more than $100!) but there were shelves of loaner dolls at the front of the cafe and the hostess said you could pick a doll to join us. You selected a cute baby doll and the waitress set her up with her own doll-sized dishes, place mat and high chair at our table.
We enjoyed yummy sandwiches, pastries and sweets and topped off the meal with a special birthday dessert:
I am still regaining the feeling in my nearly frostbitten fingers and toes, haha, but I so enjoyed our special trip to Manhattan today. Happy birthday, my love!
Love,
Mom
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
You're Five Years Old!
Dear Lila,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! I used five exclamation points there because you are now five years old!!!!! FIVE!!!!! (Okay, I'll stop with that now.)
It's so weird--you seem like my little baby girl and my big grown-up girl all at the same time. On the one hand, you still need me to help you button your shirts, wash your hair and cut your food. But on the other hand, you can zip up your jacket on your own, wipe and clean your tushee and go to the pantry and get a cereal bar by yourself if you get hungry. You're in this gray area where you're somewhat helpless with some things and completely independent with others. And I'm in this gray area where I am both happy and sad that you are growing up!
It has been amazing to see how much you have changed just over the past year. When you were 4, you were still using baby talk like "You my friend." Now, you are talking in full and articulate sentences. When you were 4, your drawings were mostly scribbles but now they really resemble what you're trying to draw. You recently drew a reindeer in art class and I was genuinely impressed by how much it looked like a reindeer! When you were 4, you were only able to recognize and write a handful of letters in the alphabet. Now, you have mastered all 26 letters and can successfully read simple words. You have learned how to sound out letters and figure out what unfamiliar words are. And you are always practicing your letter sounds. If you and I are talking about, say, snacks, you'll pause and say, "Sssssnacks. That starts with s."
Some things about you, of course, are still the same. You still love princesses and dolls, especially Barbie dolls, so you were very excited when you received several Barbies for Christmas and your birthday this year. You still enjoy reading and ask me to read to you every day (but now I can point out certain words and you read them to me!). You still like to dance and are taking tap lessons this semester. And you still love love love to stuff various toys in various bags and carry them to various rooms and then leave them there so that when I ask you where your Poppy doll is, for example, you genuinely have no idea because she could be in any number of bags in any number of rooms. Ever since you were a toddler, you have had this strange packrat-like habit of putting as many toys as you can fit in your Sofia backpack, Hello Kitty lunchbox, Highlights tote bag and any other container you have to play with. I was cleaning up the play attic recently and discovered that you had stuffed a pack of playing cards into your purple purse, which you had then stuffed into your Sofia backpack along with a bunch of play food and dishes and then you had stuffed all of that into your larger honeybee backpack along with several (very squished) stuffed animals. It was like a Russian nesting doll of bags and it was hilarious and amazing! Only you, Lila!
I am so proud to be your mama. While some kids balk at homework, you often want to finish an entire week's worth of homework in one day, so you'll sit at your desk for two hours and complete your whole homework packet. And if you don't understand your homework assignment, you don't get frustrated but listen patiently while I explain it to you. Many kids your age won't eat anything that isn't on a crust and covered with cheese but you enjoy a variety of foods, including kale salad and shrimp sushi. (The one thing you don't like is ironically a little-kid staple: peanut butter! You don't like the taste or even the smell.) At dismissal time at school, most kids see their caregivers, grab the teacher and shout, "I see my mom! I see my nanny!" before running out of the line to said caregiver. You patiently wait for your teacher to tap you on the shoulder and tell you that you can go. When DiDi is upset that I won't let him eat gummy bears, you put your arm around him and explain to him, "You can't eat candy now, okay? You have to eat your dinner first." You are a wonderful sister, a wonderful daughter and a wonderful person. I love you so much, Lilabear!
Love,
Mom
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! I used five exclamation points there because you are now five years old!!!!! FIVE!!!!! (Okay, I'll stop with that now.)
It's so weird--you seem like my little baby girl and my big grown-up girl all at the same time. On the one hand, you still need me to help you button your shirts, wash your hair and cut your food. But on the other hand, you can zip up your jacket on your own, wipe and clean your tushee and go to the pantry and get a cereal bar by yourself if you get hungry. You're in this gray area where you're somewhat helpless with some things and completely independent with others. And I'm in this gray area where I am both happy and sad that you are growing up!
It has been amazing to see how much you have changed just over the past year. When you were 4, you were still using baby talk like "You my friend." Now, you are talking in full and articulate sentences. When you were 4, your drawings were mostly scribbles but now they really resemble what you're trying to draw. You recently drew a reindeer in art class and I was genuinely impressed by how much it looked like a reindeer! When you were 4, you were only able to recognize and write a handful of letters in the alphabet. Now, you have mastered all 26 letters and can successfully read simple words. You have learned how to sound out letters and figure out what unfamiliar words are. And you are always practicing your letter sounds. If you and I are talking about, say, snacks, you'll pause and say, "Sssssnacks. That starts with s."
 |
| Daddy and I surprised you with a balloon "curtain" this morning! |
Some things about you, of course, are still the same. You still love princesses and dolls, especially Barbie dolls, so you were very excited when you received several Barbies for Christmas and your birthday this year. You still enjoy reading and ask me to read to you every day (but now I can point out certain words and you read them to me!). You still like to dance and are taking tap lessons this semester. And you still love love love to stuff various toys in various bags and carry them to various rooms and then leave them there so that when I ask you where your Poppy doll is, for example, you genuinely have no idea because she could be in any number of bags in any number of rooms. Ever since you were a toddler, you have had this strange packrat-like habit of putting as many toys as you can fit in your Sofia backpack, Hello Kitty lunchbox, Highlights tote bag and any other container you have to play with. I was cleaning up the play attic recently and discovered that you had stuffed a pack of playing cards into your purple purse, which you had then stuffed into your Sofia backpack along with a bunch of play food and dishes and then you had stuffed all of that into your larger honeybee backpack along with several (very squished) stuffed animals. It was like a Russian nesting doll of bags and it was hilarious and amazing! Only you, Lila!
I am so proud to be your mama. While some kids balk at homework, you often want to finish an entire week's worth of homework in one day, so you'll sit at your desk for two hours and complete your whole homework packet. And if you don't understand your homework assignment, you don't get frustrated but listen patiently while I explain it to you. Many kids your age won't eat anything that isn't on a crust and covered with cheese but you enjoy a variety of foods, including kale salad and shrimp sushi. (The one thing you don't like is ironically a little-kid staple: peanut butter! You don't like the taste or even the smell.) At dismissal time at school, most kids see their caregivers, grab the teacher and shout, "I see my mom! I see my nanny!" before running out of the line to said caregiver. You patiently wait for your teacher to tap you on the shoulder and tell you that you can go. When DiDi is upset that I won't let him eat gummy bears, you put your arm around him and explain to him, "You can't eat candy now, okay? You have to eat your dinner first." You are a wonderful sister, a wonderful daughter and a wonderful person. I love you so much, Lilabear!
Love,
Mom
Monday, December 18, 2017
Sharing Is Caring
Dear Lila,
You had your class birthday party today and we celebrated with your classmates by sharing pizza, cupcakes and homemade candy cane sugar cookies with them and reading your special book about you, "The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name." The best part of the party for me, though, was seeing you take such good care of DiDi. You shared your chair with him and dutifully fed him pizza, cupcakes and juice without Daddy or I even asking you to do so. Thank you for always being such a good big sister!
Love,
Mom
You had your class birthday party today and we celebrated with your classmates by sharing pizza, cupcakes and homemade candy cane sugar cookies with them and reading your special book about you, "The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name." The best part of the party for me, though, was seeing you take such good care of DiDi. You shared your chair with him and dutifully fed him pizza, cupcakes and juice without Daddy or I even asking you to do so. Thank you for always being such a good big sister!
Love,
Mom
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Playing With Sprinkles
Dear Lila,
I love watching you play. It's so fascinating to see what imaginary scenarios you create in your mind with your toys . . . or any other objects you turn into playthings. Yesterday, you were helping me decorate your cake for your birthday party (this year's requested theme: Trolls!) and you were standing next to me at the kitchen counter. While I was arranging the Trolls figurines on top of the cake, you took two shorter bottles of sprinkles and made them "walk" up to a taller bottle of sprinkles. You said in a high-pitched voice, "Can you take us to the park?" Then you picked up the taller "mom" sprinkles and said, "Yes. Hold my hand." You walked all three bottles over to several tubes of frosting that were also on the counter and you said those were the cousins and proceeded to act out an afternoon at the park with the sprinkles kids and their frosting cousins. Watching you play that was more entertaining (and cuter!) than anything I've seen on TV!
And here are some party pics. You had so much fun playing in the make-believe town with your buddies!
Love,
Mom
I love watching you play. It's so fascinating to see what imaginary scenarios you create in your mind with your toys . . . or any other objects you turn into playthings. Yesterday, you were helping me decorate your cake for your birthday party (this year's requested theme: Trolls!) and you were standing next to me at the kitchen counter. While I was arranging the Trolls figurines on top of the cake, you took two shorter bottles of sprinkles and made them "walk" up to a taller bottle of sprinkles. You said in a high-pitched voice, "Can you take us to the park?" Then you picked up the taller "mom" sprinkles and said, "Yes. Hold my hand." You walked all three bottles over to several tubes of frosting that were also on the counter and you said those were the cousins and proceeded to act out an afternoon at the park with the sprinkles kids and their frosting cousins. Watching you play that was more entertaining (and cuter!) than anything I've seen on TV!
And here are some party pics. You had so much fun playing in the make-believe town with your buddies!
Love,
Mom
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