Why Are You Cleaning?

Yet another area in which I must need to improve:

Aidyn: "Is someone coming over?"

Me: "No, not that I know of."

Aidyn: "Oh. Then why are you cleaning the house?"

A Plant

Aidyn's assessment of Charlie Brown's choice:

"That is NOT a Christmas tree. It's just...like...a plant!!"

Traffic

AJ has this super annoying fire truck toy (sorry Nana and Papa...he really loves it...but it is ridiculously annoying) that Aidyn unfortunately loves to play with. This evening I was just so tired of all the noise and a little irritated with the constant sounds of the horn and screeching tires as Aidyn repeatedly pushed buttons in rapid succession and I asked her to be done playing with the fire truck toy. She innocently looked at me while continuing to alternate pushing the buttons for the horn and tires very quickly and said, "But Mommy! It's just traffic!!"

Happy Cry

Aidyn has really been enjoying the movie Nanny McPhee about a magical nanny who helps tame several naughty children. I discovered today that Nanny McPhee Returns was available for rental OnDemand through our cable company and decided to share it with her tonight for movie night. At the end of the movie the Daddy returns from war after being missing in action and Aidyn looked at me with misty eyes and said, "Oh. I am about to happy cry."

Pretty Stinkin' Sweet

Aidyn, spoken to Mommy at the dinner table: "You are pretty stinkin' sweet."

Ruining My Life and Other Fantastic Fits

Aidyn has been quite emotional lately...or, well, always. But more lately. Or, I guess, emotional in more sophisticated ways and with fantastic fit-throwing skills.

A couple days ago I asked Aidyn to tidy up her play area. She threw a huge fit over it with the typical "I don't want to" and "You're not listening to me." I stopped her and sent her to her room to get her emotions under control (which is our usual mode of discipline in those circumstances) and as she stormed up the stairs she screamed at the top of her lungs, "YOU ARE RUINING MY LIFE!!"

Same day, same kid, different fit, again screamed loudly and with accompanying stomping of feet: "I AM NOT THROWING A FIT!! I AM JUST SAD!!! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!!!!"

Next day, same kid, different fit, same basic premise. I had asked Aidyn to help tidy toys in the living room and she said she didn't feel like it. I pointed out that I didn't really feel like tidying up toys either and I wasn't the one who got them out so I shouldn't have to tidy them up. She began pointing to the laundry in the living room and screaming, "WELL, DID I GET OUT THAT BASKET? NO! OR THAT BASKET? NO. SO WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO CLEAN UP?" Nothing like using my own logic against me, if ineffectively.

Next day, same kid, different fit, different event this time. Daddy asked her to change her attitude toward the beginning of a fit where she had told him "No" when he asked her to do something and then stomped away. He said she could go back and walk and speak nicely or go to her room to nap before being given lunch. Her choice was clear as she stormed up the stairs screaming, "YOU ARE STARVING ME!!!"

My Daddy Has Money

Right before Landon was born we had a family outing to see Veggie Tales Live at our church. Aidyn saw several kids with cheap, plastic, flashing light-up toys that were being sold in the gym and asked if she could have one. Trying to point out that they cost money that we didn't want to be spending I asked her if she had any money to go buy herself one. I realized that my lesson-teaching method had backfired when she put on her sweetest smile, stroked her daddy's knee and said, "My daddy has money." It was all I could do to hold him in the seat to prevent him from running straight to the cheap, plastic, flashing light-up toy display.

Pretend

Aidyn is quite bossy and likes to play pretend a lot. This has me constantly transformed into someone I probably don't feel like being. "Mommy, pretend you're a mom with ten very naughty kids and I'm Nanny McPhee." "Mommy, pretend you're a patient and I'm the doctor and you're in the waiting room." "Mommy, pretend you don't know me."

Recently there was this exchange:

Aidyn: "Mommy, pretend you don't like this guy."

Me: "Oh, I don't like that guy."

Aidyn: [very seriously] "You don't? For real?"

Jinger Bells

Aidyn singing tonight: "Jinger bells, Jinger bells, Jinger all the way. Oh what fun it is to ride in a ho-ror open sled."

Closlet

Aidyn has very few words that she has always said incorrectly. "Closet" is one of those words--her version has always been "closlet." I pointed out to her that the correct word is in fact "closet" and she considered that for a moment before responding, "Well. Closlet is a much better word for that."

No More Kids

With foster care and a new baby in the house I think Aidyn has been feeling a little neglected. It's a good thing we made sure that Landon will be the last baby here because a few nights ago Aidyn randomly declared, "I don't think I want any more kids at our house."

Two Marys

Aidyn's Christmastime conclusion: "Oh Mom!! There were two Marys!! There was Mary had a little lamb AND Mary that had Jesus!"

Blue Eye

We went a round with pink eye at our house this past week. Aidyn had it first and then generously shared it with Landon. I'm guessing that Aidyn doesn't quite understand the mechanics of pink eye because this morning she declared that Tylenol (her baby doll) has a bad case of "blue eye."

You Look Like Your Daddy

This afternoon I saw Aidyn sitting by her daddy and pointed out, "You look like your daddy." With a confused look she turned to him and said, "But you don't wear a nightie. And I don't have a beard!"

100 Juicy Punch

Aidyn is really able to read well now. She surprises me daily with new words that she can read and I'm impressed by her level of comprehension. This morning at breakfast she read her juice box (and yes, the word was "juice" not "juicy" but she is only four after all!): "100 juicy punch...I guess that's why it squeezes, it's so juicy!!"

At Church

So...if you ever want to know what it's like at our church, just give Aidyn a flashlight. She was playing with one last night and was making figure-eights of light on the ceiling of the living room. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "It's a circle of light! That's because you're at church!!"

Hiccups

Aidyn had hiccups and I unthinkingly asked her, "Should I scare you?"

She looked at me with wide eyes and replied, "Why would you do that!!??"

You Should Do That Again

I'm glad I'm not the only one who bears the brunt of Aidyn's innocent honesty. A few nights ago Aidyn was talking to Daddy and pointed out, "You know that exercise show you used to do where you needed to drink a glass of water? Well, you should do that again."

I Skipped a Few Songs

Aidyn does not like taking naps. For the last several months we've been allowing her to take "quiet time" instead of a nap. Sometimes she plays, sometimes she jumps on her bed, sometimes she actually does sleep--but at least she gets a bit of a rest, more or less, and so do I.

Last week she was supposed to be taking a quiet time but I heard her running around upstairs the entire time. When she called out to see if she could come down, I told her to lie down until the cd that was playing was finished. A few minutes later she came downstairs and I asked her if the cd was done. She looked at me sheepishly and said, "Well, I skipped a few songs to make it shorter." I guess I wasn't specific enough!

Power Marshmallows

A few nights ago Aidyn asked for a snack. She offered the suggestion that marshmallows might make a nice snack and I allowed her to have four mini-marshmallows. Her "I can have four!! Four!!?? Really, Mama!!??" made me feel bad. I should have given her five!

After the first marshmallow she was so excited she began running and jumping over things on the floor. I asked her what she was doing and she answered, "These are POWER marshmallows!! They give me power to jump over that!"

A Challenge

Me: "How was it holding Baby Landon?"

Aidyn: "Well, it was a challenge. Because he is a little heavy."