Friday, June 13, 2008

Phrase Friday

Another busy week has flown by. As I've been purging the house, I'm trying to purge our commitments. That is one of the hardest things for me to do. I love to be busy. I want to do lots of things. Next week M and I will be visiting my parents. When we return I'm vowing to dedicate 2-3 days each week at home (swimming doesn't count) with nothing to do but spend time together.

I'm sure there are hundreds of things I could write about today. Some include "oh, this ish my fravorite," "my can't watch (or do or eat) that," and "let me help you."

But one funny comment sticks out in my mind. We've had some afternoon showers around here lately. Wednesday's shower including some pretty good thundering and light-up-your world lightening which woke M up from her nap. I let her snuggle in my room while I purged, er, I mean cleaned up, some of the junk from our room.

When it was time to go to church, we were walking down the stairs when M said, "Mama, I can't go outside."
"Why?" I asked.
She held up her right foot and pointed to it. "My shoes don't want to get wet."

Sorry, kiddo. Shoes don't get a vote in this house!

Some other funny things that are happening:
--M is really beginning to relate experiences back to me. For example, our neighbor spoke to M through the glass door yesterday. M came running to tell me that the baby's mommy said, "Hello, Meryt!" At first I didn't understand what she was talking about, then I realized that our neighbor must have spoken to M as she was standing at our glass door. (We live in a townhouse and are connected to our next door neighbor.)

--M is beginning to sing! She's always loved music. When she was a baby, music often calmed her down when she was fussy or whiny. When she was a tiny infant, I would take her to the church service with me. Whenever we would sing a hymn, she would be perfectly still in my arms. For a few weeks, she's been singing children's songs like the ABC's, Jesus Loves Me, etc. Now she's singing along to her songs on her CD's or on the iPod. When there is a song she really likes she says, "Oh, this ish my fravorite!"

M is such a little sponge right now. I realize that as easy as she's picking up the positive messages that we give her (love, forgiveness, obedience), she could just as easily pick up negative things. I want to fill her with a strong foundation while she's so easily molded. As a parent, it is fascinating to watch her right now.

Got anything to share with us? Funny phrases? Parenting insight? Laughable moments? Shoes that have opinions in your house?

4 comments:

Andi said...

Nat,
I LOVE that you are so thoughtful about all of M's stages...I was such a young mother that I did not realize that I should THINK about the things we did or times we spent together or what messages we sent her...You are so contemplative about it all that this life that you are building with M is such a positive one; the foundation is already there, and you continue to add to it and add to it....like scaffolding! Wonderful parenting. Reading about your insights gives me such hope and comfort! Love you. Kisses to M. Have a GREAT trip...I will call you when we return from the beach too.
P.S. LOVE love the "fravorite" phrase this week...I can just hear her- that cutie pie!

Arizaphale said...

OK, I don't know what made me think of this to share but I guess I said to myself, what did someone say to you this week that stuck with you? And it was one of my African boys on Friday.
What he said to me was this,
"I used to be good at Maths Miss, when I was young....and then the war came"....
It just about broke my heart. I replied that this is what had prevented him from learning then but now he had a new opportunity and we wanted to help him. He thought for a minute and then looked at me and said "I've changed my mind miss...I will try that test after all...." (he had flat out refused to complete the test a week before).
Things like this make it all worthwhile.
So,I don't know why you made me think of that Natalie, but I wanted to share it with you.
Oh, and the strong minded shoes? Priceless. :-)

Christina said...

It is too easy to fill the social calendar in summer...good for you for comitting to quiet times with just you and her.

I think my favorite this week is her opinionated little shoes. too cute!

Kyla said...

My favorite KayTar phrase from the week still hasn't been topped. That volunteer thing was too funny! And my favorite of BubTar's has to be "She is so cute I can't stand it. I really CANNOT stand it!" about the kitten.

Right now it looks like we will only have 3 blank weeks all summer! Most of them are filled with KayTar's camp, which is nice because BubTar and I get to hang out together...but next week is double booked so I'm going to be running like crazy!