Quote of the day (Anna)

"Mummy. Put your glasses on. You have to wear your glasses cos...cos or the sun will come in and sting your eyes."

Quotes of the day (Anna)

1) A continuation of the "I've always wanted a..." Now, Emma's taken to saying "When I was a boy, I..."

2) The latest addition to the bedtime routine: "Mumma/Mummy. I need to talk. I need to tell you all about my day." And then she tells us all about her day, including both things we're pretty sure actually happened - chasing a tiger through a jungle and driving a police car through the clouds to the zoo to see dinosaurs, for example - and outlandish, imaginary things - like playing in her sand box or having a nap.

A lifetime of thwarted aspirations (Anna)

Emma's picked up a phrase that sounds very odd for a toddler: "I've always wanted..."

As in, "I've always wanted a dog." "I've always wanted a dinosaur."

It makes her sound like she's about 110.

Adult envy (Anna)

They leave the house, dressed smartly, wallets tucked in their hands. Apart from that, they are empty-handed and don't seem to notice the absence of a tricycle, or a hat, or a bag. Even a close inspection would reveal no fingerprints or smudges on their favourite trousers, and if I could see in their pockets, there would be no little animals, rocks or spare underwear. As they leave the house, they have no need to go back in to grab a sticky little hand, and it has probably not occurred to them to use a countdown to get out to the car. They walk casually, checking their plants on their way. They get into the car - which has no kid's car seat anywhere to be seen - and happily chat as they drive away.

It is 7.30pm. They may not come back for several hours. They are childless, unimpeded by the rigours of bedtime.

They are the adults of the neighbourhood, and while it is quite possible that they have a secret yearning to be me, cuddling my sweet toddler as we share our picnic on the front lawn, tonight, I am envious of their adult-ness.

Quote of the Day (Anna)

You know how toddlers often hide behind their parents knees when they're talking to someone and refuse to answer any questions? And you know how adults tend to say something like "Are you feeling shy today?"

Well, today at the bus stop, someone started telling Emma how cute she was. She hid behind me and didn't say anything, then peered out and boldy explained matter-of-factly, "I feeling a bit shy today."

Essential skills of parenthood (Anna)

Trying to help a toddler contain a dripping icecream without leading her to believe that you are trying to steal her cone.

In other news, Emma has decided to rename us. Apparently, the monikers Mumma and Mummy no longer suffice. Our new names? I'm Pee-pee and Caroline is Poo-poo.

Essential skills of childhood (Anna)

I spent the evening teaching Emma to go down a waterslide.

The lifeguard warned us that toddlers often find the slides difficult - they expect the slide to be the same as the ones in a park. Because a waterslide is so slippery, kids, and especially toddlers, typically lean back too far and fall backwards, hitting their heads. So even when kids are used to 10 feet high slides at the park, even the smallest ones at the pool are apparently a nightmare for the lifeguards.

So I taught Emma to lean right forward and reach her arms out to me. She was tentative at first (or maybe that was me - who wants their kid to hit their head on the side of the pool?) but she figured it out really quickly and we had a great time, with much "swooping" "wheeing" and giggling. Not a bad way to spend a summer evening. I always respect the way she's up for a challenge and willing to take risks to do things even when she finds them scary.

Then we went for a 25 block walk at sunset (with her in the stroller). I don't see the sunset as much as I'd like these days since it's usually past E's bedtime (in summer, at least, when there's actually a sunset to see), so it was nice to be out at that time on such a lovely summer evening while the mountains glowed orange.

On the way, we discovered a housing developer with a interesting marketing concept. The new development is called "Karma". Its neighbours?...a cemetary and a funeral home! Someone has a an unusual sense of humour. (I can't decide if it will be very popular, and people will be dying to buy into it, or if the opposite will be true, and people won't be caught dead there...:)