Negotiating with a Toddler

Claire and I went to the shoe store today because she outgrows her shoes faster than a rabbit family outgrows their cage. We found a pair of shoes that seemed to fit, but I wanted her to walk around in them to make sure they wouldn't rub her feet. She was eager to get out of her stroller, but I wanted her to agree to a few ground rules first. The conversation went something like this...

Me: Claire, would you like to get out of your stroller and walk around in these shoes?
Claire: I want to get down.
Me: Okay. We're only going to walk, okay? No running.
Claire: I want to get down.
Me: Are you going to walk? No running?
Claire: No running.
Me: Okay. When it's time to go bye-bye, will you get back in the stroller?
Claire: No.
Me: Mommy can't let you down if you won't get back in the stroller.
Claire (whiny voice): I want to get down.
Me: You can get down if you will get back in the stroller when it's time to go bye-bye. Can you do that?
Claire: No.
Me: You can't get down if you won't get back in the stroller. Will you get back in the stroller?
Claire: No. (Thinking for a moment...) I have a question.
Me (stifling a laugh): Okay. What is your question?
Claire: Can I get down?

Facepalm.

There's a Wocket in my Pocket...

Claire loves Dr. Seuss, and one of her favorites is the classic "There's a Wocket in my Pocket". It's about a house that's filled with magical creatures in all kinds of unusual places - a findow in the window, a zamp in the lamp, and many other imaginary delights. Recently, she decided that we should have a special resident ourselves, so... Dr. Seuss now lives in our kitchen cabinet (according to Claire). It doesn't have the sing-song rhyming effect of the book, but really, who better to grace our kitchen than her literary idol. So how did we discover our stow-away? Well, Claire has a kitchen cabinet devoted entirely to her own personal enjoyment, which she often uses as a hiding place. She likes to crawl in, close the door, and then pop out unexpectedly and exclaim "Hello!" with a huge grin. Sometimes, she just closes the door and giggles uncontrollably until someone comes to find her. A few weeks ago, she opened the cabinet door, climbed in, and said, "Hello, Dr. Seuss." Now she likes to greet her cabinet friend almost everyday. Sometimes, I ask her to say hello to Dr. Seuss for me, and she always does. Since he was sticking around, I assumed he must be rather comfortable with his accomodations. As it turns out, though, Claire thinks he's too tall to live in the kitchen cabinet. Just the other day, she opened her cabinet, climbed in, and greeted Dr. Seuss with her usual excitement. But then I heard her say, "You bumped your head, Dr. Seuss." Perhaps our friend will soon move into a larger home. He's welcome to find a more comfortable place in our house, except for the closet. That's where the woset lives.

It's Party Time!

We decided to have Claire's birthday party a week early this year so that more of our family could be here to celebrate. Of course, I'm a little behind in posting these, but I just wanted to share some pictures of all the fun. We had a candy-themed party at our house and it was all sugar, sweets, and smiles. Enjoy the pics!

The Setup

Cake - yum!!!

Our sweet birthday girl!

Playing hide and seek under the buffet table.

Claire is now a professional gift un-wrapper!

Nana Shaw won our "Guess how many jellybeans" game.