This is another catch-up blog of things I've been meaning to write down for the last two months and am just now getting around to typing out. It's really just a random list of some of the things Claire has done to make me laugh recently. Hope they make you laugh, too!
1. Claire's New Mommies: I think this happened around the time preschool wrapped up and Claire realized she was going to be spending lots of time with me over summer vacation. One day, she randomly decided it was time to start looking for a new, more exciting Mommy. At first, she thought someone with better fashion sense and a flatter tummy would be best. So, she attempted to bond with a store mannequin. We were out shopping for some summer clothes when she spotted a mannequin and decided to hold it’s hand. Then she told me it was her mommy. I reminded her that I was her mommy, but she insisted that the molded plastic woman in a sundress was mom. When I told her it was time to look at another store, she didn’t come right away. I reminded her that she needed to stay next to Mommy and she held tightly to the mannequin as she declared “This is my mommy” with a huge grin. Thankfully, I was able to convince her (and the other shoppers) that she was, in fact, my child. Since the mannequin didn’t work out, Claire decided she needed a mommy with a more exciting and glamorous role, so she chose Princess Tiana. She has never seen any princess movie, but she has seen the dresses and branded toys and dolls at Target. I guess it just looked like more fun than me. For days, she regularly declared that Princess Tiana was her mommy. After a few conversations, it was clear that she simply enjoyed my reaction to her claiming a new mommy, so I started ignoring her declaration and it stopped. Then we went to the playground where Claire decided a nearby 10 year old should be her new mommy. When the little girl was next to her on the playground, Claire started calling her mommy. The girl was confused and clearly thought Claire was a little nuts. We pulled Claire aside and explained that she shouldn’t call other people mommy because it can make them feel uncomfortable. I guess that was all she needed to hear because she hasn’t done it since. Or maybe she just realized how fun, exciting, and glamorous I really am. ;) Either way, I’m just glad to be her one and only mommy again. It’s a pretty special job!
2. How Claire Sees Daddy: Claire has been paying lots of attention to her daddy, but not the listening-and-obeying kind of attention. She’s been paying attention to how he looks, noticing the particulars of his appearance. And, in true preschooler fashion, she says what she thinks. A few weeks ago, she was lying in bed waking up from her nap. I was in her room chatting with her and Josh came in. She said hello as he leaned over her bed and then she reached up to give him a big hug. It was so sweet that I let out an audible “awww”. Then she looked up at her daddy and, in the sweetest little girl voice, she said, “Dad, you have a big face.” Aside from the giant face, she’s also noticed that daddy is, well, kind of hairy. Josh has recently added a few pairs of shorts to his wardrobe (I’ve known the man over 13 years and this is the first summer I’ve seen him wear shorts!) When Claire first saw his legs, she was quiet for a moment as she looked him over. Then she said, “Daddy, come over here so I can touch your fur.” She quickly discovered that daddy’s “fur” wasn’t nearly as soft as our puppy’s fur. Bentley 1, Dad 0.
3. The (Other) Power of Prayer: Claire, with all her three-year-old independence, recently decided she did not want to hold my hand when walking through parking lots anymore. Of course, I consider this a non-negotiable, but I have enjoyed some of her attempts at negotiating her hand’s freedom. When she didn’t want to hold hands, she used to say she would hold her own hands and then clasp her hands together. When we didn’t fall for it, she tried a new approach. Claire knows people are not to be interrupted when they are talking to God. So now, when it’s time to hold hands to go into the parking lot or cross the street, she says, “I’m going to pray to God. I can’t hold hands right now because I’m praying”. Then she folds her hands like she’s going to pray. Josh told her she should definitely be praying if she was going to try walking through a busy parking lot with her eyes closed and not holding his hand. I just told her she would have to save her prayers until we made it safely to the car.
4. Word Play: As adults, we sometimes forget how strange our figures of speech must sound to someone unfamiliar with them. But three year olds are great at reminding us of this. As we were getting ready to leave the house last week, Josh asked if everyone was ready and then said, "Okay, let's roll!" Claire immediately responded, "But Daddy, we can't roll. We don't have any roller skates!" It was a valid point - not a roller skate in sight.
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