With Bush about giving the state of the Union, I thought I’d give some thoughts to the state of my daughter. This entry has been rolling in my head for many weeks. As is the fate of mothers, it’s often hard to find the time to put thoughts on paper (or html as the case may be).
Physically, Sara still looks like a female version of Wayne with an anti-Italian bent. I’m still stunned to look at her sparkling blue eyes and golden ringlets and realize she’s my genetics. She still sports the wide forehead and up turned nose like her Dad. The big eyes, I claim. The Wooten ears (sticking out from the head) seem less prominent now that her curly hair has branched out. Her hair is not purely blond. There is some light brown mixed in. It’s not Shirley Temple curly, but just an occasional ringlet bursting out the back in defiance of my wetted brush.
Her face easily splits into a smile or a laugh. Her eyes remain blue and sparkle with laughter or defiance, depending the mood. She has a small pot belly in cute toddler sort of way. Her limbs seem slightly long for her body, like in a perpetual state of growth.
Sara’s personality…it’s hard to put into words the emotions and energy that defines my day. It’s like trying to define the moods of the weather. Sara loves to laugh. I’m enjoying toddler humor. She’ll often put her socks on her hands and looks to me to join in the laugh. Often I’ll ask her to repeat a word. If it’s an animal, she’ll look at me mischeviously and say “Baa-baa” (her word for sheep), a color is always “blue”, and a number is only “two”. She’ll often look at me while she’s doing something to see in advance what my response will be, laughter or scolding.
She’s filled out into the two-year-old role well. In many ways, she’s a mellow, compliant, low-key kid. In some ways, she’s not. We’ve just gone through 27 days of rain without sun and several successions of colds over the holiday season. That often meant Sara would spend a day indoors without an outing. Most toddlers would go crazy. Not Sara. She’s quite content to veg with Mom. There was a season in November, when she was throwing horrible, hour-long tantrums that were unrelieved by offers of sustenance or play. She still qualifies as whiney at times.
After 2 years of nannying, we transitioned to daycare in August during my worktimes. She’s thrived. I remember hearing how “horrible” daycare is. That has not been my experience at all. In many ways, it’s been easier than having a person come to the house. She just transitioned to the 2yo room. She did it with a possy of 3 girls, Jourdan, Ella, and Elloise. The transition was so easy. The girls would just giggle their way through the day. When I drop Sara off, she’s always greeted by one of these girls and her name is always squealed in happiness. It’s wonderful place to leave her to play.
Since Xmas, Sara has been attached to trains. We got a set from Ikea and it’s her favorite toy. Every night, it’s “play choo-choo Daddy”. She’s even multimedia. If she sees our kitchen computer she’ll request to play games ont he Thomas the train site or watch the show on TV. She loves to draw. Show her a piece of paper and it’s “draw Mommy”. She’s getting more sophisticated in her drawing, starting to stay more within the lines and drawing circles and jagged lines well. Since her visit with Gabrielle, the precocious daughter of a friend, she’s been interested in letters. She’s recognizing and saying ‘G’ and ‘D’. She can also recognize ’2′, but that’s the only number she’ll deal with.
She often watches some TV everyday. When she rises super early, it’s definitely a help so we can sleep more or shower. She has always enjoyed Elmo, shunning the rest of Sesame Street. Zoboomafoo became a second favorite, with Thomas the Tank Engine as a recent addition. She’ll only watch Thomas for 5 minutes before she’s begging for a transition to Elmo.
I started praying with her every night before going to bed about 6months ago. Wayne taught her how to bow her head and hold her hands. Often before bed, she’ll stand by her crib (get this, asking to be put into it) with her head bowed and hands clasped. I’ve started asking her what she’s thankful for. Mostly, it’s “ball”. Once or twice, I’ve thanked God for the cat, but overwhelmingly, it’s the ball.