It's been awhile. I know, I know. Partly because I moved up to most of my audience, partly because I was tired of writing sad poor-pitiful-us posts, partly because we've been busy, and mostly because I've been lazy. I've found it so much easier to take pictures of the girls with my phone than deal with a DSLR and all it entails. I'm regretting that big time now, as my phone takes pretty low-grade pictures and that will be all we have to document the past year or so. Thankfully Matt has come out of his photography funk with the arrival of friends and family to the area.
Since the last post about Aly's birthday life has been getting steadily better. I started work with Wes' company, bringing in much needed cash flow. Matt landed a tailor-made job: IT support for Comcast! We found a place to live and moved out at the end of April/beginning of May... life has finally come back on track for us. I could go on, but it would be boring. Let's get to the good stuff: my babies.
Aly's still as energetic, as talkative, as friendly as ever. She's very slowly learning to recognize letters, draw them, and can even spell "rainbow" if you catch her in a non-ADD moment. I spend quite a bit of time in Mommy-guilt, knowing she would be probably reading now if I spent more time teaching her letters, for she is that smart.
Aly has the most wondrous imagination of any child or adult I know. She will make up a wildly entertaining and creative story on the spot. If no audience is found, she'll use voices with her dolls and have them play out her dramas. I know that she will be an storyteller of some sort, whether in writing or in theater.
Lorelei is that little girl who knows exactly how cute she is and how to make it work for her. Everyone she meets gets wrapped around her little finger. She is also crazy smart with an analytical brain. Although she still takes the time to get to know a group of people before she warms up, she has definitely come out of her shell. Her speech is still a bit slower than other kids her age but she is becoming clearer every day. She loves to sing, can even harmonize a bit, and will make up songs with always the words "COME TWUUUU(true)" belted out at the end. She loves to use "forever" as her only sense of time.
It's almost a month late, but better late than never, right?
This past January 27 was the birthday of one very special little girl. Unfortunately, my ideas for her birthday these past two years have fallen short, and it is by the grace of God that she's either forgotten my promises or I managed to keep my thoughts away from her ears. She's rolled with the poverty punches though, and hasn't complained too much when her last two birthday were subdued affairs and she didn't get the boatload of gifts children of this generation have come to expect.
Since we have no friends up here as of yet, Aly's birthday was only family. I figured this would be my last stress-free birthday party for her for at least 16 years, so we milked that. We bought (not made gasp) a yummy chocolate cake per her request from Magpies and Wes & Carole treated us all to dinner at Macaroni Grill. Not the typical birthday dinner for a four year old but she was ecstatic, knowing it was her day and enjoying every second. Before that, however, came Matt and my gift to her: ear piercings and her own picked-out-by-Aly earrings.
We went to Claire's in West Town Mall. Aly snuggled a bear while the patient piercing specialist (sometimes we all need a fancy name) prepped her ears and her mind, only interrupting to ask a few questions, quietly soaking in the unfamiliar atmosphere and situation permanence. Upon being given over 30 earring possibilities she chose my birthstone, ruby, because it was bright red ;). Apparently January's garnet dark red just wasn't red enough for her. She tensed a bit and brought her hand to ear in reaction to the first piercing but didn't even react to the second. There were no tears, no complaining. She sat perfectly still as we adjusted the piercing, cleaned the wound, etc. Nothing more could have shown me how much she has grown up.
This video doesn't really show anything except Aly getting marked for piercing.
Since then she reminds us when it is time to clean the piercing, can clean and spin the earring herself, and hasn't tried to take them out. I'm hoping this is a precursor to how responsible she will be growing up.
Aly at four is a smart, sweet, funny, creative, imaginative princess. She is a master of colors and shapes, picks up patterns easily, but is still having trouble recognizing letters and numbers. She can entertain with the best of them and has an imagination that makes my heart swell every time I hear her voice it. She can infuriate me like no other. She equally tattles on and takes care of Lorelei, keeping them as close friends as I imagined when we first knew of Lorelei's possibility. Connie's gift of a Dora computer game has proven Aly to pick up computer skills incredibly fast, which still amazes me as she handles the game with ease and confidence. She can't stand to be by herself or not be a part of something, even if she is bored. She can be lazy and ask for anything and everything to be done for her, but for the most part she insists on doing everything herself, for she's a big girl. She loves to dress up and be a princess. Aly also loves mysteries, clues, and things to solve.
Today she's been sick and feeling a little blue, so I created a survey for her to help keep her mind off her illness.
Who is your favorite princess? Sleeping Beauty. Really? I thought you loved Ariel. I do love Ariel, I love Ariel AND Sleeping Beauty. Well, which is your favorite? .....Ariel.
What is your favorite color? RED!
What color do you not like? Green. (insert yucky face)
What is your favorite thing about yourself? (after much explaining and inane answers like horse and monkeys, she understood) My hair!
And by the way, she couldn't think of anything she didn't like about herself :).
Favorite food? Peanut butter jelly and turkey sandwich (which she has never had and would find disgusting if I ever combined all three in sandwich format)
She also could not think of a food she dislikes. She simply said, I like everything.
Favorite movie? Scooby Doo
Favorite hobby? Coloring
Favorite animal? Monkey!
Favorite season? Winter.
Favorite outfit? The dress Aunt Laney gave her for christmas, all pink and gray striped and soft.
Favorite song? The ABCDEFG song.
What makes you sad? When people spank me. (insert heartbroken Aly face)
What makes you angry? When you don't get out of bed (LOL!)
What makes you happy? When you do good (ROFL). What does that mean? Is there anything else that makes you happy? Yeah... I love yous!
When did you cry last? When I wanted my mommy
What is your favorite book? (after pointing to the first book she saw and being said that doesn't count) Little Red Riding Hood!
If you had money, what would you buy? A toy stroller
Do you know your birthday? January 27.
What color is your hair? Red
What color are your eyes? Brown, like yours.
What do you want to do when you grow up? Reach chips. No, no, I mean, what sort of job do you want to have? I want to work. (After explaining more and giving examples of jobs) I want to paint pictures.
When you grow up, do you want to be tall or short? Tall!
Who is your best friend? Hailee!
Pictures of the ear piercings to be added as soon as we can figure out how to get them off Matt's phone ;).
Friday, January 14, 2011
Since Wes revealed today that he has not been keeping up with my blog these past few months, I feel I can safely unveil my true purpose in the Warren household in Knoxville: investigative reporting on the lives and minds of in-laws.*dun dun dun* Matt and I cleverly actuated job loss throughout the Warren clan so we could claim, after a reasonable job search/loss of income/loss of house time period had passed, that we needed lodging to get back on our feet. The Warrens had no clue that this was all in our master plan. True, not many would have had the temerity to go to such lengths to get a couple of stories, but going halfway would be beneath us. I'm sure, once they've seen what we've done, all will be forgiven and maybe, maybe... even congratulated.
So here is the first account:
HOW TO KEEP YOUR FATHER-IN-LAW HAPPY
(I'm also toying with "How Not to be Thrown Out", "The Good Daughter-In-Law", and "Sea Bass: The Final Journey". I'm open to suggestions.)
Step One: Personal Space
Fathers-in-law, or Fillies as we domestic investigative freelance journalists like to call them, absolutely adore you when they cannot open their eyes without being reminded of you and your children. Toys, clothing, trash, half-eaten pieces of food: all are essential to Step One. Be sure to leave these objects in obscure locations as well as the obvious, such as closets, drawers, stairs, and inside socks.
Step Two: Dinner
Fillies love to try new and exciting dishes. They may not admit it, but they also love to have their food dislikes incorporated into each meal. For example, Wes detests onions. To ensure Filly/DIL happiness, I add onions to everything he puts in his mouth. White flecks in brownies? Onions. Slightly tangy water source? Onion. He thanks me later, silently.
Step Three: Grandchildren
The best way to encourage family joy is through abandonment of responsibility. In one scenario, plant your children in the same room as their grandfather, making sure to turn their whineometer on high. Then, leave the room to pursue own interests. Fillies certainly enjoy being left in charge of parental duties, from dirty diaper changes to countless milk refills, even sibling fights. In a second illustration, make sure to let your kids run wild while the Filly is on a phone call or watching Cash Cab. They will appreciate the challenge of maintaining concentration through chaos.
Step Four: Hobbies/Entertainment
One way to ensure a bond between father and daughter in law is the mocking of each others interests. If your Filly enjoys sports, throw out some good-natured ribbing of his favorite teams, making sure to leave room to root for the opposing side. There is nothing Fillies love more than banter. If he's watching a movie, assist his deduction of the ending with thinly veiled clues, if not the outright conclusion.
There are countless other ways to keep the family joy abounding, but stick with a basis of these four steps. You'll find upon application that bliss is inevitable.
