jobs

 For a long time; in her relatively short life, M wanted to be a dentist.  I worried that if she set her cap on this,  she might find herself 100s of thousands of dollars in debt for a career that would pay really good.  That makes it hard to stay home and raise kids.   I came up with the plan that she would get a dental hygienist certificate, so she could at least work through dental school.  Then one day M decided she would let her husband get a job and she would raise the kids.

Last night I told M a bedtime story all about how M would grow up and get a job and save money for college and a mission.  Then she would go to college and a mission.  And then she would go and do the things she had studied for.  And then one day she would get married and have children.  She asked me about that. 

 

I was glad I could tell her that mom worked as a custodian, and a librarian, and a carpet layer, and a telephone marketer, and a teacher, and a secretary for a lawyer, before I had children.  I also told her all the jobs daddy had over the years before he got to have a job that let him stay home with us.

dressing up

Look Mom!  I'm a boy going to church!

I love those brown eyes.

She also chewed holes through the yellow t-shirt she wore to church because the other children said she had spilled things on it.  It was an old navy shirt with artistic painting on it.  Then in primary there was an activity with colored fluids.  We had a talk about how we shouldn't care if other people say things about our clothes.

flying

People who know anything about child development are floored by M's vocabulary.  I myself am frequently amused and surprised.  The other day at Target she said "Wow, I didn't realize that there are toys here."  Most 4 year olds don't use the word realize. 

Yesterday she was getting a ride on the swing.  Our friend Chris pushing her as he has countless times.  This day she decided to wave her arms, as she's probably done before, but this time she toppled off the back.  Winded she was.

Sharing

Last year M showed everyone just how big her heart really is. It around Valentines day and the children were eating conversation hearts. When Gavin came along he asked if there were any left because it was his favorite. The children all shook their heads saying they were all gone. M was so stricken that she spit hers out and said "Gavin, I have one left for you" and handed it over. Gavin, a 14 year old boy, showed even greater heart, by taking it, and telling her thank you.

Some of the ways you know you love me

When M was 3 she got in a groove of asking periodically for me to tell her some of the ways that I know I love her. Sometimes this was a spring board for moralizing. "Some of the ways I know I love you is that I make sure you are buckled up in the car."
Mostly it was an incredible opportunity to explore what it means to love people, and remind her that she is loved.

We would also discuss the ways we knew she loved me, how dad loved her, how dad loves me etc...

This was the beginning of our serious conversations. Still enjoying this little girl with all her questions and wonderful ideas.

2 wheels

For 5 months M has been begging me to let her ride without training wheels. G was just starting to be able to ride without training wheels so I wanted him to have a chance to learn first. He figured it out and then when we got him a bitter bike we put the training wheels back on the little one for M. After just 2 months on training wheels she was sure she could do it without. So one day I let her try cruising down the hill in the back yard. Voila! She did it!

Today we took the loop around the block (1 mile) and she made it the whole way on her bike with just one little crash. She's a trooper. I love watching her grow up.