Momma, Mommy...Mom!

Beautiful Girls...

Momma, Mommy...Mom!

I find it hard to believe that we have progressesd through these names in just four short years, but Miss Rachel has been calling me "Mom" lately! Seriously!? I'm Momma or Mommy...period! I'm not sure where she got it, but I must put a stop to it! I just have to figure out how. I admit, it still sounds adorable in her little voice, but I am so not ready for that until...maybe age 16? 13? 18? 30? Not sure... 

 Remember to stop and smell the...daffodils!

Rachel's favorite color in the whole wide world is...yellow! I think daffodils may be her new favorite flower in the whole wide world because...they are yellow! It's pretty cute...her "obsession" with all things yellow. She'll see a picture of a girl in a book with yellow hair and I'll hear, "Mommy, she has yellow hair. I love her! I love her because she has yellow hair because yellow is my FAVORITE color in the whole wide world!". Only her yellow still comes out more like "lellow" which I must admit I love. I know she'll correct them soon enough, so I am enjoying every little mispronunciation for as long as I can...flamily, chlocolate, lellow...just to name a few. She saw a little girl in Target last week. She was wearing a yellow top and rather loudly Rachel exclaimed, "Mommy! I love her! She has my favorite color on her shirt! Look, Mommy." I said, "Shhhh, Rachel, honey...you do not even know her." She said, "I know, Mommy, but lellow is my favorite color!" Yes, yes, it is...

 I must admit, my daughter talks a lot...sometimes too much even...it never ends. If she isn't talking to me, she is talking to Sheena. If she isn't talking to Sheena, she is talking to her babies or animals or dollhouse or anything, and I mean anything, that will listen. If it can't or doesn't respond...she responds for it. If I don't respond...right away...she repeats it over...and over until I do. If I ask for a moment, just a moment, of quiet she'll tell me, "But, Mommy, that's what little girls do. They talk! And I am a little girl, so I NEED to talk." How can I argue with that logic? I will admit that most of the time I love talking with her, to her etc...I love listening to her logic, her problem-solving or just her sweet voice in general. I especially love listening to her read. She always has a book with her...carries them everywhere. If she is super quiet, yes it happens, I find her sprawled out on her tummy with a book opened in front of her. I hear her softly speaking as she looks at it. I listen carefully. She is reading...from memory or summarizing the pictures...making sense of it all. It is fascinating...the expression, the words...just everything. Right now she is all about Clifford, Strawberry Shortcake and her Alphapets books. Super cute books! This evening I read "Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom" and "Chicka-Chicka 1-2-3" to her. She was putting her jammies on...sniff...all by herself and hanging on my every word...never taking her eyes off the book. When she went to put her clothes in her hamper she said, "Wait a minute, Mommy. Don't read without me, okay?" I wouldn't dream of it. Yay! She definitely shares her Mommy's love of books...

 Speaking of talking, along with all the talking she does comes an endless string of questions! Sometimes I know the answer. (Yay me!) Sometimes I have to think for a minute or two. And...sometimes I must defer to the internet. We were driving home from swim class the other day and it was sunny. Sunny! We've been getting so much rain, so this was nice to see. From the backseat I hear, "Why is it sunny, Mommy?" Ummmm..."Because the sun is out?" "Out of where?"  ...and so it begins! After a few minutes I just said, "Rachel, it is sunny just because it is." I got, "Mommy, that's not a reason. Because is not a reason. There has to be a reason." She got me there. (I just really wanted to listen to the radio!) Okay...give me a minute. Then I launched into, "Okay...it is sunny out because there are not very many clouds in the sky right now. When the clouds are not covering up the sun, it shines through and makes it sunny outside..." It went on a bit, and I felt good about my answer. (She seemed satisfied too!) Then today...totally gray sky...just solid gray. "Mommy, where is the sun?"  "Behind the clouds!" (Yay...we just talked about this!) No good:(... "But, Mommy, there are no clouds. The sky is just all gray. How can it be behind the clouds when they are not there?" And so it begins...again...

A few things heard around our house...

"Mommy, don't step on the ladybug on the stairs!

A ladybug has a shell just like a turtle.

You don't want to step on it's shell!"

"Mommy, I need to go to the bathroom."

"Do you need my help, Rachel?"

"No, I don't need you."

"You mean you don't need my help?"

"No, I don't need you!"

"Oh, sweetie, don't say it like that. It makes me sad."

"I love you, Mommy!"

"I love you too..." 

"Mommy, why do I need to take a bath?"

"Mommy, I don't like to get my hair washed!"

"Mommy, I need a snack...now!"
(insert long pause here)
"Please?"
"Sure, sweetie, what would you like?"
"Graham crackers and strawberries!"
"Okay."
"Four strawberries...because I am four!"
"Got it!"

"Rachel, you did a nice job on ___"
"Thanks, Mommy! Are you proud of me?"
"Yes, I am. I am very proud of you!"
And I get "rewarded"
with her walking over to me
with arms open and saying...
"Hug!"
(you betcha!)

"Mommy, I want to watch Doc McStuffins."

"Okay, you may watch two episodes.

Which one do you want to watch first?" 

"You pick, Mommy."

"Rachel, you need to pick because if I pick...
we are watching Cupcake Wars!"

"No Cupcake Wars! Doc McStuffins."

"Then you pick!"...

"Mommy, tell me what was happening when this picture was taken..."

"Mommy, tell me about that time..."

"Mommy, sing that song you used to sing to me when..."

"Mommy...don't sing!"

"Mommy, let's make oatmeal raisin cookies..."

"Mommy, let's make frozen juice pops!"

"Mommy, let's make chlocolate pudding!"

"Mommy, what day is this?"
"Thursday."
"What is on the list today?"
(I list our "agenda")
"Okay. You said Thursday, right?"
"Yes, it's Thursday."
"Okay...so then after Thursday comes Friday,
then Saturday, then Sunday, then Monday,
then Tuesday , then Wednesday..."
"Yes..."

"Mommy, no n-a-p!"

(oh, yes....definitely nap!)
And she naps...
after nap I hear,
"Mommy, what day is this now?"
"It's still Thursday, honey."
"Oh, okay...
and after Thursday comes Friday and then..."

"Mommy, where's daddy?"

"You know he's at work, baby."

"What work?"

"Blue and white building work"

(as opposed to out of town)

"I miss him."

"I know, sweetheart, he'll be home soon."

"When?"

"When he's done working."

"When is that?"

"Later..."

"Rachel, it is time to go up to bed.

Please clean up _____ and let's go upstairs."

"No, it's not bedtime yet, Mommy.
Is it dark out?"

"Yes, almost dark...let's go!"

"Well, in a minute.
I am not ready yet. Period."

(Yikes! I need to stop saying that!

When I want to end a "discussion"
where she is kind of

saying the opposite of what I am saying,

I'll say "period" at the end and tell her that is

the end and it is no longer up for discussion.

Guess that one came back and "bit me"!

It is no wonder I am tired at the end of the day. It is no wonder I feel like I can fall asleep sitting up at times. It is no wonder I cannot form a complete thought...of my own...sometimes. But to be honest...I would not change a thing!

Oh, and the one that really makes me laugh...

"Rachel! That is really good!
 Where did you learn to do that?
I am so proud of you!"

"I learned it at school (or prechool)!"

"When did you go to school?"

"Last week, Mommy!
 Remember when I rode the yellow bus?
I went to school and
that's where I learned that."

Um...I must have dozed off...

do not remember a big yellow bus...

or my daughter attending preschool.

I do love her imagination and creativity though!