Waffles

Today, Chrys made me the chocolate chip waffles I requested. The kids had already eaten, but Ryanne wanted one. She ate all of it.

Ryanne: I hate waffles.
Daddy (looks at her nearly empty plate): No, you love waffles.
R: I hate them, too.
Mommy: There are no people that hate waffles in our house.
D: There are people that hate waffles. In general, I ridicule them.
R: You already killed them?
D: I ridicule them. I make fun of them.
R: You already killed them.
M: He teases them. He calls them names.

We get into a discussion about the definition of ridicule and it's not having any impact on her. At this point, Chrys and I have just about lost it. I came over here to write it down.

D (looks at me): Devil woman.
R (looks at daddy): You are a devil woman, too.
D: I have the wrong parts to be a devil woman.

Growing...

We've entered that phase. The one where she tries on her jeans from last winter and they're an inch or more too short. The Levi's she got from Aunt Chris last winter...yeah, those. I didn't have to let out the waist any, though.

I knew she had grown, but sheesh... Time to go through her closet. Again.

Creativity

I guess my making up songs is really sinking in with her.

In music class, we've been singing this Spanish song:

Agarra tu sombrero y pontelo
vamos a la playa calienta el sol
chiviriviri po pon po chiviriviri po pon po

Well, we're asked to make up our own verse to tell a story. We go around the circle and you can sing or pass. The first week, I made up a cool song about my pinky toe - since it was my first time in there in the shoe, it offered an easy way to explain what had happened. This week, I rambled about trying to go to Maine to see the kids' great-grandmother.

Well, this week, Ryanne was also asked if she wanted to make up a song. She did. She sang about meeting Anna at the park and playing in the house. She did an incredible job of following the meter of the music. It was amazing to listen to.

We'll be signing up for more music classes. Definitely.

Lullaby

Chrys and I used to take turns singing to her every night when she was younger. Then, as we nightweaned and Corin was born, he took over bedtime duty and, I think, began almost exclusively reading to her.

We've been playing with bedtime routines lately as we try to gently sleep train Corin. The result is that I get to sing to Ryanne at bedtime again. As with her books, she gets 3 songs. Usually she wants one of her Japanese songs - I only know 2 or 3, but it's enough. Then, she often requests one about her Purple Cat.

Purple Cat is a pillow made to look like the (no longer available - now they just have cocoa cats) purple cat Peeps that came out at Halloween. We got it on mega clearance one day when she was learning what a pillow was (almost 2 years ago).

There is no song that goes along with her Purple Cat. I made something up. It was 4 lines, rhyming dyads, nothing fancy. The next night, she wanted the song again. I couldn't remember what I had sung the night before so she got a new one. Now, she asks for it just about every night and I don't think I've repeated lyrics yet.

The last song is one I get to pick. I've sung "Sunshine on my Shoulders" (by John Denver) because my mom used to sing that to me. I've sung the chorus of "You are My Sunshine" because Chrys' mom used to sing that to him. (Ryanne also recognizes that as the song they sing at the end of the Biscuit Brothers concerts so she loves hearing that one. In fact, she started sining it in the car today on the way to the Y and it almost made me cry. She has the sweetest little voice. How's that for a tangent?) Sometimes I sing something from our Music Together classes. (Love those because I will apparently be reminded of, or learn, 1 or 2 new lullabies every session.) Chrys sings "Twinkle, Twinkle" in Latin and English or the "ABC"s and I've adopted those.

I always love finding new songs to sing, though. Anything anyone else remembers fondly or sings to their kids?