Oh, the drama!
It seems obvious that although Amelia does not want to share all of her toys with her baby sister (sometimes this is a good thing) she does love her and likes having her around. A couple of nights ago I was holding the baby while Amelia was in the bathtub and she started saying, "Maybe baby want[s to] take a bath." I said that Diana didn't need to take a bath every night and Amelia repeated her request. Amelia enjoys having Diana in the bathtub with her - and I was sure that having the baby's tub in the bigger tub along with all of Amelia's toys would make it so crowded that Amelia would hate it.
Amelia also noticed her sister's absence when I drove her to an afternoon play group today. As I started the car Amelia asked, "Where's baby?" I told her that play time was only for bigger girls like Amelia and she started to whimper. I think she's used to Diana going with us whenever we leave the house.
Because Mike was going to work for a bit I decided to try the kids' play session where Amelia takes gymnastics class while I got my hair cut for work. (After all, I had a free coupon.) I was worried that Amelia would be sad that I was leaving her alone, but just as she does at department stores Amelia pointed at me and told me to "Go...Go." When I showed up to collect Amelia after almost three hours of play time I wasn't sure what I would see. It took a few minutes to find Amelia in the large space, but I finally saw her pulling on a large, red plastic bucket. It seemed that an older girl was trying to move the bucket to the front of the building, but Amelia kept grabbing it and dragging it back. Amelia was also clearly upset because she wanted to play with some batons that had brightly colored ribbon streamers on them and the older girls were taking them away. Amelia started to cry and said, "I want to see it! I want to see it!" The play supervisor picked Amelia up and she continued to cry, "No! No! No!" and dropped into her famous "dead weight" position.
This seemed like a good time for me to intervene. I took off my shoes and walked over to my daughter. The instructor seemed happy to see me and even happier to hand Amelia over to her mommy. Amelia cried on my shoulder for a bit while the instructor explained that the other girls had been helping to clean up and put the toys away at the end of the session. That made perfect sense. Amelia hates to stop playing and hated to put away the huge pile of new toys she had access to at the gym.
No one seemed upset by Amelia's behavior, and I was only a tiny bit embarrassed. I thought it might help if I could get Amelia to say, "Thank you" to the staff as we left. I asked Amelia, "Would you like to say 'thank you'?" to which she replied, "I would like to say 'no, thank you'."
I had to laugh at that one. Funny as all get-out. Even funnier than the last time we were at Safeway and the girl behind the "flower-and-balloon" counter asked us, "Can I help you?" and Amelia replied strongly, "I want a balloon!"
The other bit of drama I had today came while Mike was still home (thank goodness) but in the shower. (Diana was safely sleeping in her crib.) I stepped out into the garage to throw away some trash when Amelia wiggled the door lock and locked me outside. The door was not totally locked, the deadbolt was just cocked a bit, so Amelia couldn't seem to figure out what she needed to do to help me get back in the house. After a few minutes of trying to get Amelia to unlock the door I opened the garage door and told Amelia to look out of the window. It took a long time for her to understand what I was saying, but when she finally saw me next to the breakfast nook she seemed relieved. I pointed at the front door and asked her to go there and open it. Eventually, Amelia opened the front door and I made it back in the house.
Everything was fine and no one panicked. Still, if Mike had not been home I would have felt pretty anxious. All kids accidentally lock doors at some point. I'm glad Amelia and I worked together and figured out how to get me back in the house, but I think it's time to hide a key outside in case of emergency.
Lisa
Amelia also noticed her sister's absence when I drove her to an afternoon play group today. As I started the car Amelia asked, "Where's baby?" I told her that play time was only for bigger girls like Amelia and she started to whimper. I think she's used to Diana going with us whenever we leave the house.
Because Mike was going to work for a bit I decided to try the kids' play session where Amelia takes gymnastics class while I got my hair cut for work. (After all, I had a free coupon.) I was worried that Amelia would be sad that I was leaving her alone, but just as she does at department stores Amelia pointed at me and told me to "Go...Go." When I showed up to collect Amelia after almost three hours of play time I wasn't sure what I would see. It took a few minutes to find Amelia in the large space, but I finally saw her pulling on a large, red plastic bucket. It seemed that an older girl was trying to move the bucket to the front of the building, but Amelia kept grabbing it and dragging it back. Amelia was also clearly upset because she wanted to play with some batons that had brightly colored ribbon streamers on them and the older girls were taking them away. Amelia started to cry and said, "I want to see it! I want to see it!" The play supervisor picked Amelia up and she continued to cry, "No! No! No!" and dropped into her famous "dead weight" position.
This seemed like a good time for me to intervene. I took off my shoes and walked over to my daughter. The instructor seemed happy to see me and even happier to hand Amelia over to her mommy. Amelia cried on my shoulder for a bit while the instructor explained that the other girls had been helping to clean up and put the toys away at the end of the session. That made perfect sense. Amelia hates to stop playing and hated to put away the huge pile of new toys she had access to at the gym.
No one seemed upset by Amelia's behavior, and I was only a tiny bit embarrassed. I thought it might help if I could get Amelia to say, "Thank you" to the staff as we left. I asked Amelia, "Would you like to say 'thank you'?" to which she replied, "I would like to say 'no, thank you'."
I had to laugh at that one. Funny as all get-out. Even funnier than the last time we were at Safeway and the girl behind the "flower-and-balloon" counter asked us, "Can I help you?" and Amelia replied strongly, "I want a balloon!"
The other bit of drama I had today came while Mike was still home (thank goodness) but in the shower. (Diana was safely sleeping in her crib.) I stepped out into the garage to throw away some trash when Amelia wiggled the door lock and locked me outside. The door was not totally locked, the deadbolt was just cocked a bit, so Amelia couldn't seem to figure out what she needed to do to help me get back in the house. After a few minutes of trying to get Amelia to unlock the door I opened the garage door and told Amelia to look out of the window. It took a long time for her to understand what I was saying, but when she finally saw me next to the breakfast nook she seemed relieved. I pointed at the front door and asked her to go there and open it. Eventually, Amelia opened the front door and I made it back in the house.
Everything was fine and no one panicked. Still, if Mike had not been home I would have felt pretty anxious. All kids accidentally lock doors at some point. I'm glad Amelia and I worked together and figured out how to get me back in the house, but I think it's time to hide a key outside in case of emergency.
Lisa
posted by Lisa, Mike, Amelia, and Diana at 10:23 PM
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