Things to Do with Kittens -- lil e

Our kittens have arrived.  Pictures to follow in another post.  For now let me tell you what I've learned about cats.  I'm especially pleased that they look a bit like lions so I can practice before I get one of those.

Kittens can land on their feet from just about any position.  Flipping them.  Throwing them in the air with or without a twist.  Twirling them.  Flinging them in any direction using wrist creativity.  Before you feel sorry for my kitty, Snuggly, you should know she loves this type of acrobatics.  There are no cries from her so it is very hard to get caught though today my Mom said she would take my kitten away from me if she caught me flipping her in the air again.  Or, maybe it was when I flung my Pooh blanket on it and she couldn't get out, but whatever, she doesn't cry so she must like it.  Even she tries to fling herself onto the blinds from my bed, bat-style.  She hangs upside down from her scratching post.  She even flings her body into a full twist as she leaps onto her sister, Princess.

In order to train kittens to sit like humans you must hold the kitty in that position, like a 'C.'  Snuggly and I are having a difficult time agreeing that this is an important skill.  She doesn't really like it so she cries and then my Mom yells tells me I have to let her go.

Kittens, unlike lions, don't like to sit and have books read to them.

Snuggling is so much fun.  So is picking up the kitty and kissing her, hugging her, and putting her in the dump truck before hurling it across the floor. 

Kittens aren't afraid of jumping out of hurling dump trucks.

Kittens don't like Lego houses, not soft enough.

Kittens love sleeping in their crate but not being locked into their crate.

I love kittens.  I love lions more, but for now, I'll take my kitten.

Later,

lil e

Now that I'm 4 1/2 -- lil e

Now that I'm moving closer to five, there are several things I've learned but one that I want to focus on now...letting your needs be known.  As I'm getting to know myself better and really understand what I like and don't like, I'm finding it's really important to let my Mom know these things, too.

For example, asking for my needs when I'm aware of them...

Me:  "My legs are really tired."
Mom: "I'm sorry you're legs are tired."
Me (my voice gets even slower and deeper, like I'm really tired):  "I need to play on the i-pad that helps them sleep and get rested then they'll feel better."
Mom: "No.  Go play."
Me (pleading): "I might fall down the stairs they are sooo tired.  I need the i-pad."
Mom:  "Crawl backwards down the stairs if you need to, but no i-pad."
Me: pleading a few more times, then eventually crawling down the stairs -- face first, of course.  Backwards is for wimps.

Reminding my Mom, who's boss...

"God gives me ideas, Mom.  He tells me what to do.  You don't."

Developing Self- Esteem...

"My name should be 'Cutie Cheeks.'  Look at how cute this shirt looks on me."

Ambitions and Visions...

Me:  "I really, really, really want a lion, Mom."

Mom:  "Lions are in Africa."

Me: "When I'm five, you need to take me to Africa."

Mom: "I don't think we'll be able to do that."

Me: "If you don't take me then I'm going to jump on a shark and go all the way across the ocean.  Then I'm going to get a baby lion and put it on my back and the shark will take us back home."

Mom: "Lions grow up to have very big teeth and they could eat you."

Me:  "I'm going to read to my lions, Mom.  They won't eat me.  They be nice."

Mom:  "I think they will miss their family."

Me: "No they won't.  I'll be their family.  And Mom, we're reading the 'Three Little Pigs.'  They won't miss them at all."

Be strong and assertive.

Later,

lil e

Getting Older -- lil e

Sometimes things just don't happen the way I want them to go.  Take today for instance, I just couldn't get along with Big E.  We got a verbal warning, then we got sent to our rooms, then we got dessert taken away and next consequence -- something with a wooden spoon.  Here's the thing, in the moment I just can't stop myself.  I knew that I'd get my dessert taken away if I fought with Big E.  Yet when she came into my room and I didn't want her to, I got mad because she came into my room.  Sure she left when I asked.  Sure she didn't even question my demands.  Sure she told me to let her now if I wanted to play with her.  It didn't matter.  I was just mad she came into my room so I wanted to copy her.  I went into her room and hit her!  Just like that.  She needed to know that she should have known I didn't want her in my room.  I'm four after all, I need my privacy!  What really bugged me even more than her coming in my room was she had the nerve to go and tell me, even when I was hanging on her arm, begging her not to tell on me.  In fact, it's really her fault that I don't get dessert.  In fact, I think it's not fair that she didn't lose her dessert, too!  I think I'm going to mention that, especially when Mom is at work tonight...I think I will definitely be getting my dessert back!

A few things I've learned along the way...

excuses really work to keep you from getting in trouble --

Mom: Why aren't you listening to your sister's words?
Me: There is a lot of wax in my ears, Mom.  I can't hear her.  I think you need to clean it out.

Mom: Why aren't you eating your eggs?
Me: I'm hiding from my eggs.  They are so yucky.  I can't even be near them.

Mom: Why aren't you listening to my words?
Me: I really want to listen to your words and I'm trying but my brain keeps making me do something different.  I think it needs another cookie.


There are a few things I'm trying to understand about getting older.

#1 -- I want a real car.  When are you going to buy me one?

#2 -- How old do I need to be before I can get a gun like Papa?

#3 -- When I get older and can work, I want to go around collecting bottles and cans for money.  I can stay home from school and do this.

#4 - How can I become a girl?  I really want to be one so when I get bigger I can shop at Justice

Later,

lil e

Things I Say to Freak Out My Mom -- lil e

1. It's been a really short day.  I don't need to go to sleep.
2. When I grow-up, I'm not going to learn how to drive.  I'm just going to crash into other cars.
3. I'm going to wake up in the middle of the night and come into your room to play on your ipad.
4. Do you call the police with 911?
5. I have a grasshopper stuck in my throat.
6. Mom: I don't want you to run and jump into the deep end without floaties when your babysitter takes you to the pool.   Me:  But, Mom....
7. If I tie this rope around my waist and jump off the balcony, it will catch me.
8. When I get married, I'm going to live with you.

A Few of My Favorite Things -- lil e

Movie -- Dolphin Tales My Mom would have never found out that I hid the Netflix DVD under my bed unless I told her. I hated sending it back -- I LOVE THIS MOVIE!

Jacket -- my green one that she left at Mimi's because she said it was too small. I want it!

Body Part -- My brain.
              lil e: Can I watch Netflix?
              Mom: No. You need to play outside.
              lil e: I checked in with my brain and it is telling me I need to watch Netflix.

And it just keeps telling me that on different days...
             Mom: You need to go play outside.
             lil e: Mom, my brain is telling me I need to watch a movie.

I'm waiting for the day she actually lets me use MY brain and not hers.

Thing I Couldn't Live Without Until My Mom Stole It and Made Me Live Without -- My pacifier, it kept my lips on.

Gum -- Trident Layers, any flavor. If I swallow it, I go get another one.

Book -- How the Leopard Got It's Claws -- My Mom made me cry at the library book drop because she made me give this book back. It's my favorite!

Art Medium -- scissors and paper -- I can make almost anything with scissors and paper. If only my Mom took more pictures I could show you them.

Food -- Carrots

App -- Angry Birds

Place to Visit -- Washington with Papa's lawn mower and Mimi's digger...there is also snow. I LOVE snow! Did you know you could eat it as long as it isn't yellow?

Homework -- nothing. I don't like doing homework. Besides what other preschooler does homework? I'm going to be burned out by the time I'm 5. I know that I cried and jumped up and down insisting on getting to take piano lessons like Big E but I had no idea I had to practice using a book and I couldn't lay down on the bench and just reach my hand up there. She obviously doesn't have an appreciation for "tuning in" to the notes.

Later,

lil e

Why My Mom Makes Me Cry -- lil' e

Eight reasons my Mom makes me cry (this does not count sporadic things that are done to me, only those things that are a pattern)...

1. She throws away boxes. She will not keep any boxes that my toys come in. Or, when she does keep them, she eventually throws them away. This makes me very sad....I really, really like boxes.

2. She takes away my dessert, regularly. I don't get to eat dessert when I hit, bite, or kick Big E. Not very fair. Big E shouldn't need to be protected, she's much older than I am.

3. She took away my green jacket. I don't want my black jacket. Every time I look in my closet, I get sad. My favorite green jacket is gone.

4. She gets rid of clothes and shoes that I once wore. I don't want any of my clothes or shoes to be given away. They are all my favorites and it makes me very sad when I see them in a box going to someone else. I don't want them to leave. I might become a baby again and they would fit.

5. She throws away pieces of paper that I've cut or drawn on. It's bad enough I don't have any baby pictures but what makes it worse is my mom gets rid of all my little papers that I cut from big papers or that I draw on. She throws them away. In the garbage. I can never get them again. Ever. Luckily, I figured out her ways and check the garbage regularly to make sure she doesn't throw anything away.

6. She doesn't let me make dragon soup. I keep asking my mom to make dragon soup with me but she won't. She says I can help her make soup but she can't help me put cookie dough, pumpkin puree, carrots and water into a soup. This makes me sad. She's stifling my creativity! How will I ever do anything great in this world if she doesn't let me experiment with my creations?

7. She doesn't appreciate my need to build things out of anything I want so she destroys my bridges, my cars, my tractors, my roads, etc. without even asking. She tells me that she needs to sit on the couch so I can't take all the cushions for the whole day or all her pillows because she needs them back but she just doesn't get that I need them to stay built. My building ideas are based off what I just built. I need to look at them, even during the night. Again, stifling me! (You see the pattern.)

8. She doesn't let me stand up while we're driving to look at the cars behind us. How does my Mom expect me to see the cars behind us when I can't turn around and look? It's not fair. I even have my seat belt on my legs so I'm strapped in!!! She can be so rigid at times...

Shout out to all my fans reading this. Let me know why your Mom makes you cry.

Later,

lil' e

Why I Cried on My Birthday -- lil' e

Birthdays are not a happy event for me, especially since I'm four. Five, now that is a cool number. I'd be happy to be five. Three. Three is also cool. But, four. very boring. Besides, since I've been four I hear, "No. I won't pick you up and carry you, you're four now. Use your legs." "Go get dressed. You don't need me to do it, you're four." "You can't use your fingers, eat with your fork. Ffffour, Fooork, see they go together." "You can get your shoes on, you're four." My mom thought herself so clever but I know my letters. I told her, "Listen to me, fork, goes with five. I will use my fork when I'm five. I'll be really big."

Listen, four can be cool sometimes. I'm definitely faster. I can catch a ball better and throw FAR! When my mom isn't looking, I jump for four steps instead of three because you know, I'm now four! But, it wasn't like some magical thing happened on my birthday. In fact, tears, big shoulder shaking tears came down as I was told I had to say good-bye to three since I was turning four. They should know to just ignore the fact I'm turning four. I don't need to know that. I can go right on being three and not know the difference. What were they thinking? They know I'm a person who has trouble letting go. I cry every time I need to put on my new black coat and it's been two months! I want my old, green one back. I don't care the arms were too short. I don't care it was hard to get on. I WANT MY GREEN ONE!

I also don't want to get older for my parent's sake as well. They have been great failures. I have no pictures of me as a baby. They tell me there are some but when I ask where they say in the computer waiting to be put in books. I don't believe them. I look around and there are NONE. Big E has lots of pictures I've seen. Where are mine? Listen, I don't want to grow up, I WANT PICTURES! Then there is the hope that I will be a girl. I don't know how those fish at the aquarium go from being boys to girls and back again but I want to do that and the longer I'm walking, the more complicated it gets.

When you see me, please tell me I'm three.

Later,

lil' e

8 Things to Do with a Pencil -- lil' e

8 Things to Do with a Pencil...

Number One -- Get green playdoh off my shoe sole after stomping killing my "playdoh'ed frog."

Number Two -- Pick my nose and pretend 'it' just went there...(I couldn't control it)

Number Three -- Chase Big E around while yelling, "I'm going to get your eye."

Number Four -- Draw on my Mom's cookbook, "It needed some more dec'ration."

Number Five -- Make new designs on my boring, white door because "It needed some more dec'ration."

Number Six -- Sing into it like a microphone.

Number Seven -- Stick behind your ear because accessories are just cool.

Number Eight -- Make holes in the dirt for a crayon garden 'cause crayons just don't dig very well.

Later,

lil' e