Maren Funnies

My little Miss Maren is lovely, except when she is not well-rested, and then she can be an emotional roller coaster at best and a screaming terror at worst.  She is very open about expressing precisely how she feels, which is a good thing--I like honesty--but sometimes her honesty can be a little startling. 

For example, she doesn't always love all the children her age in nursery.  Often, when their names are mentioned, I get this response:

"I no like [fill-in-the-blank].  I knock her.  I push her.  I bite her.  I put her in prison" (angry eyebrows and growler voice included).

Play with me and my little friends= best daddy ever!

So, we change the subject and talk about her other friends of the inanimate sort.  She is very attentive to them.  They are all regularly fed and swaddled and put down for naps and invited to picnic parties.  They join us at the breakfast table, at story-time, on errands, and bedtime.  She likes to report their status to me on a regular basis:

"Mommy, bunny had a nightmare.  I love her."
"Mommy, Cora (baby-doll) pushed me.  I put her in time-out right now."
"Mommy, baby Emma is crying.  I comfort her."
"Mommy, Kanga needs a drink.  I help her."

Last week I was invited to one of Maren's picnic parties.  We very carefully laid out several large blankets on the floor and then assembled every stuffed animal we could find.  When all the friends had arrived, Maren invited the group to sing "Happy Birthday" to every attendee in turn, and eat celebratory ice cream after each verse.  I think we sang about 20 renditions of the song, and Maren was positively tickled.

Maren's new bed, with bumper pad so she doesn't fall out

Maren recently graduated to a big-girl bed.  She now has a twin mattress and box spring (on the floor) just like Ezra, and she LOVES her new bed.  But, when the crib left, so did her remaining nap.  She absolutely, positively, refuses to sleep.  Apparently, some children her age will go to bed and stay in bed at a parent's request without door locks or crib-cages to keep them in place.  I do not have that type of child.  Interestingly enough, she makes her friends all take naps every day!

Supervising her friend's nap-time, but she doesn't sleep!

Earlier this week I invited Ezra and Maren to make stain glass pictures with me.  We found lots of fun paper scraps and string and laid the bits on contact paper.  Ezra loved the idea and jumped right in.  Maren, who is very much Miss Independence, would have nothing of our craft.  Mostly, I think because it was my idea, and not her idea.  So, she pouted, fussed, and observed from afar, and then, she had an idea.  She found her partially eaten container of yogurt from breakfast, and started painting the window with yogurt.  I saw her, and almost said something, but then, in a moment of inspiration, shut my mouth.  She didn't know I was watching her; she was so free and expressive--she had found her way of creating!

Our creative window art!

Maren's favorite book this week was I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen.  I read it to her at least twice a day every day, and then she "read" it to herself at least twice a day every day.  She is also in love with several Maurice Sendak classics, and was often found in quiet corners reading aloud to a stuffed friend or two.

Maren loves doing laundry, eating cuties, wearing mommy lotion and chap-stick, singing, and playing hide-and-seek.  Oh, and she loves to do things without my interference!