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Journal Key:

Green = Steve | George = navy | Janet = Purple | Evelyn = Black

1/29/09 (Thursday)

Cara and I had a lovely afternoon. In the car on the way home, Cara announced, "Puma is a bother to me." I wasn't sure I was hearing her right until she said that Puma bothers her by being too loud in the night. I suggested warm milk. Puma's been drinking a lot of warm milk this evening. I hope it does the trick.

We had a big picnic, for which Cara set out her plates and napkins and things. She also, having doled out a lot of play food, began to "cook" things on her play stove. She made macaroni and cheese, pancakes, cake, and cookies. I wanted a cookie, but they were too hot. Cara blew on them for me for a while before I could have one.

She also played with her scooter. She rediscovered her scooter in the basement yesterday and actually carried it all the way up here by herself. I didn't have the nerve to let her do that today. She scooted around a lot and put a great variety of things into the basket. I was reminded of the end of The Jerk, where Steve Martin asserts that all he needs is this lamp, and this chair, and so on. Cara needed a cat toy, a clip-on earring, all of her little bugs in clear plastic blocks, part of a toy cup, a tiny gong from Daddy's desk, her chapstick, and who knows what else.

We went out to dinner with Juliana. Cara told Juliana, "I'm going to get a new baby." Does she know? I really don't know. She's been talking about her brother an awful lot, so she might just mean him. I asked her later where she would get her new baby. "The hospital." I still have no idea what she knows or doesn't.

1/31/09 (Saturday)

Yesterday the little girl got picked up by her Grandmama. When I packed up her things in the morning, I remembered that Susan wanted them to go outside that day, and I brought along her snowpants and her boots and her hat. I remembered that she needed socks added to her overnight bag. What I did not remember was Puma. Gasp! So Cara got very lucky and Friday evening her grandparents took her out shopping, and she ended up with three new companions: two girl dolls and a monkey. One of the girls is dressed, predictably, like a queen or princess. The other, as I pointed out to Cara this morning when her Grandpapa dropped her off, is dressed up like a bride. Cara decided that the girl was going to marry the monkey.

We had a very lazy day, hanging around the house and not doing a whole lot. Cara ate a surprising number of hot dogs for lunch. The cold that she's had all week is going away, and she seems to be recuperating through food. She had a fairly short non-nap, after which her Mommy supervised her for a while: they set up a big play picnic, among other things. When I finally decided to be fatherly, Cara had the urge to play Chutes and Ladders, so we all got down on the floor and played it. As with our recent adventures in Candyland, this time around we tried to play by the rules, and after losing the game twice Cara was quite upset. We let her continue the second game until her Diego piece made it to the end--yay! Then it was off to the mall.

Thankfully Cara did not have a hot dog for dinner--she chose grilled cheese instead. We did swing by the Playmobil store but it was surprisingly crowded and Cara left quickly. It wasn't that late in the afternoon but Cara already claimed to be hungry so she got her grilled cheese. She seemed quite exhausted in the restaurant, but after a little ice cream for dessert she was fully prepared to go tearing around the mall. Mommy gave her a little handful of pennies, which she threw into the fountain in two or three gobs. We spent a little time chasing her around, down ramps and up and down stairs, before my patience ran out and I grabbed her. She finally surrendered to her exhaustion on the way home and fell asleep.

The rest of the evening was spent as lazily as the morning. Somehow our bedtime routine went really well. We had a lovely bath, and she got into her pajamas, and she did an excellent job brushing her teeth. Part of that may have been the excitement of having a new toothbrush: I dug through the cabinet and found one with the head and torso of Barbie on the handle. Cara was charmed.

2/1/09 (Sunday)

I was downstairs when Cara got up. She came to the top of the stairs carrying Puma and one of her new girls. I was surprised to see that she had a favorite. She put them down and headed back the way she had come. I figured she was heading for the bathroom, but she came back quickly carrying the other girl, Ribbity, the monkey, and the monkey's scarf. She dumped them all. I came up and we had a cuddle. When she was ready to go downstairs, Cara said I'd have to carry some stuff, "Because I got out a lot!" She knelt and picked up Puma, one girl, the other girl, the monkey, and the monkey's scarf. "Mommy, you can take Ribbity," she told me.

Cara and I went out to do groceries. The motivation I used to get her to come was the idea of buying Valentines. We had a long and somewhat one-sided discussion about the wonders of comparison shopping. We decided in the end to be satisfied with buying the same kind we had last year, which did have some very nice gummy candy hearts. Cara carried her box of cards throughout the store. She traded them in when I picked up some grapes; she carried the grapes for a few minutes, but then she traded back. In the produce section, she selected some carrots. I admit that buying baby carrots is so convenient that I've never had whole carrots in the house before. I'm very pleased that I'll get to have Cara peel them.

When we got home, Steve had tidied the house. The first thing Cara did was to notice her scooter in the basement and carry it all the way back upstairs again. After lunch, Steve and Cara got into the car and went down to see Grandmom and Grandpop. When they got home, Cara noticed her scooter in the dining room. She carried it upstairs again.

2/2/09 (Monday)

This morning Cara got dressed nice and early, because the pajamas she was wearing from last night were her cupcake pajamas: a light, sleeveless top and tiny shorts. I suggested she put on some pants when she woke up.

Tonight Mommy needed to rest at home, so Cara and I went out to the diner for dinner. Cara wanted pancakes, which was odd since she'd had them for breakfast also. But we had a nice time at the diner. She sat across from me in the booth instead of next to me, which is a change from the last time we were there together. I learned that she had colored a groundhog at Susan's, and I made an attempt at explaining Groundhog Day to her, though I'm not sure she paid any attention.

In the bath Cara told me an extemporaneous story about two children who went into the forest and met a "fairy, hairy, scary" monster, who followed them home, where their mother shut the door very tightly so that the monster could not get in. Then she got distracted and started doing something else. I suggested that it started to rain and the monster went home so that his fur didn't get wet.

2/3/09 (Tuesday)

It snowed today! It snowed a little more than we had expected. Susan asked whether we wanted to leave Cara's snow pants there for tomorrow. No, we didn't!

The hill coming down to the house was slippery, but we made it. We changed into our snow gear and out we came. Cara was very helpful with her little shovel. She can really shovel a little, and she discovered that she can fling snow up in the air and watch it fall. She shoveled the letter X into the driveway. She also went off and ran around on her own. She got her sled in place and tried to go, and I tried pushing her, but she really needed my extra weight at least for the first trip, to pack the snow down. I do think there's more than four inches out there.

We were still working on the sidewalk when Em came over to take Cara to her house for the evening. The first thing Cara told Em, apparently, when they got there was that she was wearing her flower pants. She was, indeed. She had changed into them when we got home. They are . . . flower pants. I cannot remember where they came from. I was astonished to see that they still had their tag on, so she had never worn them before. I can't really imagine how that happened. I have a hunch that we'll be seeing a lot of them from now on.

The highlight of the evening was that Cara bowed to peer pressure and dipped her hot dog in "white cheese" (parmesan cheese), which she had heretofore resisted. She also spent most of the night playing with Casey's babies, which is somewhat out of character.

Yesterday Cara and I made a very quick stop at the library to get new books. We got a lot, and I only selected about two of them. Cara just grabbed a bunch off the shelves, possibly completely at random. At least two are about soup.

2/4/09 (Wednesday)

I picked Cara up early today to take her to her first dance class. The dance studio I selected, based on their having a class at a time I like, is also pretty easy to get to from Susan's. Now, frankly, I found it a little overwhelming. The back waiting room, where we were sent, was crowded with parents and little girls, most of whom were about Cara's size and who were running around in leotards and tights and little skirts. Cara was ready to explore, though. This was definitely something she wanted a lot.

Finally the teacher came and brought the girls, with Cara first, into the back studio, where they closed the door. The waiting room thinned out a little and I found a seat. You can't watch the class or anything, which in a way is a good thing. I had brought schoolwork, which I actually got done. I did get to hear the class, though. There was a song that took them through the various ballet positions and things, and then there was their princess song. It sounds horrendous. (That's what they'll be doing in their recital.)

There was a sign on the door that asks parents to take their children to the bathroom before class, because "bathroom-itis" is contagious and disrupts the class. I know that from our gymnastics experience, but I also saw it in action. About four girls had to go. Cara was not one of them. She did get upset and have to be brought out, but it was not to see me. The second half of the class is tap, rather than ballet, and she was distressed at having no tap shoes. An instructor brought her out to find some to lend her. (I do think they could have offered before the class. Do other girls who come to try it not notice that everyone else makes noise?) Wearing her borrowed tap shoes, she was perfectly happy again.

"Living La Vida Loca" was played during the tap portion.

When she came out, Cara was quiet. I think she was processing a lot. She did say that, yes, she liked it and wanted to come again. So we committed. We paid the registration fee and the cost of the lessons for the month. We got fitted for tap shoes, which we got to bring home. We got fitted for ballet shoes, which they'll have for us next week. Cara got measured and got to try on someone else's costume for the recital. We're in time to get a costume for the ballet number, but the tap costume is from another company and we can't get that. I'm figuring that'll be okay. We'll pay for the costume another week. Sigh. The costume is very pink. It is very fluffy. Picture a preschooler's pink ballet costume. You just pictured it exactly. Yes, it does come with a crown.

Tonight we went to PJ's house for dinner. PJ spent a lot of time playing with my hands. He had my magnetic necklace, and the hands fought over it. PJ gave it first to one, then to the other. He eventually brought over his big airplane toy for one of them to have and a Diego computer toy for the other. Each of them had to admire the assigned toy when he put it through its paces. I'm very relieved that he didn't have a sippy cup, because I get tired of making drinking noises. As we were leaving, Ron was showing us the cane he's been using a little due to his back trouble. "That's a nice walking stick, Ron," said Cara.

After her bath, I asked Cara whether she had told Daddy about her costume. We talked about it. I explained that it was for the recital. "I'm going to wear it, and you have to drive me there, Mommy. And I'll be behind the stage thing, and I'll let all my friends come there, too." (I had mentioned that her "friends," the friends-to-be in her class, would be dancing there, too.) "And all the people will come there." I asked whether Mommy and Daddy would be there. "You have to drive me there, Mommy, because it's so far away!"

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