DisabledMama

I was gestating another baby.

Here she is, world!

Eleanor Joy
feb 28, 2013 3:20 PM
7.2 l s and 19 inches of pure baby perfection

  Kennedy is giving up her nap, which is fine.  She’s always been such a wonderful sleeper that I can’t complain about it.

  I will complain about the fact that she’s become QUITE mischievous during these times that I’ve set aside to nap.  I don’t really care if she naps, I care that she takes some down time and rests.  Today, I knew she wasn’t napping.  Her room is right off of the family room and I can hear everything that she does.  What I didn’t know was that she was taking all of the pants that I’d just folded and put away, out of her drawer.  From there she emptied an entire container of wipes into her closet.  Then at some point she took all of her hanging clothes down. Oh, and stripped herself OUT of her clothes and got a pull-up out and put that on (I didn’t even KNOW she could take off her own clothes).

  This is not a new development, not something that she hasn’t done in the past few weeks, but today her absolute refusal to help clean up and the wailing because I “yelled” (I didn’t, I spoke sternly) were too much.  I put her pajamas on her and sent her to bed.

An hour and a half before her normal bedtime (7:00 instead of 8:30).

I know it’s a phase.  I know that I all kids are mischievous.  But, right now I’m so over it.

  I had an imaginary friend as a kid.  I had several, actually.  There was Alec and Alex (one from ET and one from Family Ties), there was Gerti (also from ET) and various other friends.  

  Jason had imaginary friends.  I don’t remember all of the details, but I know he had them and he has fond memories of them.

  Kennedy now has an imaginary friend.

  The very creatively named Friend Kennedy.

  Kennedy never has much to say about her day or what went on with her, but if you ask her about Friend Kennedy’s day or what Friend Kennedy did then you can get a pretty clear  picture.

  I have noticed one thing about Friend Kennedy.  She is rather mischievous.  At dance yesterday she got into a little trouble (and I only know this because I heard her teacher call her), but when I asked her about it she didn’t have much to say… But, when I asked about Friend Kennedy she told me all about it.  I have more stories that are just like this.  And I find it hysterical because I remember doing VERY similar things.

  So, now we’re working on not lying…. sigh…

  A week ago, Kennedy started dance class.  This is not ballet and tap, but literally creative movement.  As she gets older it’ll become more disciplined and is lyrical in style.  But, for now it’s just about exploring how her body moves.  

  I love this.

  I wasn’t looking for a ballet class for Kennedy.  I wanted something that didn’t involve tu-tus or pink slippers and tights.  I knew that she would NEVER go for that.  She is the anti-ballet dancer. 

  She wears a black leotard and footless tights each week.  Our only argument comes from the fact that her hair has to be off of her face (she hates for me to do ANYTHING with her hair).  

  But, I knew that this was going to be a stretch for Kennedy.  She doesn’t like to try new things.  She is not exactly a joiner when it comes to group activities.  She is definitely a, “do-my-own-thing” kind of gal.  Which I sort of love and is a trait I hope she holds onto for years and years.

  This makes getting her to try new things, especially new things that are not her idea, tricky.  

  The first week, she wouldn’t get on the stage.  Wouldn’t even entertain the idea of it.  I even left hoping that she’d get bored and would join in.  Instead she sat next to my friend Olivia and showed off her pretty leotard.  No desire to get up there and join the others.  I knew that this was a possibility even with me leaving.  Still, I was bummed for her when she didn’t get a sticker at the end of class.  I don’t think she was at all, she didn’t say anything about it.  But, I was.

  Yesterday was her second class.  I mentioned it a few times through out the day and her response was always, “DANCE is NOT FUN!” or some variation of that.  I pressed on, never giving her the impression that not going was an option.  So, we went.  There was clinging and hands gripping my jeans in a desperate attempt to hang with me.  Her teachers offered to just take her and stick on the stage.  She cried for less than half a second (before I got around the corner) and (from what I was told) found the kitty mat and participated in the rest of class.

At the end of class she ran up to me, jumped in my lap and proudly showed off her shiny sticker.

As a final note, she still says Dance is NOT fun, but I think it’s for show.

All Via Pinterest…

1.  I can cook corn on the cob still in it’s husk and all.  Has made dinner so much easier (we like corn a lot around here).

2.  I can get those persisten grease stains out of my shirt with a paste made out of original Dawn and baking soda.

3.  I can strip the mildewy smell out of my towels with a wash in a cup of vinegar and a 1/2 cup of baking soda.

4.  Borax is a great additive to your laundry and dishwasher.

5.  That quinoa is good in pretty much everything.

  My heart only melted a little when I put together her collage below.

I can’t believe I sent that little baby off to school… now I can’t believe just how big she is.

Kennedy went to school today with no problem.  She was excited to walk in with her friend Miles and to see that Ms. Lizzie was still her teacher.  I love these post-first day shots in her carseat.  I can’t get over how big she is.  

Now to wrestle her into her bed for a nap…