Memory Monday (a day late)

Computer drama again...this time Hughesnet sent us a new modem so hopefully that tides us over until the next fallout. In this day and age when appliances and vehicles are built to last a lifetime, why is the average lifespan of a computer only 5-7 years and sometimes not even that?!? Sheesh!! Anyway, that's why my memory post is tardy. I did write it yesterday though, if that counts for anything.

MarynAvery

Last night we watched a DVD that the girls made at the Compuware Child Development Center in 2006. It was called, “A Day at the Zoo”. Each of the rooms in the center represented some kind of animal, and the Director went on a tour of each room. Some of the infant rooms were butterflies, peacocks, and elephants. Some of the toddler rooms were monkeys, bumblebees, and zebras. The preschool rooms included seals, snakes, and the girls’ room (Preschool 1) were gorillas. The girls dressed up all in black and they had painted masks on paper plates of a gorilla face. We couldn’t believe how little they were!! Avery was around 3 ½, and Maryn was around 5. This was back in the day when Maryn was actually taller than Ave, and looked like the bigger sister. She was much more animated, hopping around like a gorilla; while Avery stood back, covering her face with her mask the whole time. All you could see was her white blonde hair poking out from the side a little bit. Avery was wearing black overalls…it reminded me how much I love overalls on little kids. I think they are so cute on toddlers for some reason.

Anyway, it brought back a flood of memories for me last night. I remembered the days at the CDC like they were yesterday. The days of waking up at the crack of dawn, getting myself ready, getting the girls ready, commuting into the city, riding the glass elevators up to the 2nd floor, dropping them off in Preschool 1, each of them with their little backpacks filled with their princess blankey and pillow for naptime. They would cling to me, and cry and cry for me not to leave. It was an issue every morning. Eventually they got over it. But it was soooo hard. They were so little, they didn’t understand. But by the end of the day, they were beat; after having played with their friends all day long inside, and outside on the playdeck, the gross motor rooms, and the occasional field trip. They always fell asleep on the car ride home, which meant they were never tired at bedtime. They got sick all the time back then…because of all the buggy germs that a daycare brings…remember when Maryn got lice?!? Those were some seriously trying times for me.

They don’t remember all of that, but I do. While we were watching the DVD, they had happy memories. They recognized many of their best friends, their favorite teachers, the play deck where they would splash and play in the summer time!! I was so happy to see that. It was reassuring knowing that this period of their lives isn’t something they look back on with sadness, when Mom had to work all the time, and life was hurried, confusing, and chaotic. Avery actually asked me why there wasn’t something like this around here they could go to after school. Ha!! It reminds me of the old saying that kids are more resilient than we give them credit for. I am believing that more and more these days.

Parker

She is cracking me up lately with her little toddler speak. I know she is my baby after 7 years, and I treat and see her differently than I probably did with the big girls, but the way Parker says “no” is so adorable!! Am I a total pushover or what?!? LOL!! It’s so cute to see her assert herself in certain situations. I can’t help it, it just makes me smile. The other cute thing is how she has classified her foods, there are 4 food groups:
1. Crackers (ca-ca; pretty much all she ever wants to eat anymore.)
2. Cookies/Candy (cook/canee; also pretty much all she wants to eat anymore.)
3. Ba-ba (which is both her bottle and her sippy cup; she has discovered that she can get a full tummy via this route instead of eating actual food now. Aye, yi, yi...I think I just saw our diaper bill go up.)
4. Soup! (Anything that is eaten with a spoon or a fork is now called Soup! And she doesn’t just say soup, she says “ss—ewe-p”. It is the funniest thing we have ever heard. This is a nifty little trick we use to get her to eat food now...we call everything soup and give her a fork to eat with...it's been working so far!)

What would we do without this constant comedic relief? She continues to call Maryn and Avery “ya-ya”. And she continues to say that doggies say “moo”. I think she is messing with all of us.