I was sweeping the den and Scarlette wanted to hold the dustpan for me, which is really sweet except that Scarlette is terrible at holding the dustpan. She keeps moving it slightly away every time I move to sweep the debris into the pan and then when I eventually convince her to let me help her hold it very still she inevitably accidentally turns the whole thing over and spills it all back out onto the floor. As my mother was witnessing this scene I said “This really takes forever but, you know, she just wants to help so bad.”
Then Scarlette started crying and I was all “What in the world just happened?” And she said “Mommy I NOT so bad at helping, I just twying to be a weally good helper!”
I am very good at parenting. Also, Scarlette takes everything very literally.
♥
We have “Rest Time” now because we’ve totally dropped our naps over here (and by our I mean Scarlette. I would totally nap if it were a remote possibility.) After about twenty minutes of rest time Scarlette came out of her room and I sent her back in. Then she came running back out with her hands in the air and exclaimed “WAIT A MINUTE! WAIT JUST A MINUTE! I HAB AN IDEA!”
So I asked her what her idea was and she said “Well, how about if we DON’T hab west time wite now and den it won’t be west time anymore and den we can just do playing!”
And I was all “Yes that IS a great idea. We’re not going to do that but it was really good thinking!” Which is kind of my new catchphrase around here because anytime there is something she doesn’t want to do she exclaims “WAIT! I HAB A GWEAT IDEA!” and then proceeds to explain why doing the exact opposite of what I have said is just the best idea ever, like I’m raising a tiny little thirteen year old over here.
♥
The other day she walked in the kitchen while my husband and I were cooking to dinner, looked at us and then counted to ten in Spanish. We had no idea she could do that. I knew that her preschool did Spanish once a week but I ask that child about school every single day and she has never once mentioned Spanish to me. So I said “Scarlette! I did not know you could do that!” And she said “Yeah, I’m bery good at Spanish.” and then turned and walked back out.
♥
The other day we were at the store and Scarlette looked at the lady wearing a Santa hat and ringing a bell out front and cheerfully said “HAPPY HALLOWEEN!” And when I told her that actually we say “Merry Christmas” now, Scarlette said “I KNOW MOMMY but not to HER because she is wearing a COSTUME.”
TOUCHE.
We started gymnastics recently to help with her motor skills. On the first day of class her teacher said “Scarlette tell me your last name again?” And Scarlette replied “Well, actually I can’t tell you dat information but my daddy calls me Lettie.”
In her next class she was supposed to be practicing cartwheels but instead she took a running leap and hurled herself across the mat. And when the teacher said “Scarlette, that’s not a cartwheel!” she said “Well actually it’s a new one and I’m the very best one at doing it actually because I’m already very good at regular cartwheels.”
She can not, in fact, do a regular cartwheel at all. She is just real confident in herself.
Sometimes when I share those sorts of stories I wish I had her on video so that y’all could hear her sweet voice because she isn’t sassy with her delivery, she is very deliberate, as though she is carefully considering the situation. I don’t tolerate sassy talk around here but it really isn’t that, it’s more of an innocent display of her figuring out the boundaries of her newfound independence OUT LOUD all of the time.
(I also often hear “Wait Mommy, I can do it myself!”)
♥
Today Scarlette informed me that all of her friends shared with her. And I said “Wow, that was a really good job of all of your friends! It was so nice of them to share with you.” And then she said “Yeah, well, actually dey were not being nice and said I couldn’t pway actually but den I MADE them share their things with me.”
And I was all “Okay, that is more like how I thought things might have gone down.” Because lately Scarlette has decided that sharing is of utmost importance for other people. Like the other night she walked over and plucked a piece of chicken off my husband’s plate and then walked off with it totally non-chalantly. And when J was all “Scarlette, you can not just take things from other people” she put her hand out and shook her head like WE just didn’t get it and said “NO NO NO Daddy. You are just SHARING your dinner wif me. Dat is what you SUPPOSED to do to be nice to your fwiends.”
So we’re working on that.
She’s just such literal child. She will walk up to someone who has something she wants and in the most saccharinely sweet voice she will ask “Can I pwease hab a turn wif dat now?” And then she will take said toy and walk off with it regardless of what the person’s answer is.
When I make her return it and explain that we do not take things from our friends, she will look at me with wide eyes and say “But no Mommy, I ASKED dem for a turn and now dey are SHARING wif me.”
Feel free to advise me on this issue, village.
