Quotable EJ, Now in Writing

EJ has been reading for awhile now, which continues to startle us at times, even though we should be used to it. What is new, however, is her pen-to-paper writing of letters and words. As she became more excited about letters and words, she would type them out on the computer (yes, really, I even blogged about it), or would dictate notes to us to write for her. While our days as scribes are not over yet, they may be soon, as evidenced by her recent foray into signs and cards.

The first thing that she wrote by hand, aside from her name or those of family members, was a sign that said, "Keep Out Ada"---I kid you not, the little girl put a sign up on her door to keep our dog, Ada, from getting in to eat her toys. It was so "Little Rascals" clubhouse, I laughed out loud when I saw it. I should have snapped a picture of it right away, but I didn't, and now that sign has either been destroyed or lost or repurposed---things tend to resurface in four-year old land, so it may not be gone for good.

If I find it, I will document it, but in lieu of that, here are some recent favorites:

Card for me, Outside:



Card for me, Inside:



How can you not love a card with your kid's self-portrait inside? Especially when it comes from a kid who now professes that she loves you more than Lovey (her blankie) and Spot (her little stuffed dalmatian)?

Letter for her Nana and Papa:



My parents left for their place in Florida last week, and EJ woke up absolutely inconsolable about missing them a few days later. She woke me up to ask me what their address was, and I told her it was on a magnet on the fridge. By the time I had crawled out of bed, she had completed this letter for them (and their dog, Wilbur, of course), along with all the numbers from the magnet---house number, zip code, and phone numbers, all mushed together.

Imaginary friend birthday party decorations:



Throwing imaginary parties for her imaginary friends is a big deal to her, and after she made a list of all the decorations she would need, she made these balloons and sign, then hung them on the wall. I did help her on this one---I spelled balloon aloud, then she wrote it out, I gave her tape, and I told her that, no, I would not blow up actual balloons, so she should just draw some and it would work out just fine.

Directions for the microwave:



We've got a nasty cold here, and I had the worst of it today. To feel better, I pulled out a wonderful heat wrap that I bought from my yoga instructor ages ago and warmed it up in the microwave. EJ was intrigued when she saw me wearing it, but concerned later when she saw me go to reheat it. Exact quote: "Mom, you can't put hats in the microwave to dry them!" Hmmm....interesting. Within the two minutes it took for my flannel heat wrap to get cozy warm, the kiddo ran to her table, crafted this sign, grabbed a sticker (since I wasn't free to give her tape), and posted this under the microwave. "See, Mom, this microwave is for FOOD. FOOD ONLE (i.e., ONLY). You can put your clothes in the oven if you need to heat them, okay?"

Dry Run-Away

On behalf of all the mommies and daddies and grandparents and caregivers out there---all those folks who love and watch over little children and enjoy taking them out and about to child-friendly destinations---I make the following appeal to the decision makers at said places:

Stop Installing Earth-Saving, BUT CHILD-TERRIFYING, Hand Dryers in Your Restrooms

It feels like every season, the restrooms at yet another of our favorite places is refurbished into what my daughter would call, through her sobs and her wailing and her tugging away trying to run away as fast as she can, "a very, scary, too-loud bathroom."

Yes, I've read the wall signs that describe how we are reducing paper waste and saving energy by sticking our hands into your hand dryer that a) is never placed, shaped, or configured in a way that is convenient for a small child to use and b) makes a jet engine sound soft (case in point: my daughter is not afraid of the sound of jet engines), and finally, c) will not allow the user to cover their ears to avoid being deafened because they have to stick those hands into this crazy, loud machine. No, I don't want the earth depleted of its natural resources, and I bet that once my kid gets a little older, she won't either. Unfortunately, environmental guilt will not comfort my child as she is shaking like a leaf---a leaf we are NOT saving---and too terrified to use the bathroom.

Adult offices, knock yourself out. Install hand dryers that require those noise-reducing headsets that folks on the tarmac use while guiding in planes. But at the aquarium? The grocery store? The park? The movie theater? Really, cut us a small break.

Now, I will concede, EJ has always been afraid of loud noises, and she isn't keen on the regular, quieter hand dryers either. Her first question when we go somewhere new is, "Do the bathrooms here have dryers, or quiet paper towels?" She may be more sensitive than most, I grant you. But when I am 30 feet from the door of a bathroom at a child-centered venue, and I can hear the dryers screaming and whooshing from there, I'll tell you what else I notice---small huddles comprised of reluctant, terrified children and exasperated, cajoling parents in a struggle to see if the kiddos can make it into the restroom, past the evil dryers, and to a stall before an inevitable accident occurs.

I have had folks say, "Well, kids have to get used to scary things, to work through their fears, to face what is difficult, blah blah blah..." Yep, that is true. We do a lot of that. But I think that I can safely say, and many other parents will agree, that there is a difference between a worry or anxiety that you can help a child to work through by "toughing it out," and something that invokes terror in a child. I'm talking about terror, no exaggeration necessary. I don't think it is my job, as EJ's mom, to do terror-aversion therapy in a public bathroom, but I am given no choice when she has gone hours and hours without a bathroom break. It is just awful for all of us.

I believe even Mother Earth, who we are trying to save, thinks that these dryers are ridiculous.

So for those places out there who cater to children and are considering this change, I beg you, please think it through. You really don't want kids to remember your venue as the place with "cool exhibits, tantrum-inducing bathrooms." You REALLY don't want parents to think that, either. Trust me.

And for those that have already installed them, let me say this: don't expect us to stay more than two hours, and don't expect us to pay an admission that might be reasonable for a longer stay, but makes two hours seem like a complete waste. Sorry about that. Earth saved, admission price, not so much.

Now, don't even get me started on the automatic sinks and soap dispensers...

Bagel, Ooh-La-La

I am feeling a bit under the weather today---either bad allergies or a cold---so my sweet husband took care of EJ while I slept in. He wakes up very early in order to get to the lab, and often, the kiddo wakes up with him. Many days he lets me sleep while he gets EJ breakfast, finds clothes, answers her 150 questions, etc. It's very nice, but especially nice on days like today when I'm not feeling 100%

I got this email from Mike this morning, with a report from breakfast. I told him it was going straight to the blog, since this little anecdote is a keeper. Here it is, in Mike's words:

This morning, as with many mornings, I asked EJ what she wanted
for breakfast.

She said, "I want this, with Nu-tell-a!", pulling the English muffins
out of the fridge.

For fun, I asked her what the English muffins were, thinking she'd be
able to read them off the package. In hindsight, the labeling is not
very good on the English muffins package.

After thinking for a few minutes, she said, "French bagels."