Unicornio on the Potty

As Madeleine sat pooping on the potty this afternoon, with all of her clothes off, of course, she had a long, extended pretend-play conversation between Unicornio and the Belle sticker on Unicornio's saddle.  Just to clear things up, it turns out that in Madeleine's fantasy world, the sticker is actually Belle, incarnate.

Unicornio.

Belle.

Here's a snippet of all the on-the-potty drama and excitement:

UNICORNIO: Oh, no, I'm STUCK! 
BELLE STICKER: You can FLY!
UNICORNIO: Nope, it can't be done.  (breaking into song) Unicorns can fly around the world!  Oh!  Justified it!  That's what they dooooooooo!  And it's JUSTIFIED it, nobody can't, that's the one unicorn can dooooooo!  So you can flah, flah, flah, flah, and it's day JUSTIFIED it!  No one can BEEEEEEEEEE!  Can flyyyyy!  Can flyyyyy!  Can GIIIIIIRLLLLLL!
BELLE STICKER: Oh!  Well, that's a good SONG! 
UNICORNIO: I'm Unicornio!
BELLE STICKER: You're my friend.
UNICORNIO: I'm your friend?
BELLE STICKER: Mmm-hmmm!  Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm!
UNICORNIO: Wow!  That's a GOOD spell!  On my friends and me!  In my BELLY BELLY BELLY BELLY BELLY!  Tummy tummy tummy tummy TUM-TUM-TUM!  (singing) That's the work!  Unicorns can fly!  Can you doooo it?  Fly your body in the mooooorning!
BELLE STICKER: That's a good song! 
UNICORNIO: (more singing) Fly your body and do a little shake!  All the working!  That's what unicorns DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
MADELEINE: Mommy, can you take a picture that I'm SINGING?
ME: Uh... okay.

Shortly after the photo session, Madeleine resumed her pretend game:

UNICORNIO: And fly, and fly, Dinah won't you BLOOOOOOWWW!
BELLE STICKER: Oh!  Look at Unicornio!  She's so FLYING in the WORLD!


I mean, I know pooping on the potty is tons of fun and all, but I think both my kids are missing its true purpose.  It's not gabby-through-the-closed door social hour, and it's not play-with-toys time.  It would also be nice if it was not take-off-all-our-clothes time.  But despite the huge ordeal that is pooping on the potty, I would shout back through the door to Julia or take Madeleine's mid-poop photo poses over changing poopy diapers any day!

Girl Fight

Oh no!  Trouble in the kingdom!  This morning, Julia and Madeleine enacted the tragic story of the four princesses who were best friends but then they stopped being friends.  Complete with song and dance!  Unfortunately, we had to cut the game short to bring Julia to school, but I have faith that the princesses will ultimately renew their friendship next time the game continues.  If not, I'll go get Police Officer Patrick so he can bring peace back to his kingdom.

Vacation Plans

I have been driving myself mad over the past few weeks, trying to put together a summer family vacation for the members of the Rowe household.  While in the past we have taken trips, as a family, to exciting places like Austin and Atlanta, with airfare prices being what they are and our summer already filling up with various activities, we decided a simpler trip, by car, to another New England destination would be more suitable this year.  After agreeing upon the particular week and the location, Ethan and I put the matter to rest for a few days.  It wasn't until I began looking for hotels that I really started to go bonkers.  I have never had trouble finding lodging in the past for our family trips, but if you consider the last two places we went, we were New Englanders heading south during the summer time.  Meaning the time of year when all the southerners are heading to New England to beat the heat for their summer vacations.  It turns out, even planning for several months in advance, there were already many "no vacancy" responses at the various hotels, motels, and cottages I looked at.  Finding a place that had the amenities that I thought would be important (a separate sleeping area for the kids so that Ethan and I could hang out after their bedtime, a pool, proximity to various kid-friendly attractions, etc) was easy, but finding a place that had those amenities, was affordable for us, AND happened to have vacancy during the week we were looking to travel was hard.  Tonight I came to the conclusion that something would have to give.  Either we'd change our travel dates, or give up on some of the particular amenities we were looking for.  During dinner, I asked Julia what kinds of things she would be excited about in terms of our hotel.

ME: Julia, when we stay in a hotel for our summer vacation, what kinds of things would you want the hotel to have?
JULIA: Um... I'm not sure yet.
ME: A pool?
JULIA: (lukewarm) Well... I haven't seen what KIND of pool it is yet.
ME: Okay.  How about a place that has separate rooms so that you and Madeleine can go to sleep at night without Daddy and I keeping you up?
JULIA: Well, what do you mean?
ME: I mean, like, if Daddy and I are going to stay up and watch tv, there's a different room we can do that in, so that we're not keeping you girls awake with the noise.
JULIA: Well, Mama, um, I WANT to be kept awake hearing the tv that you and Daddy are watching.

Okay.  Clearly my attempts to excite her with the things I found important were a bust.  Instead I tried to phrase things differently:

ME: Okay, well, tell me, what would you be excited about having at our hotel?
JULIA: Well, I would be excited about having PINK WALLS in our hotel room!

Of course.  Who wouldn't?!?  Seizing her opportunity, she then further modified her request:

JULIA: Actually, Mom, I want SPARKLY pink walls!

A few moments later, deeper into her reverie, she expanded upon her vision of her dream hotel room:

JULIA: And Mama, I want our hotel to have doors that SLIDE open!  Not just like elevator doors, but the doors to the room that you can just slide open and closed.

Needless to say, her input was extremely helpful.  I mean, as soon as I knew her criteria I was ready to book the room.

Luckily, Ethan could see I was getting stressed, and he took over, calling one of the hotels that had given me a "no vacancy" response when I tried to book our trip.  Thanks to the helpful woman on the other end of the call, he was able to reserve us a suite for the exact week we were looking to go, and, oh happy day! - our trip is now booked.

On another note, Madeleine and I had the following conversation as I snuggled her before bed this evening:

MADELEINE: (holding both hands up in the air)  Are you my Mama?  No, you're not my Mama!
ME: I'm not your Mama?!
MADELEINE: (pointing to one of her hands) No, SHE'S not the Mama.
ME: Oh.  Okay.  But who's YOUR Mama?
MADELEINE: YOU are my mama!  And... Auntie Caitlyn is my Mama.
ME: Auntie Caitlyn is your Mama?!?
MADELEINE: Yup.  TWO!  Two Mamas!
ME: Auntie Caitlyn is your aunt, you silly goose.  And Auntie Shannon is your aunt.  (I then went through the list of all her aunts.)
MADELEINE: But... Clara is not my aunt.
ME: No.  Clara is nor your aunt, you're right.  But do you know who your cousins are?
MADELEINE: (brightly) Uh-huh!  Julia is my cousin!
ME: No, sweetheart, Julia is your sister.  (I then went through the list of her cousins.)
ME: Do you know who your uncles are?
MADELEINE: Uncle Dave is my uncle, and Uncle Mike.  And Daddy!
ME: Daddy's not your uncle, you silly!  Who's your Daddy?
MADELEINE: Daddy is my Daddy!
ME: Right.
MADELEINE: And Uncle Mike, he's-he's-he's-he's-he's-he's... I don't know I can talk!
ME: Yeah, you're having trouble getting that out, huh?
MADELEINE: I said he's-he's-he's-he's!  (bursting into giggles.)

I definitely think I might have to steal that phrase, and next time I have trouble recalling a word, I'm going to announce that I don't know I can talk.

Dancing Queens

Madeleine came up with her own brand new dance this evening, complete with music:




Julia was, of course, jealous of Madeleine's limelight, and decided to premiere her own brand new dance as well. That was when things turned to sheer pandemonium (although "Laaa-ti-ti-taaa-taaa" did make its comeback towards the end of the video):




I think part of why the girls were so wound up this evening was due to the dinner play-date that had just wrapped up with Neva, Nate and Anja.  The kids had a great time being wild and crazy all afternoon and evening together, although there were also some moments of quiet time.  More specifically, Nate and Julia spent a significant chunk of the afternoon in their fort (aka under the dining room table, which they covered with blankets), making signs.  Their signs were mostly warnings to those of us outside the fort, although there were a few love notes mixed in:

According to Julia, this stands for "No four square blocks."

The sign to the left is obvious (with, perhaps, the exception of the backwards "s"), and the sign to the right is a specific prohibition against the number 21.  "No 21 allowed."  Maybe Nate and Julia were trying to form a counter movement against the 21+ bar scene.


Finally, although this is completely unrelated to anything else in today's posting, I leave you with the following image:

Babies

Last night, as I read Julia a chapter in her bedtime book, I came to a scene in which one of the main characters was angry to find out her diary had been read by another of the characters.  Julia wanted to know why the character whose diary was violated was so upset, so I explained to her the purpose of a diary and how people often use them to write about their most private feelings, and that those feelings usually aren't meant for anyone else to read about.  Julia still seemed puzzled by the whole ordeal: "Mom, but if she already KNOWS how she's feeling, and she doesn't want anyone else to read it, then why does she NEED to write how she feels?"

Good question.  Since she is not actually able to write yet, and since she currently enjoys chattering away and giving every detail of everything she thinks of through her verbal diarrhea, I didn't think she'd understand the idea that just expressing one's deepest feelings through language, even if those words are not meant for the public eye, can be an emotional release.  Instead, I tried to explain the purpose of a diary by fetching some of my old journals (I kept a diary faithfully from about age ten into early adulthood.  I even resumed for a brief period during my pregnancy and first few months with Julia.)  I read to her from the aforementioned pregnancy diary, reading her the post detailing my elation at learning I was pregnant, as well as the eight-page-long entry about my labor and her birth.  If you're not me, you may very well find my old diary entries boring.  Not Julia.  She was ALL into them.  I couldn't believe how excited she was to hear about my pregnancy; she was literally jumping around all over her bed in her inability to contain her energetic anticipation over what was to come next.  Trying to keep my voice and pace level was difficult with her constant, exhilarated choke-hold hugs and her face smooshing up against mine for kisses and caresses.

Despite the excitement over hearing my account of having her in my belly, it seems she wasn't 100% clear on what was going on.  As I read to her about my trip to the hospital and the labor pains I endured, she suddenly interrupted me to start this conversation:

JULIA: But, wait, Mama?  Is this Madeleine or me you're reading about?
ME: This is you.  This was the day you were born.
JULIA: (puzzled, thoughtful.)  But... if it was your FIRST CHILD, then how did you know what to do to get the baby out of your body?
ME: Well, your body does it for you.  Your body knows what to do.
JULIA: (flabbergasted) But... HOW??

I wonder if she thought I had suddenly fast-forwarded to another entry, in which I was giving birth to Madeleine.  I couldn't understand how she was so confused as to which baby was in my tummy, when I had told her I was about to read the post about the day she was born.  Either that, or she was not truly aware that the births of Julia and Madeleine occurred on two completely separate occasions, rather than being a succession of one after the other within the same day.

As I continued on to the point at which she emerged from my body, Julia was as excited as if she herself had just given birth.  Laying her entire body across my lap and grabbing my face, she began cooing, "My first MOMMY!  I was so excited when I came out because I got to see my FIRST MOMMY!"

Is she expecting to have a second mommy at some point?  Is my daughter a believer in reincarnation, perhaps??

After reading about the actual birth, I then got on to the descriptions of the first few days of newborn care before coming to the end of that entry.  I should have seen this coming, but alas I did not, despite the fact that I'm fully aware of Julia's interest in acting out whatever she's currently into.  ("The Worst Witch," "My Little Pony," "Fresh Beat Band," to name a few.)  Yes, readers, you have probably guessed what became of my reading to Julia from my old diary.  Julia is now a baby.  Complete with baby talk ("Baby Juwia want MAMA!") and crawling all around the house.  (Although she becomes a big kid again when she wants to do "gallop time.")  Given Madeleine's desire to sit in her baby doll bassinet yesterday, it seems that both my children have decided to revert back to their infant glory days.

When they're not being babies, however, they're happily playing all sorts of *other* pretend games together.  Here is some footage from their game of Ariel and Ariel in the bath (I mean ocean) yesterday:



I'm glad to know that whether they are both being babies or both being Ariel, at least they are getting along!

My Little Mischief Maker

Well, we all know that if Madeleine is in a room all by herself, left to her own devices, there is a pretty solid chance she's going to get into mischief.  (The image of Anja and Madeleine atop her dresser, covered in baby oil comes to mind...)  After walking out of the living room for a minute to grab the phone and make a call to my mother, I re-entered the living room to see this:

As if standing on the piano isn't impish enough, Madeleine was all up in Julia's basket of plastic eggs, pulling the various little prizes and candies out of them.  So much for putting the baskets atop the piano so that she couldn't get into them without my permission.

"I just found Madeleine standing on the piano," I told my mother, after having interrupted our conversation to reprimand my little monkey and take her down off the keys.  "What a stinker."

"Yeah!"  Madeleine exclaimed delightedly.  "What a STINKER!"

Indeed.

Pretend Play, All Day

Madeleine's morning has been full of pretend play, beginning with the descent of her Tinkerbell fairies upon the Little People wedding set.  Or, as Madeleine put it, "The fairies are sleeping on his KINGDOM!"  (his being Police Officer Patrick, who stood sentry in the middle of the wedding set.  See, set your sights high enough, and even a lowly police officer can one day be a king.)

Next, Madeleine moved onto baby dolls.  While she enjoys playing with her dolls, I have to say, I don't think I'll trust her with any real babies any time soon.  Her game started off with Baby Lily going into her carseat, and repeatedly whacking her head and crying.  Picking up Baby Lily, I attempted to join the game by giving her a hug, then asking, "Do you want to go to your Mommy?", handing her over to Madeleine.  "No, no, she's just a little baby!" Madeleine corrected me.  Aha.  I see.  Instead of drawing the logical conclusion that I was speaking to Baby Lily and handing her over to her pretend mother, Madeleine assumed I was speaking to her, and referring to Baby Lily as the mother that Madeleine wanted to go to.  Further evidence that Madeleine is not in any way interested in playing a maternal role in her games: to clear things up, I said to her, "No, YOU'RE her mommy.  I'm asking Baby Lily if she wants to go see you."  Madeleine's response was, "No, I'm not the mommy!  YOU'RE her mommy!"

The Baby Lily play was interrupted by an abrupt, very disturbing idea on Madeleine's end concerning another of our baby dolls: "How bout Baby Dashiell got a bloody ear?" Quickly tossing Baby Lily aside, she began searching for Baby Dashiell amidst our pile of dolls in the pretend pack 'n play.  Once she had her new baby in her arms, Madeleine began tending to the bloody ear:

Next thing I knew, Baby Julia had joined the fray and was enjoying snuggles from Madeleine after having her head whacked against the floor:

Madeleine was suddenly in the care of triplets.  Hey, with three babies, who really cares if you stick one of them face down on the hardwood floor and squash them with your body weight?  After all, you still have two others to play with:

Clearly, the true issue here is that Madeleine simply isn't willing to give up her position as Rowe family baby.  All of these baby dolls are threatening her role, after all (hence the Baby Dashiell choke hold?):

Madeleine finally took matters into her own hands and claimed her rightful position on the throne (or, in this case, in the play baby bassinet):

Night-night, Baby Madeleine.  You're not too big for this bassinet AT ALL.


After baby dolls lost their luster, Madeleine was on to Polly Pockets.  If you saw yesterday's post, you'll remember that Polly Pocket Cinderella was last seen making out with Polly Pocket Sophie.  Given that heated interaction, I found today's game of Cinderella yoga poses frighteningly suggestive:

Luckily, the game wasn't ALL about Cinderella and her backbends.  Sophie got some attention as well, mainly in the form of a conversation between the naked Polly Pocket and her talking dress.

POLLY POCKET: (to her dress) Hello!
DRESS: (in a low, booming voice) HELLO!

Madeleine immediately became aware of the illogical nature of this conversation, however, and simply couldn't suspend her disbelief.  "Mommy?  I think this dress doesn't have any mouth, so he can't say 'hello' to her."

Maybe this is why she wants Hello Kitty to have a mouth so badly.  Then Hello Kitty can actually say "Hello."

The final stage of her Polly Pocket game was an example of art imitating life.  Madeleine gave her Polly Pockets the smack down in response to their unruly behavior.

MADELEINE: (to Sophie) You HURT me!
SOPHIE: (softly and sweetly) Please can you open my gummy pack?
MADELEINE: (sternly) No.  You HURT me!  You HIT my dress!  So I told you, you need to GO!

At least there is hope that she is actually listening when I reprimand her after her tantrums...