Once Upon A Time

I fear I have given Nella too much time in front of the TV this week. She is allowed a certain number of PBS cartoons in a given day but I introduced the wonderful world of Pixar and Dreamworks animation. As a result she often wanted to forgo The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That and Curious George for Madagascar and Finding Nemo. We only watch a little bit at a time, but still I can't help feeling like maybe I spoiled her a bit-and not in a good way. More books and less television might have been a better idea.

Case-in-point:

She had her friends Thomas and Bryan over last night and I thought she would be thrilled to have someone else's energy and attention for a while, but instead she was kind of cranky. It could be that having them here without Mama and Daddy was too weird for her. She mentioned missing them several times-more than she has all week. Of course, it also could be that she was just cranky and I'm over analyzing the poor little peanut too much.

Side Note: At bedtime, when we talked about her day, I asked her if she had fun and she said (and for the record, I am not paraphrasing here-this is her exact quote) "I did have fun but I hurt Thomas' feelings 'cause I was a little on edge tonight." I had to hug and tell her that I thought Thomas would forgive her, that we all get a little on edge sometimes. Nella and Thomas are both very bright kids -they are thoughtful and intuitive with each other despite a big age difference. Truly, children never cease to amaze me.

Anyway ... she couldn't settle into games and everything was terribly dramatic so when she asked for Nemo through her tears and obvious frustration, I caved.

But this morning, after she received a special Valentine's Monkey from her parents and had a fun breakfast of blueberry pancakes I walked in to find this scene in the living room:

She found some of the books I am using for my thesis and was reading "Once Upon A Time" stories to the newest addition to her entourage.

So maybe I haven't spoiled her too much-and least not in a bad way.

Better Childcare through Cabernet Sauvignon

Either Nella was very tired tonight or I tell much better stories after a couple glasses of wine. She fell asleep after only 3 tales (one about a caterpillar that turns into a butterfly, one about a unicorn that makes a homemade birthday cake and one about a gardener that sings to his plants).

Our week together is drawing to a close. As much as I will miss her, for her sake I am glad her Mama and Daddy will be back tomorrow. She misses them, even when she can't always articulate it and I think she is quite ready for things to return to normal.

But just before she fell asleep tonight she rolled over and put her hands on my face and said "you're my sweetiest Sara in the whole wide world"-then she hugged me and kissed me and rolled back over. Honestly, what more does anyone need?

Patty vs. Paddy

I introduced Nella to the wonderful world of Peppermint Patties this weekend (Don't judge-we Aunties get to take some liberties in the realms of nutrition and limit setting). It became her treat of choice at Ya-Ya and Pa's.

We also spent a great deal of time singing "This Old Man". You know ... 'knick-knack paddy whack give a dog a bone, this old man came rolling home...'

Somehow these two things blurred together for my little peanut. As a reward for eating all of her lunch Nella was granted one treat. She opened the drawer that held the peppermint patties and took one out and ran to living room where my dad was sitting. She stopped in front of him holding the candy in her hand and said "Pa, do you want a paddywhack?"

Oh, how I love her.

Makin' cookies with Pa...

I have great memories of making cookies with my dad. I find it incredibly heartwarming to see his grandchildren get the same kind of tlc.



And of course ... the best part is the:


beaters.

Nella dressed her baby today, using finger puppets for gloves. So freakin' cute.

Fun with Ya-Ya!

Snowblowing with Pa