Man alive, Teagan's Five!

In typical me fashion, I envisioned something fun and creative I planned for Teagan going a certain way and it went in another direction. While the birthday countdown chain was well-intentioned and entertaining at first, apparently it started a smidge too soon. We ended up forgetting about it for a while and were removing several links at a time a few times in October. And while it felt like it would go on forever when we started, the day came all too soon and Teagan turned 5!

I snuck into her room on the eve of her birthday (my favourite part of the day lately) and just watched my four year old sleep for a few minutes. She has the sweetest face, particularly when she sleeps.

I only decorated a bit - balloons, homemade banners and old photos - but it was enough.

The first thing she wanted to do when she woke up was measure her height to see if she'd grown now that she was 5. It was darling.

The second thing she did was help me make cupcakes to celebrate one of my Beehives' birthdays. Without complaint, I might add. I was very proud of her unselfish attitude and her being able to think of someone else before herself. 

We saved her a cupcake and then made the traditional, diabetic coma-inducing birthday pancakes. So much sugar it's ridiculous. Makes for a fun day.

We opened a present before church and saved the others for afterward. She was incredibly patient about it - a trend I hope continues in her 6th year.

We gathered the family (no small feat) at Grandma & Grandpa's for ice cream and cake. Beautiful cake. (Thanks, Grandma!)

We started singing Happy Birthday and didn't make it a few words in before she began to blow out her candles. Apparently the four birthdays previous weren't practice enough. It was kind of adorable. And so is she.

And not one to pass over sugar of any kind, or have the spotlight on anyone else for too long, Mason got a headstart on Teagan's cake. Truth be told, Grandma knew it would happen and made a practice cake. Not her first rodeo - always thinking. It was actually a bit of deja vu from when Teagan sampling a friend's cake a couple of years ago on the sly when she was just a few months older than Mason. Cake sampling in the genes, I guess.

 She is incredibly strong willed, which of course is wonderful when we're getting along or she wants to do what is being asked of her. We have a fair amount of power struggles and she is teaching me patience and how to choose which battles to fight. Heaven knows I have plenty to choose from! She is amazingly creative and artistic and I'm constantly in awe of her abilities. She's always drawing, painting, writing and illustrating books and asking for us to help her write the words. She's very bright - and that's not just me saying so, my friend who has her for preschool once a week has mentioned to me how well she picks things up. She's blossoming into a beautiful little girl, happy to share, always thinking of others and ready to play. Too ready to play at times - I'm afraid I'm not as good at imagining things as I used to be. She's constantly begging for me to play with her, which involves me "pretending" to be a mum 99% of the time. So in more ways than one, she's teaching me how to be a mum. I'll have to read her latest book "When I'm a Mum..." for some insider tips and tricks. Love this amazing little 5 year old of mine!

Where Are They Now? (Little Richardses Edition)

Lately...
TEAGAN

Teagan is Teagan. She is hot and cold, up and down, sweet and sour and I love her for it. If ever she senses that I'm exasperated or frustrated with her, she runs over and says "Mum, I just want to hug you." I stormed out of her bedroom the other night because I couldn't remember a time before I'd started putting her to bed and I just couldn't be nice anymore. A soft "Mom?" from the dark of her room and I snarled "WHAT?!" as I slumped back in one last time. "I just wanted to give you a hug" and she sat up and extended her arms and gave me the best, warmest hug ever. And didn't stop until I let go. It made me melt and taught me that I need to be more patient with this tender little soul.
She's incredibly bright and inquisitive and asks so many insightful questions that I wind up having to say "I don't know" a lot more than I'd like to. She's incredibly helpful when she wants to be and is often asking for jobs and I'm trying to be better about letting her help and being okay with a job that looks like it's been done by a 4 year old. She is learning a lot in Primary and from our scripture reading and surprises me all the time with her gospel knowledge and all the things that "Jesus made me to do" like not be sleepy. She knows almost all the letters and a lot of the sounds too. We are sounding out basic words and her rhyming is getting a little more accurate.
She's an amazing little artist and I will need to dedicate a room to all of her artwork as I can't bear to throw it away. She has real talent when it comes to drawing and writing and can be very critical of herself and her artwork, telling me it doesn't look cute enough and other such ridiculousness. I need to compliment more and criticize less, as I'm sure she has learned it from me. Nothing's sounds scarier than something you regret saying coming out of your child's mouth.
 I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that we have one more year until she starts Kindergarten and I won't see her for the better part of the day. I'm trying to do my best to imagine a scenario where I'll have the chance to miss her, because she always seems to be there. In fact, I step on her a lot because she hovers so close and I need to appreciate the fact that she wants to be near me instead of being frustrated that she's underfoot all the time. She is constantly asking me to play with her and while I try, it never seems to be the way she wants to play. I'm trying to teach her that when she plays with people other than me, she will need to make some concessions when it comes to the outcome of her role playing, but it seems a hard lesson for her to learn. I've committed to being more present and less distracted while the kids are awake and if I can just convince her to give me a half hour of alone time while Mason's asleep, that may be a lot more plausible. I love having conversations with her and often marvel at how grown up she seems already. I love my Little T.

MASON

Mason has developed quite a personality and is just now becoming able to express it in a more productive way than screaming and grunting - though he usually ends up doing a lot of that too. He's a talker. At just shy of 18 months, you will find him running around saying one or more of the following:

-a bite
-pease (often pronounced beedo. Yes, it's weird. I will have to warn the Nursery leaders at church.)
-nana, treat, nack, apple, bottle, moke, i geek {ice cream}...lots of foods, really
-belly
-butt (belly button - which makes it slightly more appropriate when we ask him to show us his butt)
-ella (outside or Ella Elephant on Disney - weird options, I know)
-bubble {Bubble Guppies}
-mimi {either Minnie Mouse or Mason (me)}
-titi {Teagan}

-papa {Grandpa}
-Peppa {Peppa Pig}
-food (he wanders around, signing food and if he isn't noticed right away, starts to say it in a super whiny voice with sad eyes - people are going to wonder if we feed him)
-yide {slide}
-babba {Jabba the Hutt}, Lando, PO {C3PO}, D2
-jeejee {Jesus or GG}
-pop ({G-Pop)}
-ya yu {love you}
-tita (teeth - he asks to brush his teeth whenever you pass the bathroom)
-binky
-MOM (always yelled)
-daddy
-jacob, mike, melia, ty, jaja, emma, ben, parker, jack, (cousins), matt, bippy {Tiffy}, Ta, Shawn (aunts & uncles) we are working on my side of the family while my sister works on a cousin for my side of the family ;)
-car
-beep beep
-mah nah {Mah Nah Mah Nah - a Muppets song}
-patole {Paw Patrol}
-football
-up
-animal sounds: moo, snort, meow, arf
-pay (play on a phone or iPad - the boy is obsessed) or pray 

He really is very vocal and quite bright for his age, which can be both frustrating and adorable. We've sent him into nursery at church a few times at the request of the leaders (bless their hearts) and I'm told that he can't contain his excitement when there are bubbles around and that when the music leader asked the children what they'd like to sing (most likely expecting a Primary song) he yelled Mah Nah. Like he does every time we get into the car and every time the song is over. He knows exactly when to chime in with "mah nah mah nah" when you sing the other part. It's a little big darling. By the way, the sweetheart music leader said "I know that song!" and they proceeded to sing it. Good women there. 

Every time we sit down for a meal, without fail, Mason reminds us to pray by yelling "Pay!" and holding both hands directly under his chin in what can only be described as a pose from the Glamour Shots playbook and squeezing his beautiful blue eyes closed as hard as he can. I'll admit there are times I forget to bless the food, so I'm very lucky (and humbled) to have this righteous little man around to keep me in line.

He's still slightly cuter than he is needy, so we're doing okay. Now that we can venture outside with only a thin jacket, he's a different kid. He LOVES to be outside. I'm talking, he's in the middle of a meltdown and you open a door somewhere in the house and his problem is 75% solved. It reaches 100% in the 10 seconds it takes him to find the open door and run out of it. It's scary up in here, people. We are on lockdown during his waking hours, but with what seems like hundreds of people in and out of the door every day (Grandma has an open door policy and you never know who you're going to get) I have some heart stopping moments when I realize the door is open and Mason is smirking at me from the driveway before kicking it into 3rd gear and hurtling as fast as his wee legs will carry him toward the street. Investing in some solid locks at the new house.

He still has a little angel face that he know will help him get away with murder and even when I'm exasperated and at my wit's end, his impossibly round cheeks, deep blue eyes, perfect lips, platinum hair and gapped teeth make me smile against my will. He is huggable (if you can catch him) and lovable and the perfect little addition to our little family.

TERRIFIC TWOSOME

There are three years and one week between these two.That's a big difference when you're 4 and 1. Teagan still thinks of him as a baby and can be found dragging him around against his will more often than not. She wants to feed him, carry him and mother him nonstop and he just wants to live life on his own terms. One day he will turn around and smack her and she will remember all of those times I told her that one day he will turn around and smack her. I love that she loves him. It's just a little too hands on for his taste at the moment. Perhaps I should just have another baby. That would solve more problems than it would create, right? I do love these two and nothing makes me happier than seeing them interact peacefully and play harmoniously. Both times, it was just beautiful. One day, three years won't seem like so much and they will be able to play side by side instead of hang by neck, but they're still so much fun to watch now.

 

 

Things Teagan Says VI

"When I was a Grandma, I used to go to heaven all the time."

Out of the blue: "Grandad died. Why?"

T: "What was her name? Who was dat? Is it a girl or a boy?"
Me: "I don't know."
T: "I'm asking Daddy."
Daddy: "Her name is Sally."
T: "Who's Sally?"

Talking to Aunt Tiffy about boobs - still not sure how that one came up...
Teagan: "What are these?"
Tiffy: "What your mummy has."
Teagan: "What are they for?"
Tiffy: "To feed babies."
Teagan: "Where's your baby?"
Tiffy: "I don't have one."
Teagan...pointing: "Are they broken?"

"Those are church diapers! See? He's wearing a church shirt!"

Colouring a picture of a frog that's saying "Kiss me!" I asked if she would kiss a frog...
"Yes, when it's coloured."

T: "Guess what."
Me: "What?"
T: "I love you. Guess what."
Me: "What?"
T: I love my brother so much.

She wanted to take photos of me...
"That was PERFECT!" The photos were all blurry and incredibly ill-timed. The encouragement was nice, though.

Me: "Do you want to be a mum?"
T: "Maybe. But I don't know. I'm sleeping now that I'm four."
Wise words, little one.

Me: "We are going to chat with G-Pop's mummy tomorrow."
T: "What does she look like?
Me: "Well she looks a lot like G-Pop."
T: "But she probably has a different sound than G-Pop. And she probably doesn't have a mustache."

Less than a week after cutting out snuggling and having her beg me to stay I lingered for 5 seconds after finishing my song. In the darkness, "What are you still doing here?" Charming.

Sitting in the cart at the dollar store, resting her chin in her hands and reflecting that she used to do things Mason did when she was little like Mason.

"Sometimes I get out of here to go places."

"It's just so FASCINATING!" (she meant frustrating)

"Never get away from me anymore!" (she in fact wanted me to go away. Mixed messages.)

One day I was making a concerted effort to be really fun and spontaneous.
"Why do you keep doing fun things, mom?"
Apparently it was out of character. And unnecessary.

At Big Hero 6, during a somber (and silent) moment after a death:
"Why does fire make people die?"

Mason grunts.
T: "He's making a funny noise. I think he's dying."
The only thing dying is my olfactory sense. He was tooting - not dying.

"Daddy! There's an eagle in your shoe!"
(Buddy was wearing an old WSU basketball tournament shirt featuring a shoe with wings.)

Trying to convince her to sleep in her own bed...
Buddy: "Daddy's too big for the bed."
T: "It's okay, Dad. Everybody's feet do that sometimes."
Buddy: "Do you think I will break the bed?"
T: It will not break it. But there's a soft blanket. You will be fine, Daddy."

"Look! She has an eyebrow like Bert!"

Train up a child

I'm told that stubborn children are a blessing and I'm trying my best to look at Teagan that way. Not easy. Though lately, I've gotten a glimpse of what people mean when they say that it will pay off when she's older. We've been trying to teach her about modesty and that in order for shirts to be modest, they need to have sleeves. My dear, sweet, strongwilled little girl has taken this to the extreme and refuses to wear short sleeved T-shirts, claiming that the sleeves aren't long enough to be modest. We aren't even talking about capped sleeves. Legitimate, all away around the arm T-shirt sleeves and no amount of explaining can convince her that they are modest enough for her to wear. As frustrating as it is, it is refreshing to see that she will not be moved - on this issue, anyway.

I'm reminded of a scripture in Proverbs - Chapter 22:6 - "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

How comforting. Teagan has renounced most of her dolls that don't have modest dresses and explains that there's only one thing that makes her sad about Sheriff Callie (a Disney Jr. show that features a feline sheriff) is that she doesn't have sleeves.

We are incredibly fortunate to receive gobs and gobs of gorgeous hand me downs from my sister-in-law who has a little girl three years older than Teagan and even taller and skinnier, so her clothes are perfect. I had thought that tank tops were okay for little girls while they were young, but this little woman will not be swayed. Even when the clothes come from her favourite cousin.

It's cut her wardrobe way down and makes mornings a little frustrating, but when it comes down to it, I'm trying to be grateful that my little girl is showing the potential to be set on the right path and not deviate from it when others try to convince her to stray. Even her mother. <sigh>

Sleeping Beauty and The Beast

Snuggling seemed like a great idea when Teagan was making the transition from crib to bed (well, mattress). She had trouble staying in her bed at first, so Brandon and I would take turns laying with her at night until she fell asleep. It was supposed to be a temporary solution. Then we had a baby. Then we moved. More than a year later, we were still snuggling with her. And it wasn't sweet memories being made as we whispered tenderly to each other for a few minutes each night. It was "Shh! Go to sleep! I'm serious!" alternating with "But I'm not sleepy" and trying to creep out of the room when she showed all the signs of being unconscious, only to be asked where we were going by a mysteriously alert little girl. We got really good at rolling off the edge of the bed without making a sound (which was a lot more difficult than it sounds when you're 9 months pregnant) and knew where to step to avoid the creaky spots on the floor. I came away from our snuggling sessions frustrated with her more often than not, because she was taking longer and longer to get to sleep and I had things that she hadn't let me get to during the day that I needed to do in the shrinking amount of time left for me in the evenings. Something had to give.

So, we tried to set a deadline. With no more major life changes on the horizon, we decided together that she would be a big girl when she turned 4 - big enough to go to bed by herself. So we made a countdown chain to her birthday and reminded her every night how many more times we'd be snuggling until she fell asleep. I realize that this may sound a bit callous, but you need to know that she wasn't napping or having quiet time or spending any waking time without me with her. She needed some independence. As did I.

Things were going great - until her birthday. She was totally on board with the plan until the night of her birthday. Then all of a sudden she refused to turn 4. I reminded her that she accepted cake and presents in celebration of turning 4, so if she was still 3, she needed to return all her presents. She agreed. (Couldn't figure out a sanitary way to get the cake back, so I took the loss.) We finally talked her into accepting that time marches on and she was indeed 4 years old. C'est la vie.

But falling asleep solo did not go well. After the squillionth time she toddled down the stairs, I started to lose it. We'd deposit in her bed time after time, a little less patiently than the time before. Our standards fell slightly and we were satisfied with her just staying in her room. She'd play, she'd read, sometimes stomp around, but as long as she was in her room we didn't intervene. Sometimes it meant a lot of cleanup the following morning, but it seemed worth it to save the effort. 

In the last few weeks, she's just started to get better at going to sleep by herself (I'm jinxing myself by putting this out there in the universe) and has even stopped shuffling into our bedroom in the wee hours to get in with us. She still insists that we keep the light on and the door closed, but that just means I can take some darling photos when I go in to turn off the light and close the door. I never know quite what I'll find.

The floor could be littered with books, the floor could be littered with her. That was a fun surprise. I asked her to get into bed and just to defy me, she told me she'd sleep on the floor. And so she did. I'm convinced that if I asked her to breathe, she'd hold her breath until she passed out. Defiance any way possible. She's also painted her doll and cried about it when I couldn't answer her question "Why did I paint my doll?" That was a rough night.

I did, however, make note of some of the better moments we've had around bedtime. Instances like:

- Me telling her "I love you very much". and her replying, "I love you very much too, Mom."

- She's always asking for fresh water (a bit of a diva) and I always ask her to stay in bed while I'm getting it (experience tells us she won't) and so she says, "I will stay here in my bed. I will stay right here. I listened to you." I needed to check on something later (this is when snuggling lasted more than half an hour) and she sat up straight in bed and told me "I will stay right here, just like I did when you got my water." We celebrate listening a lot around here.

- "You are my favourite." "You're my favourite too, Mom."

- She smile, leaned over, kissed me and said "I want to hold your hand." It was kind of darling.

And it's even more darling looking back now, having her snug in bed. By herself.

Do you wanna build a {6 inch} snowman?

I'd like to submit a name for the Naughty List.

Remember that destructive phase Teagan's been in? The stakes got higher. I've been looking for my glasses for a week now and have been relying on my 7 year old pair that requires me to squint oh-so-slightly. And apparently I will be doing that for a while. 

When Teagan was struggling with bedtime, she busied herself in her room painting her dolls, ripping library books and unbeknownst to me, pulverizing my glasses. 

 

Not sure what caused him to notice - perhaps a gleam of light reflecting off the lenses, now completely separate entities - but I'm so glad for whatever it was that made him crouch to take a closer look at the garbage in Teagan's room. I'm going to try to find the silver lining here and point out that she disposed of the garbage in the appropriate receptacle. Of course, there wouldn't have been any garbage if it weren't for her, but I'm trying not to think about that. There's also the fact that she clearly isn't an evil genius, since she didn't think enough to dispose of the evidence elsewhere and frame her brother. That will come, I suppose.

I explained to her why it was wrong and that I couldn't see anymore and she may have even felt a twinge of regret. I woke the next morning to find my 6+ year old back-up glasses tenderly placed next to my bed. The thoughtful way she placed them on the bedside table for me almost made up for the fact that she demolished my good glasses and took my spot in my bed last night. Except that it doesn't. At all.

An Idaho Vandal

Teagan's in a destructive phase. It makes me regret laughing so hard at Brandon's cousin who had a little boy with a taste for revenge. His sister did something that he didn't like, and in retaliation, he sat quietly in the corner, snapping each crayon individually. Funny, right? Funny until your daughter peels the paper off a board book...that belongs to the library!

Two years. That's how long we checked out books at the library in Las Vegas without an incident. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon the sad remains of a book we'd borrowed against my will. The irony of her destroying the "Tips for Parents and Caregivers" page is not lost on me, but I don't find it funny quite yet. It was an inane book about handwashing and germs that didn't even rhyme or tells us anything we didn't know. It was meant for children much younger than her, but she insisted we check it out. I try not to say "No" at the library much, since I have to say it so much at the store. And in the car. And at the park. And in the house. 

'Here's an opportunity for a lesson in doing the right thing' thought I, and sat the vandal down. We had a discussion about respect and consequences and I explained that we would be going to the library to apologize and see what we needed to do to make it right. 

I called the library to ask how they handled things like this, to make sure that I could prepare her for what was going to happen and learn a valuable lesson in respecting things - particularly things that don't belong to us. They told me they wouldn't yell at her but would assess the damage and see what we needed to do - monetary, mending, what have you. So I explained that to Teagan and off we marched to the library, only to find out that the person responsible for assessing damage was out of town and would just charge my account once she'd looked at the books. So while I had Teagan apologize, the lesson didn't really compute because we couldn't do anything right then to fix the problem.

So, they charge my library account $8 to replace the other book that had one tear in one page. I don't understand the logic, but I hope that replacing an $8 library book now might deter her from destroying much more valuable property later. At least that's what I'm praying for tonight.

Four the love of Teagan.

We made it. She's 4! I was told the terrible twos paled in comparison to threes, and boy was that a little too accurate. Against the odds, we're here - both looking forward to a better year. She's a sweet, smart, beautiful little girl with a stubborn streak, which makes telling her she's wrong or that there's a better way to do something, nigh impossible. But isn't my job to teach her? Could someone tell her that, because she's convinced she knows more than me.

She woke up and the first thing she yelled was that she still fit in her pajamas, even though she was 4 now. They are size 6, for the record. She's still my Amazon Girl, and gets mistaken for school age all the time. We had birthday cake pancakes: a Pinterest special, and nearly put us all in diabetic shock between the cake batter, sprinkles and glaze. They were a little sweet, but a fun birthday tradition.

People were very kind and she was the grateful recipient of a new play kitchen (I sold the last one out from under her when we moved) some Lalaloopsy Tinies (Buddy is so adorable playing these with her), a fun Minnie outfit, Barbies, Play-Doh and more. She loves everything, so she loved everything.

She was very excited for her birthday and we tried to rise to the occasion with the least amount of effort and money possible. Easy, inexpensive treats and decorations were key - as was a cake courtesy of the amazing Grandma Richards. Like every other 4 year old in the world, Teagan still loves Frozen when you ask her. She doesn't watch it much, but if you ask her, it's her favourite. So we asked her close to her birthday and not again because the answer might have changed. Pinterest delivered in the low-key treat department and I was able to make some fun themed snacks with ease and without expense. Throw some balloons up (and leave them there for her brother in exactly a week) and we were golden. And by golden, I mean silver and blue. We had cousins over for cake and ice cream and that was plenty for her.

She has always had the most kissable cheeks (until her brother came along to tie her) and so we've enjoyed doing just that for four years now. And we aren't ones to resist of flashback photo op.

My Little T,

You and I both know that the mother/daughter relationship is a complicated one. It's so easy for me to see myself in you (because you ARE me!) and focus on all of my insecurities and try to steer you to avoid developing similar ones. As much as I try to resist the urge to nitpick and push you in certain directions, I know that I do. You are so good for me. I love that you stand up for what you want (thought sometimes I do know best) and I hope that that fire and courage stay with you throughout your life. If your father and I can manage to steer you in the right direction now, I know that you'll stay on the path and get exactly where you need to go because no amount of coaxing or trickery can get you to do what you know to be wrong. Even if you think wearing matching socks is wrong. You have a style all your own and while I wish I could still dress you in the seemingly hundreds of darling outfits bequeathed to you by a very kind and well dressed cousin, I can't wait to see you in the morning and find out what you're wearing. Eye patches, skirts hiked up to your bust, leggings and socks - you are so unique in your fashion that it melts my heart. I love you so much and am grateful for your forgiving nature when I'm not as nice as I could be and you are the best snuggler in the world. You made me a mum and are trying to make me a better mum every day and I need to rise to the occasion. I'm so glad you joined our family and I love you more than words can say, my darling girl. Work with me this year, huh?

Love,
Mummy

Teagan's Birthday Interview @ 4 Years Old

It's not often (read: never) that I actually follow through with any of the amazing ideas I pin on Pinterest, but this particular one is a tradition I am more than a little excited about. A birthday interview - sitting down each year on your child's birthday and asking them questions about themselves. Giving you a chance to compare their answers from year to year and for me, sitting down one on one with my daughter and getting to know her a little better. We've spent a lot of time together over the last four years, but this was a unique experience for us - sitting across from eachother asking her questions about herself and not about concepts or things she's learning. She loved it and I loved it - I kept adding questions because we were having so much fun! I tried to play it like the Newlywed Game, seeing if I could guess her answers before she could say them, but Teagan's a girl that will always keep me guessing. Who'd have known that Happy Birthday is her favourite TV show? I can't even imagine the fun we will have looking back at these over the years and giggling at some of the answers and marveling at how much she has grown. It's simultaneously thrilling and depressing. Here's a sneak peek of my darling little Teagan at 4. 

 Here she is on her birthday, in front of her new play kitchen. (Shhh! Don't tell!)

Swimmin' Cousins

Living in a small town has taken a bit of adjusting in some ways, and has been a welcome change in others.

For instance, when we signed up for swimming lessons with Parks & Rec in the next town over and Teagan and her cousin, Sam, were the only two children registered for the class. It was amazing. 

I had talked up swimming lessons for a while, trying to get her excited about them and she couldn't wait to go. Until the morning we started. Then it was like pulling teeth to get her out of bed to go. But after many tears (mine) and much begging and pleading (again, mine), we arrived and all was well.

Their teacher, Miss Nancy, was a kind, grandmotherly type - not the stereotypical college student we were expecting. She was perfect for these two. She spoke to them very softly and they didn't have to wait long when she was doing one on one things, which was great for their first experience.

Right off the bat they practiced putting their heads underwater - a struggle I've never won even after nearly 4 years of bathing her. But she did it for a perfect stranger and that was nice to see - especially if she has a prayer of attending school in the near future. Tara (my sister-in-law) and I sat at one end of the pool, far enough to observe and not be tempted to intervene at every possible juncture when she wasn't listening to her teacher. It was a good exercise all around.

They were so proud of themselves for doing well and wanted to go back the next time. What a relief it is.

These two get along swimmingly for 3 year olds. Pun intended. They play very well together and are just so darling to watch interact. Now that we are living so close, I'm excited to watch them grow up together and have a built in friend through their formative years.

What with it being flu season and all, there were occasions when Sam didn't come and she was a wee bit devastated, looking for him through the glass doors. I was both surprised and impressed when they continued on with the lessons, even with just Teagan. Private lessons for the price of public? I'll take it!

They graduated from the first stage and went right into the second, with Mr. Gordon. Teagan, who does well when she has a heads up about new things, was less than excited about their new teacher who looked a little different than Miss Nancy, but warmed up later. They had two other children in their class and got a little rowdy at times, but did well overall. She LOVES putting her face under the water - to the point of scaring me - and is working on the front crawl (scooping ice cream). She jumps in, paddles, kicks, blows bubbles and picks things up from the bottom of the pool. For two sessions of lessons, it's pretty impressive stuff.

Of Moths and Men

We don't have pets now. We won't have pets later. That was decided before Martha the Moth made the poor decision to fly into the house - Martha just sealed it.

One on hand, I'm proud of Teagan that she approached a moth without any fear or trepidation and on the other, I'm wondering what she won't touch considering how ugly this moth was. 

It was resting near the oven when Teagan audibly gasped and cried, "It's a butthly!" (Teagan for butterfly) and picked it up by a leg. Which tore off, so she picked it up by its wings. She wanted to return the butthly to its rightful home outside, so threw it in the air, only to have it fall very quickly back to earth. If moths had hindsight, this one would have put a little more effort into flying away. 

"She will be my pet!" Teagan exclaimed with glee, apparently interpreting the moth's injury as a plea to stay with her. So, I reluctantly pulled out a glass, poked some holes in some plastic wrap and allowed her to gently place her new pet in its enclosure. It seemed to be DOA, but I didn't have the heart to tell her. She confirmed with me several times that I had indeed provided a way for the butthly to breathe, but I think her concern would have been better placed with the poor thing's missing limbs. 

To distract her from the fact that her new pet wasn't moving, I asked Teagan what its name was. "Takawana," she replied, without missing a beat. This girl has the most creative names for dolls and pets - I'm nervous for her progeny. Unless she winds up in Utah, and names like Shoosh, Blones and Takawana are in the top 10. It took me a few times to get it right when I tried to repeat it back to her, so she decided that Martha was easier to say. So Martha it is. Was. 

I never quite know what she will remember (the scabby old dresses and T-shirts that I try to hide in hopes she'll wear something that <gasp> actually matches only to have her ask for the hidden items specifically, months after I've put them away) and what she will forget ("Please make sure you wash your hands after you use the toilet!") so when there is doubt, I try not to get rid of things. We returned from an hour of play in the backyard to find Grandma doing dishes, Martha's makeshift habitat now resting, overturned,  in the dishwasher. I tried to distract her with talk of colouring and all things shiny, praying she wouldn't ask about her pet. Mission accomplished - who doesn't love shiny things? 

We were talking about insects the next day and without thinking, mentioned that one looked like Martha. I held my breath and waited for the weeping and wailing upon discovering that dear Martha was no longer with us. Unnecessarily, as she simply asked, "Who?"

Martha, you made a lasting impression on me and the cats, dogs and small rodents everywhere who have you to thank that the Richards will be settling for digital pets for the foreseeable future. Rest in peace, my winged friend.

Things Teagan Says V

Named her babies the following:

Baby Darthy (not “Dorothy” – from firsthand experience) and Baby Blones.

Named her Care Bear “hot dog vanilla ice rainbow ice cream with a heart.”

“Mason’s been crying for 6 years. And he’s been poopy for 5 years.”

“Oh my cow.” (Combo of “Oh my goodness” and “Holy cow”)

“Boom shacka shacka.

Teagan: “Let’s have some girl fizzy drink.” (Strawberry Fanta)

Me: “But you don’t like fizzy drink.”

Teagan: “I do! Let’s have some fizzy drink.”

{Pssst of the opening can}

Teagan: “I don’t like fizzy drink.”

“Mom, can I please have ice?”

I gave it to her.

“It’s cold. I don’t like cold.”

Teagan: “Today we need a t-shirt, shorts and socks.”

Me: “And cheese?”

Teagan: “Yes. And cheese.”

“When I was a grandma, I used to go to heaven all the time…Grandad died. Why?”

Me: “Let’s think of rhyming words.”

Teagan: “Okay. Grass and…walk!” (I must say I was relieved.)

Teagan: “There’s a bad guy in my room!”

I bolted up the stairs not knowing what I would find, and when I found nothing, I brought her up to have her point it out. It was the mom from the dollhouse.

“I don’t want Mason to grow up.” She actually gets very emotional about this and we get into heated, existential debates.

Teagan: “Why does Daddy have to work?”

Me: “Because we need money.”

Teagan: “We need money to buy ice cream? We already have ice cream. I don’t want Daddy to go to work.”

Teagan: “Are you Daddy’s age?”

Me: “Well, Daddy is 8 months older than me.” Which lead to a discussion of months vs. years. “Months are less than years. Mason isn’t a year old yet, he’s just months. He’s 8 months." Apparently she didn’t grasp the concept.

Teagan: “So are you 8 months?”

She’s been in a big Chipmunks and Chipettes phase lately, so we borrowed the latest movies from the library and watched them sing all sorts of chart toppers. I showed her Beyonce’s Single Ladies and she simply asked, “Where’s Britney?”

In church, looking through the LDS Gospel Art book:

Livi: “This is Thomas S. Monson, he’s our prophet.”

Teagan: “He’s our prophet too!”

In the bathtub:

“My toots look like fireworks.”

Playing Potato Heads.

Teagan: “Mom, this is my Potato Head. Ask me about her family!”

Me: “Where’s your mum?”

Teagan: “Oh, she’s dead.”

Teagan: “Sad! Do you miss her?”

Teagan: “No.” She won’t be giving my eulogy!

Ended up with toilet paper hanging out of her bottom. I tried to remove it.

“But I want a tail!”

This little woman is so wonderfully weird and crazy curious and I love her funny little personality when we aren't at odds over something trivial that snowballs into a meltdown.

Cyclical Questioning

I’ve never known a child who asked more questions than Teagan. Granted, she’s the first child I’ve ever had, but I hope it’s just her and that my next ones don’t ask nearly as many. Most of her questions revolve around “Why?” and I can’t seem to answer them well enough for her, because they just breed more questions. Questions like “Why is that a house?” and the age old “Why is the sky blue?”

Lately, I’ve been caught in a net of questioning and I can’t seem to answer my way out. Por ejemplo:

Driving down the street:

Teagan: “What was her name?”

Me: “I don’t know.”
Teagan: “Who was dat?”

Me: “I don’t know.”

Teagan: “I’m asking Daddy. Daddy, who is dat?”

Buddy: “Sally.” (just to end the barrage of questions)

Teagan: “Who’s Sally?”

Another day:

Teagan: “What’s dare names?”

Me: “I don’t know.”

Teagan: “Why don’t you know dare names?”

Me: “Because they’re strangers.”

Teagan: “Why are day strangers?”

Me: “Because I don’t know them.”

Teagan: “Why don’t you know them?”

Me: “AARGH!”

Teagan: “IS it nighttime?”

Me: “Yes.”

Teagan: “Why is it nighttime?”

Me: “Because it’s dark.”

Teagan: “Why is it dark?”

Me: “Because the sun is down.”

Teagan: “Why is the sun down?”

Me: “Because it’s nighttime.”

Teagan: “Why is it nighttime?”

She doesn’t believe me when I tell her I don’t know, so she pushes me until I can make up an answer. From this day forward, my strategy is just to answer with confidence and pray for minimal follow up questions. Pray for us.