De-

Lately, Angie has described many things as "Delightful and Delovely."

Tonight the eagerly anticipated spaghetti was "Delicious, Delightful and Delovely."

Why is my four year old daughter paraphrasing Cole Porter?

I have no idea.

Some things will just remain a mystery in this house I suspect.

Things a Mommy Can Fix

When i came home from work tonight, we all cozied up together on the bed. I asked what we were having for dinner tonight and Chas said, "Ravioli." Then he turned to Angie and said, "Do you know what we're having for dinner tonight? (Her blue eyes light up in anticipation) Ravioli!"

Angie looks downcast as this news sinks in and she puts her forehead on the bed while exclaiming, "Oh No!"

We all know that currently, her preferred pasta is spaghetti, not ravioli.

Chas and I briefly confer and I convince him that it would be okay to have spaghetti tonight instead.

So we give Angie the good news and she's happy again. CHas tells her to thank me because it was my idea. Eyes a glow, she thanks me.

At least that is one thing I can make better. The older she gets, the less I'll be able to fix.

Successful day camp!

Yesterday Angie had her first day camp at Gymboree. This momentous event marks the first time in her life that Angie has gone anywhere without me, Chas, or another relative. Miss Kelly has had Angie in her Gymboree classes since Angie was fourteen and a half months old, so perhaps to Angie it was still like being with family.

Chas took her there, of course, and told her that she was going to play with Miss Kelly for a few hours and that she (Angie) need to listen to what Miss Kelly said. Angie said, "Okay!" and took off. Chas called after her, "Can I at least have a hug?" and Angie ran back for a hug, then raced away again.

As requested, after Kelly shut the door to the small music/art room, Chas waited a few minutes, ears carefully tuned to catching any wails from our beloved child. The other mothers, however, bolted out the door, grasping their few precious hours of freedom as quickly as possible. No cries heard, Chas sauntered off to enjoy some wi-fi at the local Panera.

He returned just to see Angie dashing through the gate, looking around for him. Kelly reported that Angie did very well. A few times she wandered off on her own, but she returned immediately upon Kelly's request. She brought home her Doctor's briefcase (made out of construction paper and labeled "Doctor Angie") which contained some of her art, and another piece of fine Angie art.

I spoke to Kelly later and learned just a bit more about Angie and the class. The kids do art for an hour, then have a half an hour for a snack, then they finish with a music hour. During the last five minutes the parents can come in to see what the kids were doing. Since we didn't know about the parents came in at the end, Chas missed that part. He told me later that he would adjust his timing so he returned a few minutes early and could see what Angie did that day.

Kelly also told me that after the snack, one or two of the kids had to go potty, and as is typical of three to five year olds, suddenly they all "had" to go. Angie refused to go with the Assistant Melissa and insisted that "Mrs Kelly" take her. Of course, she didn't actually need to go potty.

In the Music Class that night, Angie was very clingy for the first half of the class. She sat on my lap, snuggled close next to me, stretched across my legs and just generally ensured that I was near her. I know that was simply part of her reassuring herself that we would be sticking around after she spent the afternoon without us and I had expected that sort of reaction. But no tears, and no hysterics so I think we've timed things out fairly well for helping Angie adjust to being away from us.

We are hoping that they will have another drop off class during the week so that we can continue the preparation for kindergarten next fall. We may put her in a pre-school in the winter, but we haven't completely decided.

I think that this is the last year for Angie in Gymboree. I think enrollment ends when she turns five. It will be a bittersweet moment for me when this ends. I think that Angie will miss it terribly. She loves the music class and she loves her teachers. I think this has been very good for her.

Maybe we'll start with the Fine Arts Association after this ends. I know they have classes for five years and older.

Little Healer.

I haven't been feeling well the last few evenings.

When I told her, Angie, full of compassion, said, "I know a kiss will make you feel better!" and then she ran over and kissed me on the cheek. "Now do you feel better?" I said, "A little better, but still a little yucky." So I received more kisses.

I've received quite a few kisses the last two nights. And you know, they really do make me feel better.

Nighttime Ritual in a Nutshell

My husband has fond memories of the Nutshell Library by Maurice Sendak: Four tiny hardback books with illustrations, one is about the months of the year, one about the letters, one about numbers and one about the importance of caring. His Grandmother had it in her home and he still smiles as he recollects reading them there.

Last year, after we took Angie to the Maurice Sendak exhibit on her birthday, Grandma Phyllis passed the books to us and we have read them to Angie occasionally. They sit on one of the shelves in our home office. Recently she was exploring and found them. She brought them to me with a "Look what I found! Books!"

So every night for the past month or so, I have to read the entire Nutshell Library to Angie before she will settle down to sleep. She has even taken to reciting them with me. She points out Pierre making a guest appearance in "Alligators All Around" and finds that Johnny from "One was Johnny" is again rudely disturbed by the March winds in Chicken Soup with Rice.

It is cozy, sitting together on our worn out office chair, reading little stories and rhymes.

Four Year Check-Up

We just returned from Angie's check up.

Height= 37 Inches
Weight= 27 1/2 pounds

Still small. The Doctor says not to worry because she is still plotting along just below the chart but the curve is the right shape so she considers it to be Angie's own curve.

Eyes are good, although Angie started to play her game of pretending she doesn't know or see. Her heart and blood pressure are fine. Angie is such a good eater that we don't need to worry about vitamins. Maybe look into some calcium for her since she doesn't drink milk.

The Doctor was really pleased that Angie could draw a circle a plus sign (or an x depending on the angle you looked at it). She tried to think of something else to have Angie draw and Chas suggested a person. The Doctor was impressed that Angie could do all the facial features (dots and lines) as well as arms and legs. She said, "Wow that's five-year old stuff!"

At the end Angie said, "Thank you for giving me a check-up!" And then when she was dressed again, Angie started saying, "Yay! Everything is back to normal again!"

I love our pediatrician. She is wonderful with Angie and she makes everyone feel comfortable. She told us that she has a four month old daughter and we chatted about that. The Doctor said, "So being a mom will hopefully make me an even better Doctor." I don't see how that is possible.

Angie was very excited to see the Mickey Mouse stickers at the end of the visit. She is quite fond of the new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, for now anyway.

Thanks Grandma!

For dinner tonight, we had lamb chops and corn on the cob.

Chas brought out the corn and placed the corn handles on the table too. Usually, only Chas and I use the handles because we try not to give our child sharp pointy objects. She be just as dangerous to us as to herself.

Well, last week, while Chas and I were driving the highways and by-ways of PA, Grandma and Grandpa had corn on the cob with Angela. Grandma has handles too, and placed a pair in Angie's cob. Angie loved using the handles. She was very pleased with them apparently.

Tonight, I buttered Angie's corn and placed it on her plate.

"But what about those?" She said pointing at something I couldn't see. "Grandma gave me handle thingies!"

So Angie used the handle thingies. No injuries to report.

The Return of Eve

The Granddaughter of our next door neighbors visits every summer. When we first moved in, we just missed her because she stays for only four or five weeks. The next summer, I was wrapped in the joy and exhaustion that comes with a newborn. The following summer I think Angie played with Eve a bit, but last summer, when Angie was three they were constant buddies, even though Eve is four years older than Angie.

Angie seemed to accept Eve's eventual disappearance at the end of the Summer, but she would mention her friend Eve periodically during the Autumn, Winter and Spring. We knew that Eve would be arriving soon. I wondered if Eve would still be interested in playing with a pre-schooler as she became older.

This morning we saw her from our kitchen window, playing her her grandmother's backyard. Thick red hair was shorter, but it was Eve. Chas mowed the lawn, and waived to Eve as she returned from the grocery store. She has glasses now.

Angie and I were inside, and I had just finished tying the butterfly wings at Angie's request, when Chas called Angie to the kitchen door. Wings still on, Angie went to the door and suddenly became quiet. Eve was at the door to visit Angie. Angie's expression can best be described as stunned happy. She looked at Eve, she looked around and she was speechless. She seemed to wonder what magical forces brough Eve to our door.

Angie started to dart outside to begin the fun, when Eve reminded her to put on her shoes. Sandals and butterfly wings on, Angie raced outside to play. From our windows, we could see them chasing each other. Eve would pick up Angie to help her be a real butterfly and, well, fly.

They have had fun all day and I could only convince Angie to take her nap by telling her that Eve would be taking a nap too. Angie was focused on finishing her dinner so she could go outside and play with Eve. "If I eat my food, then I can go outside and play with Eve!" She almost forgot about ice cream in her haste. Almost.

Apparently they found where the fairies live too.

Should be a good few weeks for Angie.

So Proud

Angie has attended classes at the local Gymboree since she was roughly 15 months. We actually started shortly after her bout with toxic synovitis that frightened both of us. Since Chas is a stay at home dad and because she has always had very strong, adverse reactions to crowds at church or temple, we decided it would be good to put her in a group of kids so she could adjust to being with others. Angie has loved it from the very beginning although I had to sit with her under the parachute the first few trips to the Play class.

Angie has always been fiercely independent. We tend to think that this is a good quality, although it does drive us crazy from time to time. Her independence has always shown itself in Gymboree. She makes up her own ways of playing with things and doesn't always do the activities in the way the teacher wants. Gymboree has generally utilized a Montessori kind of philosophy which encourages exploration and exposure to things, rather than strictly requiring the children to follow the teacher's instructions. Your kid doesn't want to do all the activities? Fine. Just let him/her observe and do as he/she wants so long as it isn't dangerous or disruptive.

We've had several teachers and only one seems to grit her teeth when she sees Angie coming (Angie was going through her terrible twos at the time, and it took me a while to figure out what was bothering her--she did not want to be late for class ever). I like Angie's independence, but I see in Court how teacher's and schools in this area view kids who do not sit quietly and obediently all the time. It makes me nervous for her getting lost in a public school. I wish we could afford a private school for her, but I don't think it is possible. I think Angie will do fine in public school, but I firmly believe that she would do better with the smaller class sizes found in private schools. ( I say that "aloud" with some dread because both grandmas were or are public school teachers and one grandpa was on the School Board.)

I'm okay with that philosophy, but Angie, being fiercely independent, has participated less in the structured activities of the large, multi-age Play class as she has grown older. She is better in Music, but it is a smaller class.

Gymboree rearranged their class schedule and so the two classes Angie attends were back to back on Wednesday nights immediately after work. We tried it once or twice and didn't eat dinner until 8:00 p.m. I was exhausted so we had to find something different.

We've never tried the Level 7 class, which is structured for her age group for a variety of reasons, mostly to do with my schedule. The current multi-age class is packed with kids and parents and has activities designed for a wide age group. Angie always seems a little lost in the crowd when it is full and rarely participates in the games, preferring to play with me or another child away from the rest. Or sometimes running laps around the others.

With the new summer schedule, a Level 7 class is held Friday nights right after work. We thought we would give it a try and tonight was the first night.

In short, it went phenomenally well.

We arrived early and as Angie and I went to the bathroom I explained how this was a special Gymboree class (which caught her attention right away) and that it was just like clown school so Angie would have to follow Miss Kelly's instructions. (Explanation: The first episode of Jojo's Circus has Jojo going to the first day of school. Jojo fails to follow the teacher's instructions, a pie throwing machine goes haywire, hilarity ensues and Jojo learns the importance of following instructions. Angie and I have been role playing that episode for ages so I thought she would get it.)

The first instruction was for Angie to find the shape with her name on it. She did it immediately, no hesitation. Then she proceeded to jump on the other kid's name/shapes, but hey, no one else was there yet so I wasn't worried. A little girl named Sophia appeared with her dad and Miss Kelly introduced her to Angie. Angie came running over to her, "OH Sophia!" and gave her a big hug. Sophia looked a bit confused and then hugged Angie. They played together quite a bit tonight.

The other kids arrived and class began with the kids finding their names and sitting on the shapes. I only needed to redirect Angie briefly to follow the instructions and she stopped playing and ran to her name.

She was brilliant. Sometimes she would show her displeasure with being told to go to her name by laying on the shape, looking at me and snoring "zzzzzhuh zzzzhuh zhuuh," or by turning her back on the game, but she didn't act out, and when the Teacher called her name for her turn at the game Angie jumped up to participate. Not once, but she would return to her name and go for a second turn most of the time. She even played a game on the air log. She hasn't touched the air log for at least a year in the big Play class.

The structure essentially followed this pattern: Find name/shape, introduction song, game, play while teacher sets up next game, find name/shape, game, play while teacher sets up next game, find name/shape, game, play while teacher sets up next game, repeat, bubbles, form train for snack time, teacher whisks kids to separate room away from the parents for 10 minutes for snacks, stories, etc at a little table and chairs. Then the parents had to come in the room to find the children who were hiding under the "tree house" (table).

Angie loved it. Miss Kelly had to physically move Angie a few times, but she was so gentle that Angie responded very well. Kelly also recognized that this was Angie's first time in class so she didn't know all the ways of doing things (such as forming the train by placing your hands on the shoulders of the child in front of you) so she showed her gently.

Angie loved it. How do we know? She went on and on about going in the room with the Teacher and the other kids and that grapes and sunshine make raisins and that they hid in a tree house but Mommy found her ( That was Angie's favorite part).

Angie was so proud of the box of raisins that she received for her snack that she offered me one when I "found" her. (For the record, I hate raisins. With a passion. I've never liked them. [I do like them in some baked goods like cinnamon raisin bagels or my MIL's molasses gems.] The whole line about them just being dried grapes never worked on me. If that is the case, please just give me the grapes.) I figured that if Angie liked the raisins, I should encourage her so I took the proffered raisin popped that disgusting treat in my mouth and tried to look positive whilst I forced myself to swallow. Following my example, Angie put a raisin in her mouth, made a face, said "Yucky" and promptly spit it into my hand. Later, Kelly told me that Angie told her that she didn't like raisins.

I was thrilled: I was so afraid she would rebel against the structure that I held my breath for much of the class. I hovered close to Angie for much of the class because I was trying to keep her focused on following instructions. As Angie gets more comfortable with the class order, I won't hang so close to her. Probably.

Kelly said that she thought Angie did really well tonight. She was very enthusiastic. Kelly believes that Angie needed the structure. I think that the structure was part of it, but I think it helped that the class was so much smaller than her previous Play class. She'll start a drop off summer camp at Gymboree in two weeks (three hours of Music and Art every Wednesday for six weeks) and I am optimistic that they will go well.

I'm really pleased. Chas is happy. More importantly, Angie truly enjoyed herself.

Lying about her age already

When we ask Angie "How old are you?"

She looks at us and replies confidently, "I am twenty three years old."

I guess the good news is that we survived the teen years and somehow managed to pay for college.

4th of July Bliss

We have been visiting the paternal grandparents and great grandparents in Pennsylvania since Saturday. Angie has thoroughly enjoyed herself and delighted the adults as always. I think that today was the grandest celebration of the 4th of July in Angie's memory.

First, Grandma, Grandpa, Chas, Angie and I went to Zoo America. Grandma has been eager to take Angie here for years. I'm not certain that Angie would have enjoyed it as much as she did today.

Angie was initially distracted by the gift shop, but we managed to persuade her that outside was good too.

She charged up a ramp with me until we noticed that one of the employees had a snake out to show kids. The family tromped back down the ramp to see the snake up close. Angie was suitably impressed and we moved on through the exhibits. Angie raced to various animals in the houses and gave them different names. We would point to animals and call Angie's attention to them. While she would say that she saw them, sometimes Chas and I got the distinct impression that she was humoring us.

We crossed over a bridge and at the end of the bridge, a park employee was dressed up like a large squirrel in a ranger costume. At least I think it was intended to be a squirrel. I didn't actually ask. It had a rather long tail.

Angie saw the ranger/squirrel and looked excited, but hesitant. This was actually the first larger than life character Angie has ever seen (we don't make the rounds to the amusement parks). Chas thought she would be scared, but I thought she would be fine.

The ranger/squirrel met another child halfway across the bridge and made the customary fuss over him as they must be trained to do. Angie looked more excited, and she kept looking at me eagerly. I asked her if she wanted to hug him and she said yes, so I told her to wait her turn and then she could hug him after the little boy had finished talking to him.

One more word of encouragement from me after the boy left with his family and Angie ran to the ranger/squirrel and was folded into a big hug. Angie was thrilled. I think my Mother in Law took a picture and Chas may have videotaped it. Angie was so excited that she later talked about it being her favorite part of the day.

We crossed the bridge and went down to a small dining area near a creek with lots of ducks. For 25 cents we could get a handful of corn and feed the ducks. I held Angie while Chas got a one handful after another of corn for Angie to throw. Then Grandma came down and provided more handfuls of corn while Chas took pictures of Angie feeding the ducks. She let me and Grandma throw some corn as well. So sweet she kept trying to give us all of the corn to throw.

Shortly after that, we went to another area near the creek and saw swans. Angie wanted to feed them too, but they were too far away.

More animals, some none of us could see, others, again, I would swear Angie was just humoring us when she said she saw them.

Back to the gift shop to spend some birthday money from Grandpa Jesse. We have a no stuffed animal clause governing our house right now (far too many of them here) and I was concerned that she carried a Beanie Bear in tropical summer gear around. Angie also kept playing with some realistic miniature animals. We settled on some animal colorforms, an animal puzzle and binoculars. Grandma then purchased a tube of realistic animals with a safari truck on top. Later at Grandma's house, Angie referred to the eagle as a condor and the beaver's name is apparently Hedgie. In short she loved it.

Grandma and Grandpa picked up Grandma Phyllis and we went to dinner at Carla's Cucina in Palmyra. The waitress let Angie pick a hand and pulled out a small gorilla for Angie. Did you know that gorillas are afraid of Bowl Worms? Or that Bowl Worms looks just like spoons? The Bowl Worms chased the Gorilla along the back of my chair several times before dinner ended.

Angie and Grandma Phyllis had the same dinner: spaghetti with one very large meatball. We also discovered that Angie gets her love of ice cream and aversion to all other sweets from her Grandma Phyllis.

Then we drove to Grandma Ethyl and Grandpa Jesse's home to show them what she purchased with their gift money.

As we drove back to Grandma and Grandpa's house, we could see people lining up to watch the fireworks. We've never taken Angie to a Fireworks display. Our plan this year was the same as last year: show Angie whatever fireworks appeared above the trees in Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood (it's a really small town).

When the fireworks started, Chas, Grandma, Angie and I walked to the end of the street and down the cross road a bit. Grandpa soon followed although he had to work very early the next morning. Angie sat an Chas's shoulders for a bit and seemed pleased with the view. Perhaps the trees grew a great deal since last year, or maybe this year, they just weren't shooting them as high, but we didn't see as many as we did last year.

Some of the neighbors were shooting small fireworks or low to the ground sparklers (Sorry I don't know the technical names). Angie liked those too.

Angie became more and more excited. She was racing around the street (with us watching closely of course and pull her back as needed) shouting, "I love fireworks! The fireworks look like BIG FLOWERS!" over and over again, much to our amusement and to the laughter of some neighbors. Then she looked at us and said, "I wish they could go for hours and hours and hours!" At one point she waived her arms so enthusiastically that they were a blur (imagine hummingbird wings and you will have the most accurate visual image).

She had a great Fourth of July. I don't think we could have packed more fun into one day.