Remember when I was worried she wouldn't talk, part 5,436

Last Friday, Vicky, Reina and I had lunch with Pop-pop.  I had a meeting right afterwards so Pop-pop took Reina back to preschool for me.  As they were leaving Pop-pop's office, he saw his secretary and rolled down the window to let her know that he'd be back in a few minutes.  As they drove away, a little voice piped up from the backseat and the following conversation took place:

Reina:  Is that your ghel-friend Pop-pop?
Pop-pop: (momentarily speechless) No, that's somebody who works in my office.
Reina:  Well, who's your ghel-friend?
Pop-pop:  Grandma's my girlfriend.
Reina:  Oh. 

Pop-pop said they chatted for a few minutes about who has girlfriends and who has boyfriends.  Reina has a boyfriend, his name is David.  When he related the story to me later that afternoon, I laughed and laughed.  Reina is such a little chatterbox right now with an insatiable desire to ask questions, get answers and then ask more questions.  Sometimes it's the same topic over and over again.  A current favorite is still the 'what happened to Finkin Lincoln (known to the rest of us as Abraham Lincoln) and why did that bad guy shoot him.' I've probably mentioned it here before but try explaining the Civil War, slavery and emancipation to a 4-yr old. Whenever a song comes on the radio she immediately wants to know what it's about and why.  Tonight when I picked her up from school, she'd made a flip phone out of a bunch of folded paper and she immediately flipped it open, brought it up to her ear and started calling people.  "Hi, this is Lucy calling."  Tonight while Pop-pop and Will had a lightsaber battle, she sat on the stairs and shouted "Let the games begin!"  I think she needs to have her own Youtube channel.

Little snippets from the week

It's been one of those weeks.  Again.  I think it's always one of those weeks this time of year.   Last week was full of after-work activities, the wrap-up of birthday festivities and Valentine's craziness.  Reina carried the birthday glow with her to school all week.  On the Monday after her birthday she wore this birthday outfit from Aunt V and Uncle M. The sparkly kitten is so her personality right now.  She can be sweet and cuddly and purr and then she's sinking her sharp little kitten teeth into your hand.  True story.

On the Tuesday after her birthday (on Monday, Reina came home because she was "sick."  We think she just missed all of her new toys.) she had her Montessori birthday celebration.  She took it very seriously.  For as much as she walks around this house bossing everyone around and making her place known, at school she seems quieter and shy.  She's still on the younger side of her class, maybe this will change as she gets older. 

On Thursday, I helped at Will's kindergarten Valentine's party. Oh the candy-coated chaos!  While I was waiting to help set up, I noticed the artwork in the hallway.  Each student had their own self-portrait and I had to snap a picture of Will's.  I love his jaunty cap.  Coincidentally, the girl below him is the only girl that he ever talks about and the one I mentioned in the last blog post.  I think it's destiny. 

So while the parents were setting up the party stuff, the kindergartners were drawing on white boards. Will and I'd had a slightly rough morning - nothing major, just fighting over why one of us had to wear a winter coat (in February.  In Wyoming) and so it made my morning to turn around and see this.  It was a nice peace offering. 

On Saturday, we headed down to Denver for the day.  The kids visited Pop-pop and Grandma and Glenn and I ran some errands and shopped.  On the way home, we visited the Workshop That Shall Not Be Named because two members of our household want to live there and two of us are still stinging from the price tag.  Needless to say, the two in this picture had a b-l-a-s-t and are still carrying around their bear and cat today.  Although, naturally the bear is wearing a Star Wars outfit and the pink cat has an age-inappropriate halter top/ballerina dress.  I tried to talk her into a tshirt/capri ensemble but why did I even waste my breath.  

By mid-afternoon Saturday, I was feeling pretty achy and a little droopy and by the night I was sick.  A quick trip to urgent care on Sunday clarified that I didn't have The Flu but instead I had a virus called "that virus with influenza-like symptoms."  So all of the fun of the flu but none of the Tamiflu relief.  I'm still getting over it today.  I made another trip to my regular doctor to make sure that I didn't have something else (I don't).  I asked the doctor about the chances of Glenn or the kids getting it.  Her response?  "Super high."  Stay tuned. 

One year ago today

One year ago today at this time, Glenn was in the ICU, a very sick guy.  I was sitting in his room with my dad and sister and brother-in-law and trying to come to terms with what was happening.  I came home late and tried to get some sleep but I still remember that night so clearly.  I slept with my cell phone in my hand and kept jolting awake thinking it was ringing and it would be the ICU nurses calling and telling me to hurry back to the hospital.  Thankfully, that call never came and when I finally called them in the wee hours of the morning, it was to hear the good news that Glenn was no worse, maybe even stable.   These past few days and weekend, I've thought a lot about what happened and how very thankful I am to have a healthy Glenn by my side today. 

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It's Valentine's week around here so we've been busy decorating boxes for preschool and painstakingly writing classmates names on little cards for Kindergarten.  Will chose a box of Star Wars valentines for his class which featured four different illustrations (in case you are interested: Storm Troopers, Yoda, Anakin & Obi Wan and Darth Vader). As I was helping him spell each student's name, I noticed that he was carefully choosing the Darth Vader (the supreme bad guy) cards for each girl in his class.  I giggled at that and then asked why he was giving them all Darth Vader?  He nonchalantly replied because it had a pretty purple background and girls like purple.  Yes, they do but I'm also slightly convinced that he's sending a message.....  Speaking of messages, Will only talks about one girl in his class.  We'll call her A.  He's at that stage where girls are becoming cootie-filled or whatever kindergarten boys think these days.  He doesn't talk about playing with any girls at recess or anything like that, but occasionally A's name will come up in conversation. She's has long hair, I do know that.  So as we are writing his valentines, I asked him if he was going to write a note on A's card.  Something like "Dear A, I want to hold your hand.  Love, Will"  He giggled so I threw a few more suggestions out there, each one appropriately mushy and embarrassing.  He fired back, "Dear A:  Please come over to my house and throw eggs at my Mom."  The kid has a sense of humor and it appears to have a 'Hansen' written all over it.  The legacy continues. 

A letter to the birthday girl

 Dear Reina:  Today, you are four.  Going on sixteen, eighteen, twenty-seven.  You are full of surprises and energy and spirit.  You march around the house, usually carrying a few stuffed animals and a collection of little pieces of plastic, barking out orders to anyone/anything in your path.  But you are also kind and sweet and already have a wicked sense of humor. 

Reina, I say this every year, but you are changing so much.  You recognize your name when it is written down and you are furiously trying to write it yourself.  You love to color and fill pages and pages with drawings - most of them are giant, swirling vortexes but they mean something to you.  You pretend to read and have a great memory for remembering the stories we read to you.  You then read them to Tootsie or anybody else who will listen.  You recite the title and then take a stab at the author's name, you come up with some creative words.... "I Don't Like Gloria by Jama Yokupooki." (not the author's real name)

Reina had a sick day earlier in the week and found a rapt audience in Tootsie.

Hang in there Tootsie! 

Reina, I can't list your favorite toy because there are so many and it changes daily.  You still love horses and kitties and you go through stages where you play with your dolls.  Your favorite thing right now is to serve up tea and dinner and other snacks and then watch while we pretend to be sick.  You laugh and laugh and then tell us to do it again.

You love to dance, Reina girl, and you have some moves.  Your teacher at Montessori tell us to sign you up for gymnastics because you have great balance and love your gymnastics time each week.  When I hear this, I doubt your parentage, because you come from a long line of folks with balance but maybe it's a genetic mutation or something.  You are playing soccer right now and we need to get you some swimming lessons before too long. 

Dancing with Daddy

You had a lovely birthday.  You were showered with presents from family far and wide.  You came racing into our room at 2:00 a.m., shouting, "is it my birthday yet?" 

We had a collection of friends over for your party.  You ate lunch, played games and raced around this house.  We wrapped up the festivities with a pinata. It was too cold to go outside so Daddy bravely hung on to one end of a broom handle while everybody whacked at the pinata on the other end.  Your brother was determined to be the one to crack it open. 

I think he's pretending he's holding a lightsaber and the pinata is Darth Vader.  Look at that serious face - and the adults running for cover!

Reina, you wrapped up the day with a visit to Aunt Vicky and Uncle Matt's house where you showered with more presents and your very own First Tattoo.  I posted this on Facebook but I'm pretty sure Aunt Vicky will be present when you get your First Real Tattoo.  She and I both hope it doesn't involve a purple unicorn. 

 

Reina, you are a delightful, exhausting little fireball.  And we wouldn't want it any other way.  Happy birthday sweet girl! 

Observations by Reina

At one week shy of turning 4, Reina is full of observations, musings and let's face it, criticisms. Girl has a lot of opinions and is at that delightful age where she's not afraid to share them.  Although, I am starting to wonder if 'that delightful age' will last her whole life.  Last weekend we were at their indoor soccer games and Reina, watching one of the other soccer parents, a big, bearded, tattooed motorcycle guy, loudly said "He looks like he's wearing a girl's shirt."  To her credit, it was one of those stylized roses/large cross/swirly designs kinda number but as I tried to hush her and remind her that we didn't want to hurt anyone feelings, she loudly countered with "But MOM - it does look like a ghel's shirt!"  Girl = ghel (said in a very Cary Grant/Katherine Hepburn sort of accent - still). To her credit, it was. Kind of girly.

Yesterday, she and I made a quick stop at Walgreen's.  Our cashier had a lip piercing.  This time Reina waited until we were walking out the door to ask why "her has a black thing on her mouth?"  Try explaining the freedom of expression and laws that allow people over 18 to pierce things - to an almost 4-yr old. I didn't even try.  I just said "some people like stuff that like that - it's like an earring - for your mouth." 

I've documented previous clothing battles on this blog recently but this week, I offered her a few choices as to avoid the 30-minute howl fests that occur when the wrong pair of pants are presented.  She wanted to wear a dress on Thursday, which was a bit chilly, so I showed her a couple of different options that she could choose from.  She turned down a lovely brown corduroy prairie-style dress because it "looks like the color of poop."  Said without sassiness, it was simply an observation and she started to add "and everybody will laugh at me" but I cut her off before we could go down that path again. 

Reina is battling a little bug this weekend, she's been running a fever and is slightly droopy but not noticeably ill.  We kept her home most of the weekend to keep her from infecting everyone else.  So she's had a lot of playtime in her room and has rediscovered her dress-up drawer.  She piled on several princess dresses yesterday and announced that she was The Queen.  She started referring to herself in the third person "The Queen would like a drink of water."  While I was putting away The Queen's laundry, Reina informed me that The Queen likes it when people do stuff for her and if they are good, she will give them a present.  I interrupted to say "how nice of the Queen" and Reina continued on with, "The Queen will give you a present on your birthday."  So the monarch thanks you for your service and here's a present.... but you have to wait for your birthday.  How grand.