The one thing she doesn’t understand is why she has to go to bed when it’s not dark out. I explain to her that by the time we get through our routine, it will be dark. I also tell her that since she's had no nap means going to bed earlier. Of course, going to bed earlier also means more trips out of her bedroom during the night.
One night last week I think it was a total of four times out of bed and only one of them was really a plausible excuse of having to go to the bathroom. So ever since then, Chris and I stress that the only reason she should be getting out of bed is to go to the bathroom. She’s adhered to that pretty well. Although the other night she gave me a fright as I was watching TV and then all of a sudden I looked up and saw her sitting on the landing and I have no idea how long she’d been there.
To adjust to her schedule, Chris had to make changes in his too. He now gets up earlier and then gets her up and fed. While he’s showering, I get things ready to go and then when he's done getting ready, he gets her up and fed while I’m showering and getting ready. I like this routine as she’s much more agreeable to get up for him than she is for me. I then take back over as he leaves for work and finish the breakfast and get her ready for pre-school. Chris is then usually able to come home a bit earlier from work to spend some time with her at night before bedtime.
Of course, weekends are up for grabs as to whether she’ll have a nap or not. I planned on her having one this past Saturday but she had other plans and we just put her to bed early. Then on Sunday, I figured she’d get by without a nap but after spending time at church and then at my mom’s house, she promptly fell asleep on the way home. Chris brought her in to the house and she slept on the couch for another hour to two hours.
She started another swim class on Thursday nights so I bring her PJ’s and toothbrush so that we can get ready for bed after swim in case she decides to fall asleep on the way home. Another mother saw my ingeniousness and said that it was a good idea. Score one for me! Of course, Makenna stayed awake all the way home. Well, at least I was prepared.
I’ve also confirmed that Makenna really enjoys the company of older men. She always seems to gravitate towards men – whether it be wanting to sit on her uncle’s laps, or talking to them on the phone (asking to talk to grandpa instead of grandma,) or her after-care teacher. After pre-school she goes to drop-in and a couple days a week an older gentleman named “Geo” watches her.
She came home one day with a small stuffed toy and I asked where she got it and she said, “Geo gave it to me.” I assumed Geo was some kid and that she had absconded with this kids toy. So the next day we took it back and I couldn’t figure out who Geo was. So then another day when I picked her up, she said his name and then I realized that the toy had come from the classroom where she had been playing.
Well, twice now this Geo has told me how she doesn’t take any crap from the boys. He told me last week that one of the boys hit her, in the face, and he was going to step in but just as he was about to, Makenna hauled off and hit the kid back – three times! He felt it was appropriate for the kid to see that retaliation was just punishment in this case and then he said he took them both aside and talked to them. Then yesterday, he again told me how she doesn’t let the boys get to her. I was proud of this but also concerned – mostly for her cousin Eli. I think that’s why she has confidence in standing her ground is because she knows she can boss around her cousin, for now, and get away with it so she expects all boys to react this way. When they don’t – I hear about it.
Now on to other news…as you can see by this picture, Makenna helped her dad to mow the lawn. She really enjoyed it but it had to be cut short as one of the ear plugs she had in fell out.
Also, we have a new saying, which I quite like which is, “okay mudder (mother).” I’m not sure why it’s mudder but since the tone is one of acceptance and compliance – I don’t really care to correct her. I’ll take what I can get. “Makenna, time to come brush your teeth.” “Okay mudder.”
It’s better than the drama queen, whining, and yelling that usually occurs. If she falls or feels someone has just slightly touched her, it can turn into a whining free-for-all and that she’s “bleeding” and needs a plaster. Or it can be a yell-fest. She’ll even yell this at herself, or the body part, that has done her wrong. “Ouch finger, that was not nice..say you’re sorry!”
She’s also picked up singing again in the car which I absolutely love. I need to try and get that mini-recorder we had to tape her. What’s being sung and the words she uses are typically two different things and I find it so amusing. For instance, she really likes the song “Rubber Ducky.” Some of her lyrics.. Rubber Ducky when I squeeze you, you make toys (instead of noise), or “in the shovey” (instead of tubby or chubby). There’s other things too but that’s been the latest.
One last thing, more as a word of warning for anyone that calls us. She now knows how to answer the phone and does so often. When she feels the conversation is done, she’ll hang up – regardless of who you really wanted to speak to or if your conversation with her was done or not. The other day, someone called and she answered the phone. Then I heard her say, “oh hi!” as if she knew the person and she proceeded to tell them about how she was going to swim lessons and a few other things. Then she was going to hang up and I was saying, “wait, wait, who is it?” She said, “I don’t know.” I said ask them who it is, “Who is this?” She then told me a name I couldn’t understand and I had to pry the phone from her fingers before she hung up. It turned out to be someone for Chris. On other phone calls she has just hung up before I could get to the phone. I’m hoping one of the times she answers it’s a telemarketer.
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