Little Coach

Lola's independent swim classes have been going 100 times better than I could have ever dreamed. As of today, she's only had two lessons total, but at none of them has she thrown a tantrum or begged to get out of the pool like she did for the 10 months that we participated in the Parent-and-Tot class.

In fact, at one lesson, I even caught her smiling at her coach. She didn't let her coach see her smile, but she also didn't spend 30 minutes glaring at her.

SUCCESS!

Overall, her demeanor has been pleasant, and generally cooperative.  It just goes to show that I should have quit Parent-and-Tot a long time ago because its now clear that she does much better when I'm out of the pool. Remind me of this when I volunteer to be her rec league soccer coach.

Back to the swim class.
One of the techniques that she is working on is floating on her back. Lola HATES the back float. Whenever her coach tries to hold her on her back, Lola usually squirm and gets super stiff, and refuses to relax and lay her head back on her coach's shoulder. Her coach will say, "Trust me" about 15 times and then on time number 16, Lola will try to lay her head back and look at the ceiling.

Lola might have some control issues, no?

Anyway, all issues aside, last week after her swim class, we were at home and Lola and Elliott were playing in the fire engine that Josh constructed out of a shipping box. The kids were being very quiet, and when we peeked into the hallway to see what they were doing, we saw this

and Lola said, "I told Elliott to 'Trust me!'"

Another Round of Lola-isms.

New phrases that she loves to say, but struggles to find the appropriate context.

"That is disgusting."
"You look terrible."
"Seriously."
"That is so strangely." 
"I look fantastic!"

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New words that you really need to hear her say to appreciate them, but I have been unable to catch on video:
 
Abominable snowman.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

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Every time Lola takes a poop, she likes to tell me what she believes it looks like. Oftentimes, she'll say, "a whale" or "a penguin."  Today, she looked at me, pointed to her potty and said, "Mama, it looks like a crap!" "What?" I asked, "Does it look like a crab?" (I tried to enunciate on the "b.") Looking at me very seriously, she said, "No. Not a crab. It looks like a crap."

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She takes her Fisher-Price medical kit out, and hands the stethoscope to Josh. "Daddy," she says, "You are Dr. Seuss."

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Wearing her Buzz LightYear  Pajamas, she turns to Elliott who is upset.
"It's alright," she says, "I'm a space ranger. I'll save you."

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After reading a book that talks about the distance between Earth and the moon, she says, "I want to move to Mars." I try to explain to her that we can't move to Mars because there isn't enough oxygen, water, etc. Finally, I tell her, "We can't move to Mars because there isn't any hot chocolate on Mars."  She replies, "But, it has coffee!"

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She has convinced all of the kids in the daycare at the gym that there is a monster hiding outside the gym window. When I stop by to pick her up, I see her corralling all of the kids under the play structure while saying, "We have to hide from the monster!"

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I asked Lola who was her best friend. She said, "Zander." Pause. "Auntie LouLou." Long pause. "Dobby."
"Dobby?" I asked, as this is Maria's dog.
"Yes," she said. "I love dogs!"

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Lola: "I want to get married."
Me: "You want to do what?"
Lola: "I want a wedding cake."
Me, laughing.
Lola: "Can you marry Daddy again, so I can have a wedding cake?"

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Lola's tinker toy town

Fairytale Kids

While Chee Chew and Elliott were here, we visited Fairytale Town. Elliott watered the garden.

 Lola sat on a giant turtle.

Elliott in Sherwood Forest.

 Lola and Josh outside the barn.

 Lola and Elliott inside the Little Engine that Could.

Formerly known as Domesticated Wild Animals

This past weekend, Lola's Aunt Chee Chew and cousin Elliott came into town. Everyone had a wonderful time. On Saturday, we visited the local animal sanctuary so the kids could, in Lola's words, "Look at the peacocks."

They did see numerous peacocks, although most of their time was spent racing from one exhibit to the next.

A more accurate description would be that Elliott maintained a constant baby jog, while the rest of us sprinted after him.  

 We occasionally slowed down enough, so I could snap a few photos. Here is Lola with her turtle backpack, which has essentially replaced the diaper bag. (I make the kid carry her own water bottle, hand sanitizer, and extra underwear, which sounds mean, but I'm really just trying to instill some self-responsibility, or I'm being lazy, whatev.)

Elliott with Chee Chew. (He might be smiling, but his arm says it all.)

Snack time: the only time they would both sit down.

Next to the animal sanctuary is a great city park. Lola loves the ponies.

It's going to be 76 degrees today.

It might not be winter weather, but that's okay because there is t-ball to be played.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lola Jane.

For weeks, I agonized over what to do for Lola's birthday. Should I throw a big party at our home? Should we go sledding in Tahoe? Should we drive out to SF and see friends? Given that her birthday is in February, and that our winter weather has been completely unpredictable this year (no snow in Tahoe and yet it rained on her birthday), I opted for a small gathering. 

On the morning of her birthday, she woke up to see her birthday crown that I had, once again, stayed up late the night before to handcraft for my birthday girl. You would think, given that this is the 3rd crown I've bejeweled, that I would have remembered to do it in advance. Nope.

Lola loved it.

 

She wore it as she ate her banana pancake breakfast. And, she enjoyed the birthday cake candle warm-up.

After breakfast Josh, Lola, and Auntie Andy (who was in town to visit), took off to meet Josh and Lola's daddy-playgroup pals at the library for story time. I stayed at home to prep for lunch. 

I made all of Lola's favorite foods:

Homemade Hummus

Trader Joe's Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Sauce

Roasted Broccoli

and of course, Birthday Cake with Ice Cream

 

Lola loved her birthday cake, but had a little trouble with the candles.

Lola had a wonderful day. She was, and is, a happy girl.

Let's Slow That Clock Down

Last week, we celebrated Lola's birthday.

It was a whirlwind which turned into a busy couple of days and a nonstop weekend, and now here I am, nine days later, finally finding the time to sit down and write a little bit about it.

I can't believe she is three years old.

I mean, I can.
I have been awake for probably 70% of it. Maybe more. But still, in my chronic sleep deprived (yet highly functional state), it is just hard to believe that three years has passed since her birth.

This past year, like the ones before it, has been one of many transitions. The clingy, nursing, crib-sleeping, diaper-wearing, sippy cup yielding toddler has been replaced by a little girl who tonight was rocked to sleep with a story of a duck riding a bike, while she wore her Hello Kitty underwear and snuggled Mr. Bun Bun in her "big girl" bed.

While her strong spirit has always been fiercely independent at home, she has started to feel more comfortable in the world and occasionally, she detaches herself from my hip and interacts with other pint-size kids. The relief this has provided me is immense. On occasion, she will even request to go to the gym or the grocery store, just so she can participate in the daycare services those places provide.

This weekend will mark the start of another transition as she has her first independent swim lesson. Lola and I have had many discussions regarding how her lesson on Saturday will be different from the usual parent-and-tot class we take together. At the end of these conversations, she always quick to remind me that in exchange for her cooperation (i.e., getting the pool by herself), I have promised a lollipop.

Her ability to remember things, even the tiniest of details, always surprises me. I know that it shouldn't, but it does. Her curiosity, her ability to absorb information and process it in a way so she can understand the world, her need to slow down and just observe. I feel as those these things are uniquely Lola, while simultaneously knowing that they are part of this new age.

Tonight, when we left the gym, she asked if we could pause our walk to look up at the night sky. She likes to look at the stars, search for an airplane, and tell me that she is going to catch the moon.  So we stood there in the cold, bundled in our coats, holding hands on the sidewalk, and stared at the blackness above us.

She is a wonder.
She is 3 years old.