Hi Blog Friends,
So I've recently learned that three-year-olds make the best friends. My new friend's name is Casey, and she is a brilliant little girl! I am so glad her mom and I became exercise buddies (I like you too, Christi). Casey is 100% fun. I can't help but smile when she calls out "Heidi's here!" because I know more cute memories are ahead. Here are some of the great moments I've shared with Casey thus far:
1. A mini-lecture on the excellence of sidewalks
A few days a week, Christi and I go walking. The kids, as you might expect, ride in strollers. Well, Casey is old enough to realize that the sidewalk provides a much more comfortable experience than the bumpy road. I love listening to Christi explain that if we went on the sidewalk, "We couldn't walk by Heidi." From Casey's puzzled look, I'm not sure she thinks that's a good enough reason, but she is polite enough to let the subject drop after her daily request.
2. Princess book instructions
Until I met Casey, I did not know there was a specific order to reading The Princess Book. There is. Skip Sleeping Beauty, read Belle, then Snow White, and save Ariel-who's-not-wearing-clothes for last.
3. Warnings about what bites and what does not
When we read books with pictures, Casey is kind enough to explain that spiders bite and snakes bite, but butterflies do not bite. "And don't worry, Heidi. If a snake bites, you can go to the hospital. It [the hospital] is for little girls and mommies and daddies."
4. More warnings about what is very nice and what is very mean
Again in the picture books, Casey knows what is very nice and very mean. There is no in between, which is so cute. So far I haven't encountered anything that is "kind of nice" or "kind of mean." Everything is "very" one way or the other.
5. Patient determination to teach me that babies can be quieted with binkies
I often take Amy with me when I go to Casey's house, and when Amy is fussy, Casey is quick to grab Amy's binkie and help Amy chew on it. I think Casey thinks that I'm a bit slow and that I ought to know how to keep Amy quiet by now.
6. That's crazy!
One of the cutest things Casey says is, "That's crazy!" She says it just like an adult would say it, though her idea of crazy is much more adorable than mine. "Crazy" is a popped beach ball stuck in the top of a tree or a picture of a seal on a blank background instead of in the ocean.
7. Being asked to repeat myself
Another thing I love about Casey is that she isn't content to just ignore what she doesn't understand. She actually cares what I say and asks me to repeat things over until she gets it. Obviously that means I have to watch what I'm saying.
8. Listening to Casey ask her mom "Why?"
Some of my favorites from this category are: Why are there iron wheels in front of that building? Why do we have to keep walking? Why don't we talk about the people who push shopping carts?
9. Following Casey's agenda
Every time I see Casey, she knows exactly what we are going to do. She knows which books she wants me to read, which toys she wants to show me, etc. I'm a big fan of agendas. I think Casey and I are soulmates.
10. Getting scolded for trying to skip flaps in Casey's alphabet book
Casey has this amazingly wonderful ABC book that has about 10 pages, but every page is loaded with flaps, making it take half and hour or more to read the entire thing. Sometimes I'll skip a flap or two just to see what happens, and as I reach to turn the page Casey will say, "Wait! We didn't do this one!" and we will read how "'I' is for igloo" and whatever else I skipped. She is a little genius and already knows most of her letters.
So, if you haven't noticed, Casey is an awesome kid, and I learn something new every time I visit her. I'm not sure how long she'll think I'm cool, but it's definitely an honor that she thinks so now.
So I've recently learned that three-year-olds make the best friends. My new friend's name is Casey, and she is a brilliant little girl! I am so glad her mom and I became exercise buddies (I like you too, Christi). Casey is 100% fun. I can't help but smile when she calls out "Heidi's here!" because I know more cute memories are ahead. Here are some of the great moments I've shared with Casey thus far:
1. A mini-lecture on the excellence of sidewalks
A few days a week, Christi and I go walking. The kids, as you might expect, ride in strollers. Well, Casey is old enough to realize that the sidewalk provides a much more comfortable experience than the bumpy road. I love listening to Christi explain that if we went on the sidewalk, "We couldn't walk by Heidi." From Casey's puzzled look, I'm not sure she thinks that's a good enough reason, but she is polite enough to let the subject drop after her daily request.
2. Princess book instructions
Until I met Casey, I did not know there was a specific order to reading The Princess Book. There is. Skip Sleeping Beauty, read Belle, then Snow White, and save Ariel-who's-not-wearing-clothes for last.
3. Warnings about what bites and what does not
When we read books with pictures, Casey is kind enough to explain that spiders bite and snakes bite, but butterflies do not bite. "And don't worry, Heidi. If a snake bites, you can go to the hospital. It [the hospital] is for little girls and mommies and daddies."
4. More warnings about what is very nice and what is very mean
Again in the picture books, Casey knows what is very nice and very mean. There is no in between, which is so cute. So far I haven't encountered anything that is "kind of nice" or "kind of mean." Everything is "very" one way or the other.
5. Patient determination to teach me that babies can be quieted with binkies
I often take Amy with me when I go to Casey's house, and when Amy is fussy, Casey is quick to grab Amy's binkie and help Amy chew on it. I think Casey thinks that I'm a bit slow and that I ought to know how to keep Amy quiet by now.
6. That's crazy!
One of the cutest things Casey says is, "That's crazy!" She says it just like an adult would say it, though her idea of crazy is much more adorable than mine. "Crazy" is a popped beach ball stuck in the top of a tree or a picture of a seal on a blank background instead of in the ocean.
7. Being asked to repeat myself
Another thing I love about Casey is that she isn't content to just ignore what she doesn't understand. She actually cares what I say and asks me to repeat things over until she gets it. Obviously that means I have to watch what I'm saying.
8. Listening to Casey ask her mom "Why?"
Some of my favorites from this category are: Why are there iron wheels in front of that building? Why do we have to keep walking? Why don't we talk about the people who push shopping carts?
9. Following Casey's agenda
Every time I see Casey, she knows exactly what we are going to do. She knows which books she wants me to read, which toys she wants to show me, etc. I'm a big fan of agendas. I think Casey and I are soulmates.
10. Getting scolded for trying to skip flaps in Casey's alphabet book
Casey has this amazingly wonderful ABC book that has about 10 pages, but every page is loaded with flaps, making it take half and hour or more to read the entire thing. Sometimes I'll skip a flap or two just to see what happens, and as I reach to turn the page Casey will say, "Wait! We didn't do this one!" and we will read how "'I' is for igloo" and whatever else I skipped. She is a little genius and already knows most of her letters.
So, if you haven't noticed, Casey is an awesome kid, and I learn something new every time I visit her. I'm not sure how long she'll think I'm cool, but it's definitely an honor that she thinks so now.
I just barely found your blog:)Yay!!
ReplyDeleteI loved this post! :) Clifton and I laughed all the way through it. He tries to skip flaps too (there are 150) without sucess! Hopefully my comment saves this time!!
ReplyDeleteI loved this post, too, and I kept meaning to comment but never did. I wish you could hang out with Miriam so I could see what you had to say about her :).
ReplyDelete