Curie May 2014. The other day, we realized that Curie was no longer a toddler but a little girl (just as Elia is no longer an infant, but a baby and in another blink she will be a toddler herself). At a cookout the other day, a little girl spilled her bubbles, and though the other kids didn’t notice, Curie –unprompted, mind you, poured half of her bubbles into the little girl’s bottle so that she would also have some. We didn’t even witness it, some parents came to tell Erin. Apparently at that party, Curie also helped a little girl that the others ignored after she fell. Child care is doing a great job.
In another instance, Elia had gotten sick, Curie actually gave it to her, and when Erin’s father came to visit and he took Curie for some ice cream, Curie unprompted asked if Elia was all right, and wanted to make sure she brought Albert some apple juice. How she is so considerate, we should just appreciate that she is. She isn’t all a bed of roses though, she has gotten whiny in her twos (especially when she is sick) whenever she wants something or doesn’t want something and while it is normal, it is no less frustrating.
On a different milestone, she has gotten into the “whys?” And more recently into the “why not?” But it is not what we think of when someone says “why not?” Instead, she has put it together logically, the “not” is the negative for the “why,” it isn’t “why shouldn’t I?” Rather, “why is it not?,” literally. She also logically says “I will,” when you ask her not to do something. It means “yes, I will not do what you asked me not to do.” Edit: “why not?” is just why when she doesn’t agree.
She has been saying a lot of precocious things recently, if you say “excuse me Curie, she will say “oh sorry, I forgot.” When Albert pointed out some bikes during Rolling Thunder, her response was, “those are motorcycles, Dada (yes, on occasion she calls Albert “Dada” because once she heard that he liked it. Her personality is really developing and not just in precocious ways: she screams “SAND!” As if it were the most terrible thing in the world when she finds it in her shoes, and she has a fantastic sense of humor with great timing especially repeating Albert’s story time faux-faux pas. “Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss,” becomes “Three legs of ham and orange juice,” from Albert, and without prompting later she will repeat it with the right timing to make everyone laugh. And of course there is the Lion Cow incident.
Curie is learning her letters, exerting her personality, insisting on cutting things with her plastic knife – it is weird to hear a two-and-a-half year old say “wait, let me get my knife.” Potty training is on hold, but she doesn’t seem fazed other than being a little embarrassed when she has pooped. Erin’s parents visited, Curie played with her “best friend Bella (the Hoaglands), Quintin broke her arm (“why?”), Albert went to Denver for a Board meeting. and we discovered a new conveyor belt sushi place to replace the one that closed. Life is pretty good.
Okay, so this part of the blog is premature since it is happening while writing this (late) on vacation in Ottawa in June. Curie knows when Albert is not in bed, and in our hotel room with the single bed and crib, she will not sleep comfortably unless Albert is back in bed. She normally sleeps holding Erin, but in the last couple of days she has held Albert’s arm, and is resting her head on his shoulder right now. There is so much to do these days, work is stressful and can be consuming if you let it. Clearing your head for your children is difficult but really necessary – and if you don’t, it is not the risk of losing your temper that matters, it is more simple than that – you may not see the signs that they need you and you won’t take the five, or twenty, or fifty minutes to play with the paper ball and make up a game, or count eggs together, or hear – “Daddy (or Mommy), this is fun with you!” You may simply miss, the chance to be with your children while they are still children. Priorities right? So though, Albert has work to do tonight during vacation, Curie is on his arm snuggled asleep and he is going to let the computer battery run out instead of getting up to charge it – after all, how many nights will be like this again?
Edit: When Curie asks “why not?” She still means “why?” She uses them interchangeably.