So Fiona has this lavendar blanket that I got at Pottery Barn Kids that she loves because it is very soft. She likes soft things. She likes to rub this blanket over her naked body (oh, the hits I will get on that one) and "soft herself." This morning, as soon as she got up, she pulled off her pajama bottoms and took off her wet pullup and threw it in the garbage can. (I think she thinks it makes up for the fact that she is still wearing pullups at night, while her sister Clare is not if she takes the pullup off and throws it away by herself; she does it in a very "growup" way.) Then she started to take her pajama top off, and I told her to leave it on because she would be too cold in our drafty house with nothing on. "But mommy," she said, "I need to soft myself, and then I will be warm." So she took off her pajama top and wrapped herself in her blanket. Then I asked her if she wanted to get in bed with me, and we could "pretend" we were sleeping. I was desperate for another 10 minutes. She readily agreed, and hopped into my bed wrapped in her lavendar blanket.
We were lying there for a few minutes, and she said "mom, do you know how much I love you?" I said "no, how much?" She struggled for the right words, but couldn't find them, so I said "a lot?" She nodded happily. I said "Fiona, do you know how much I love you?" She said "how much?" I said "I love you as big as the sky, and all the clouds and birds in the sky." She said "mom, I love what you just said." (Melt.)
Then she said "mom, I'm done sleeping, but you can have my blanket to soft yourself, because I'm already warm" and she slipped out from under her blanket and hopped down from the bed all naked and delicious.
When her sister Clare got up, she came in and asked for her daddy, who was downstairs working. She said "I have to go potty." I said "well, I can help you, too, you know." (My husband is the potty police, and gets her on the potty the minute she wakes up every morning. I think she thought I wouldn't know what to do.) So we went into her bathroom, but she wanted to do everything herself. So she pulled down her pajamas over her tiny skinny legs and her itty-bitty butt. She was having a little trouble, but did not want me to help her. She pulled her step stool over so she could climb up, and put her little potty seat on the toilet, and then wiped and flushed when she was done. All by herself with no help from me at all.
Then I thought my son was sleeping in, because he always comes in our room as soon as he gets up, so I went into his room to kiss him awake, but he was already up, sitting in a chair, "reading" a comic book, all lost in thought.
I guess every single day, they grow just that little bit more independent, until one day they will be walking out the door, and we will be left wondering how all those little tiny moments of doing it themselves added up to this grownup person walking away. Well, if everything goes right, that is how it will happen. I just wish I could freeze mornings like today forever.
Oh this is so cute!! Wonderful post, but yes, I agree your googles are going to be unfortunate.
Posted by: Aurelia | March 23, 2007 at 03:27 PM