This is where it got fun. She was supposed to go to a friend's birthday party that afternoon, and she started saying, "I don't feel like going to the birthday party anymore!" (sniff). So Plainbellied said, "That's OK. You don't have to go to the party." We both figured she would change her mind and everything would be all right, but we had no idea how funny it would be when she did. About two minutes later, I heard her come out of her room, still crying, but shouting, "But what if they need me, Mummy? What if they need me at the party?" Needless to say, she decided to go, if only to help the mermaids find their treasure (it was a pirate-themed party).
Showing posts with label her nibs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label her nibs. Show all posts
Her Nibs, At It Again
On Saturday, Her Nibs got in trouble. She has learned how to make "designs" on the computer, by which I mean she sits at the computer, types away on a blank word processor document, and calls it a design. Saturday morning, Her Nibs asked us (before we got up) if she could make designs. Plainbellied told her that she had to wait for one of us to go downstairs and supervise. When I got down a little while later, she was sitting at the computer, typing. Of course she got in trouble, compounded by the fact that she lied and told me that Plainbellied had authorized the activity. So I gave her a timeout. When that was over, she was still sad, so she stomped off up the stairs, looking for her mom.
Am I an April Fool?
Today is April Fool's Day. In Spain, the equivalent day is December 28, the 'Día de los Inocentes.' Instead of pranks, people pull 'inocentadas.' My favorite story comes from the 1930s, when a newspaper reported that a particular politician had changed party, even though he hadn't. It took about a week for them to sort things out. Someday I'll think of a great prank, and someone is really going to get it.
Here at our house, we simply had fun painting nails today. These are the lengths to which a father will go to please his favorite (read: only) daughter. Her Nibs really wanted me to color my nails, too, so I agreed to let Plainbellied paint my toes. Well, as you can see from the picture, my hands ended up being included, too. Her Nibs picked all of the colors. Does that make me an April fool?
Her Nibs
Here at our house, we simply had fun painting nails today. These are the lengths to which a father will go to please his favorite (read: only) daughter. Her Nibs really wanted me to color my nails, too, so I agreed to let Plainbellied paint my toes. Well, as you can see from the picture, my hands ended up being included, too. Her Nibs picked all of the colors. Does that make me an April fool?
Me
Her Nibs
Her Nibs Week Continues
Her Nibs has been on a roll this week, so I have to tell another story about her. Tonight, we decided to try a new restaurant nearby. We tend to have dinner relatively early (it's an easier schedule for getting Her Nibs to bed), so we got there around 5:30. After we got settled and ordered our food, an older couple approached us and said, "We'd like to compliment you on your child. She has been so well behaved this whole time. We usually go out to dinner early to avoid the family crowd, but your daughter has been wonderful." After a few moments of trying to get Her Nibs to say hello, they left.
I have to say that I was awestruck by their comments. I'm not writing this to brag about my daughter (though she is wonderful!). In fact, my initial reply was almost, "Just wait around a few minutes, and you'll see what she's capable of." Instead, we simply said thank you and left it at that. It was nice of them to say something, though. Often, we only hear about our kids when they are acting up.
Which leads me to my next anecdote. On the way home, Her Nibs was cranky, and she wanted us to change the song on the CD. I told her, "It's not all about you." Her response? "But it is all about me." Imagine that in a two-year-old's halting voice. All I could do was laugh, which caught her off guard, effectively ending the tantrum.
By the way, Her Nibs is usually an incredibly sweet little girl. The credit for that goes to Plainbellied, who is an incredibly sweet and affectionate mother. I think the patience she learned from dealing with me has paid dividends. :-)
I have to say that I was awestruck by their comments. I'm not writing this to brag about my daughter (though she is wonderful!). In fact, my initial reply was almost, "Just wait around a few minutes, and you'll see what she's capable of." Instead, we simply said thank you and left it at that. It was nice of them to say something, though. Often, we only hear about our kids when they are acting up.
Which leads me to my next anecdote. On the way home, Her Nibs was cranky, and she wanted us to change the song on the CD. I told her, "It's not all about you." Her response? "But it is all about me." Imagine that in a two-year-old's halting voice. All I could do was laugh, which caught her off guard, effectively ending the tantrum.
By the way, Her Nibs is usually an incredibly sweet little girl. The credit for that goes to Plainbellied, who is an incredibly sweet and affectionate mother. I think the patience she learned from dealing with me has paid dividends. :-)
Is the Bed Really That Uncomfortable?
Her Nibs has had a hard time going to bed lately. She has given us grief for the past week or so, and a couple of times it has taken her several hours to go to sleep. In response, we would take the time to put her back in bed, with accompanying timeouts to make the idea stick that she needed to stay in bed. We really only do anything when she comes downstairs. Our guiding principle is that if she's upstairs and quiet, things are all right.
Well, she has changed her habits over the past two nights. Last night, when we went upstairs she was sprawled in the hallway—asleep. She had brought out her pillow and blanket, plus her stuffed pig and water-filled sippy cup. Tonight she did the same thing. It was so adorable, but it's a little disconcerting. We might have to do something about it eventually. But for now, we're just glad she's going to sleep.
One more anecdote: the other day, Her Nibs turned to me and said, "Daddy, you're my best friend ever." It was one of those moments fathers live for.
Well, she has changed her habits over the past two nights. Last night, when we went upstairs she was sprawled in the hallway—asleep. She had brought out her pillow and blanket, plus her stuffed pig and water-filled sippy cup. Tonight she did the same thing. It was so adorable, but it's a little disconcerting. We might have to do something about it eventually. But for now, we're just glad she's going to sleep.
One more anecdote: the other day, Her Nibs turned to me and said, "Daddy, you're my best friend ever." It was one of those moments fathers live for.
Trouble in paradise
I had an experience the other day that I hope will have the effect of preparing me for the inevitable day when Her Nibs becomes a teenager. When she took her bath, it was already past her bedtime, so she needed to finish quickly and get to bed. Well, she doesn't enjoy the part where I have to dump water over her head to get the soap and shampoo off. She took it especially hard this time, and when I asked her to get out of the tub, she freaked out. In a voice I will not soon forget, she said, "I'm not your daughter. I'm mummy's daughter. You don't love me." You can imagine how terrifying it was for me to hear that. I know she's just a little girl and doesn't really understand, but it cut like a knife. After a frank discussion, in which I explained that she IS my daughter and that I love her, she decided that it was all right, and that she loved me, too. Of course, she fell down just before going to bed, so she hated me again, and we had the same conversation again (with the same conclusion).
This is the lesson I've taken from it: I have a healthy relationship with Her Nibs. We can talk about things, and problems can be resolved peacefully (usually). I think it bodes well for the future. However, it also made me realize something: I'm terrified that someday she's going to say she doesn't love me and mean it. I think I'm going to have nightmares about that.
This is the lesson I've taken from it: I have a healthy relationship with Her Nibs. We can talk about things, and problems can be resolved peacefully (usually). I think it bodes well for the future. However, it also made me realize something: I'm terrified that someday she's going to say she doesn't love me and mean it. I think I'm going to have nightmares about that.
I know it's been about a week, but. . .
I haven't been blogging much lately because I'm pretty consumed with trying to finish a draft of my dissertation. It needs to go to the editorial office for review in a week, and I've still got to finish one chapter, revise the introduction, and add some sort of conclusion. My coverage is going to be spotty for a little while.
Having said that, Her Nibs did some very funny things this morning. I'm back on a daytime schedule, so when she comes into our room in the morning, I'm there to play a little bit. This morning, while Plainbellied got ready, Her Nibs and I played on the bed. Not long ago the big game was "Got Your Face." Well, this morning, she decided that I was her pet. I was sitting on the edge of the bed, and she said, "Are you ready to fall over, my big pet?" Then she pushed me down and told me, "Now you say, 'woof woof.'" Apparently I was her dog. I thought it was funny.
Then I taught her how to have a pillow-fight, and we all hit each other with pillows for a few minutes. It was a pretty fun morning.
Having said that, Her Nibs did some very funny things this morning. I'm back on a daytime schedule, so when she comes into our room in the morning, I'm there to play a little bit. This morning, while Plainbellied got ready, Her Nibs and I played on the bed. Not long ago the big game was "Got Your Face." Well, this morning, she decided that I was her pet. I was sitting on the edge of the bed, and she said, "Are you ready to fall over, my big pet?" Then she pushed me down and told me, "Now you say, 'woof woof.'" Apparently I was her dog. I thought it was funny.
Then I taught her how to have a pillow-fight, and we all hit each other with pillows for a few minutes. It was a pretty fun morning.
Superman
Last week, I watched the first two Superman movies. It was really exciting for me because I hadn't watched them for many years, and the first movie has been made into a special edition. Her Nibs, a huge fan of the Incredibles, loved them. I was incredibly surprised that she kept up with what was going on. Even when Superman loses his powers in the second movie, she knew what was going on.
Personally, I'm interested to see Superman 3, which is coming today from Netflix. You see, the man who directed the first movie and much of the second, Richard Donner, got fired before he could finish, and Richard Lester took over. Donner's stuff is much better than Lester's and Lester did the entire third movie himself. I saw this movie years ago, but I'm thinking that Richard Pryor just won't be a good villain. The fourth movie will be the real test of my will. I've never seen it, and by all accounts it is terrible. It's coming next week, and I may not get through it. I may need to watch the Richard Donner Cut of Superman II to excise all memory of 3 and 4 from my mind.
I didn't bother to see the new Superman movie because the ads made it seem lame. The whole Lois Lane has a kid angle put me off. I will give it some credit: they pretended as though Superman 3 and 4 had never happened. It's kind of like an unsuccessful Batman Begins, I think. Batman Begins completely reinvented the Batman saga, and I am really excited to see the next film. As for Superman, I think his day is past.
Personally, the only film series I think have successfully gone past two movies are Star Wars (not counting the new three), James Bond, maybe Lord of the Rings, and Rocky. Indiana Jones doesn't count because the second movie was so terrible. And don't laugh at me for including Rocky. Rocky 3 and 4 were awesome. I mean, they have some of the best movie quotes of all time in them. Then Rocky 5 happened. I don't know what they were thinking.
Maybe we should institute the term limits ban on movies.
Personally, I'm interested to see Superman 3, which is coming today from Netflix. You see, the man who directed the first movie and much of the second, Richard Donner, got fired before he could finish, and Richard Lester took over. Donner's stuff is much better than Lester's and Lester did the entire third movie himself. I saw this movie years ago, but I'm thinking that Richard Pryor just won't be a good villain. The fourth movie will be the real test of my will. I've never seen it, and by all accounts it is terrible. It's coming next week, and I may not get through it. I may need to watch the Richard Donner Cut of Superman II to excise all memory of 3 and 4 from my mind.
I didn't bother to see the new Superman movie because the ads made it seem lame. The whole Lois Lane has a kid angle put me off. I will give it some credit: they pretended as though Superman 3 and 4 had never happened. It's kind of like an unsuccessful Batman Begins, I think. Batman Begins completely reinvented the Batman saga, and I am really excited to see the next film. As for Superman, I think his day is past.
Personally, the only film series I think have successfully gone past two movies are Star Wars (not counting the new three), James Bond, maybe Lord of the Rings, and Rocky. Indiana Jones doesn't count because the second movie was so terrible. And don't laugh at me for including Rocky. Rocky 3 and 4 were awesome. I mean, they have some of the best movie quotes of all time in them. Then Rocky 5 happened. I don't know what they were thinking.
Maybe we should institute the term limits ban on movies.
Her Nibs
Two stories about Her Nibs (I've decided to call my daughter Her Nibs from now on--my mother coined the term):
Her Nibs has a great imagination. This afternoon, she wanted to sing one of the songs she learned in church, and she told me, "I'll sing and you cry." I was really confused, but she insisted that I cry. I faked some sobbing sounds, and she started to sing. When she finished the song, we switched. I sang while she "cried." After that round, she said, "Let's sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star so we don't have to cry." I have no idea where any of this came from. Our church services are pretty standard, and crying isn't exactly the norm.
The other morning, she was a grump, so I did something I got from my father. I poked her in the belly and said, "There's a smile in there somewhere" in a goofy voice. My dad used to do that to us all the time, and somehow it worked. It worked on Her Nibs, too. She started to smile pretty quickly. Now, for it to really work, you need to keep doing it until the "victim" starts to laugh. But after a few pokes, she pulled up her shirt and said, "That's not a smile. That's a belly button." Guess which one of us started laughing first?
Her Nibs has a great imagination. This afternoon, she wanted to sing one of the songs she learned in church, and she told me, "I'll sing and you cry." I was really confused, but she insisted that I cry. I faked some sobbing sounds, and she started to sing. When she finished the song, we switched. I sang while she "cried." After that round, she said, "Let's sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star so we don't have to cry." I have no idea where any of this came from. Our church services are pretty standard, and crying isn't exactly the norm.
The other morning, she was a grump, so I did something I got from my father. I poked her in the belly and said, "There's a smile in there somewhere" in a goofy voice. My dad used to do that to us all the time, and somehow it worked. It worked on Her Nibs, too. She started to smile pretty quickly. Now, for it to really work, you need to keep doing it until the "victim" starts to laugh. But after a few pokes, she pulled up her shirt and said, "That's not a smile. That's a belly button." Guess which one of us started laughing first?
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