San draws Mommy

Mommy, I wanna make you.
Okay.
Stand here. Keep looking at me. *San adjusts her doodle and herself*
Okay.
Hmm, a big circle... *San draws a circle for my face*
San, this is a very big circle for my face. Make it smaller, please!
No, Mommy. You have a big face.
Oh, okay. *Mommy is embarrassed*
Big eyes... big eyebrows... and a smiley face!
*Mommy smiles at the first good thing about her face.*
And big sharp teeth! *San draws big hanging triangular teeth*
What? Do I have big sharp teeth, San? *Mommy pretends to cry* I look scary!
It's okay, Mommy. It's just a drawing. I can erase it. Don't cry! *San erases the drawing*
Why don't you draw something else?
A Giraffe?
Yes, just like the one in that picture. *Mommy points to a giraffe's picture on the wall*
Okay, Mommy!
He's so cute, San.
Yes! And it has a big neck, just like you!
*Mommy vanishes*

I wish I had the great Mommy picture to show you, but San erased it for my sake. :D

I, Me, Mine

San licked off the last hint of food from her plate and then looked at her tummy. Then looked at herself, top to bottom. "I'm not growing, Mommy!", she said.

I wanted to tell her how much she has grown. From that cute little shy one to another cute little occasionally-shy one, who is also a meanie at times. Here I go again! So what do kids understand about being mean?

"You're my mean little girl who doesn't share, right?"
"NO!"
"Are you my good little girl?"
*Nods a Big Yes*
"Will you share your toys with Sam, then?"
"NO!"
*Sigh*

And when Sam doesn't share her toys with her, San complains to her Mommy.
"Look Auntie, Sam is not sharing her book with me!"
Yes, baby! You're the one who has perfected the art of sharing in this big, mean world.
Oh BTW, Sam and San are best friends! We call them 'The Inseparables'. :o)

Why, anyway, am I being so sarcastic? San knows nothing about being mean.

I call it the 'I, Me, Mine' phase. And that is all I can do; wait and let the phase pass, like the other phases did. Will it? I'm not sure. Aren't we all a bit of the 'I, Me, Mine' type?

===

We recently shifted to a new apartment, and now, San has a brand new little room, all for herself. Papa dear and I are keenly looking for a simple, sweet theme to use in her room. Exciting days ahead! :D And San proudly sleeps in her room, all by herself, waking up only to address the nature's call at night. Yay!

===

I proudly present San's first 'a-typical-scenery' drawing, complete with sky, sun, birds, trees, pond, and Papa dear walking on grass... tada!

Moody blues

What is it with the unpredictable nature of kids, I wonder.

San, who seemed 'over friendly' at one point, abruptly went into her shell at a recent birthday party. Kids were posing for the camera with their best toothy grins and San just didn't want to show hers. She just stood there with a constipated pose. And I stood there, staring at her, wondering what happened to my butterfly. Even as the kids were running around a table, San looked different from all - she looked conscious. It seemed that she doesn't like it when people look at her while she's having fun. So what we end up seeing is not the real San.

Additionally, since a couple of days, she's very reluctant to enter her classroom in school. She actually cries and hugs me tight, not wanting to let me go. All's well in the morning, when she wakes up chanting 'I wanna go to school', and talking about what she's gonna make for me today. She's fine when she enters school. But she switches off when she's about to enter her classroom. And let me tell you that she adores everything and everyone there. I've tried to talk to her about it, given her surprises when she promised that she'd not cry, but nothing seemed to work much. The best part is that it's only a five-minute tantrum/behavior and she goes back to her happy self later. But those five minutes happily ruin my good morning mood. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better morning!

These little things happen all the time. Change in moods, behavior, etc. But, do the mood swings happen for a reason, always? I have no clue. Because each time I try to find a reason behind San's abruptly-changed behavior, I fail. I'm not over her 'scared avatar' yet, and I've also started thinking about her ever-changing behavior. Is this normal? Of course, it is!

All I need right now is a refill of patience and some advice on 'how to get your child to tell you the real thing, not stories'.

Scary something, Scared San

Nights aren't so happy for us since two days cuz' San keeps waking up every now and then, crying and scared. Yesterday night, she woke up with a start, came to me, hugged me tight, and slept with me that way. I wonder if it is her dreams. Or maybe she saw something scary on TV. I don't think so, cuz' we don't let her watch any such stuff. So, no clue! Today morning, I asked her about it.

San, what scares you at night?
It's the scary thing.
What thing?
That thing! (pointing towards the blinds on the patio door)
What? Where?
See, the scary thing is going out, and it'll come back again!
I don't see anything, San. What is it??
Scary, Mommy.
San, Mom and Dad are there to protect you.
But where are the angels? You said that they'll come to protect me!
They come at night when you're asleep.
But I didn't see them, Mommy!
Cuz' you were sleeping, San.
Okay.

I wonder what/who is bothering her at night! I wish I could find out.