Today, to celebrate this wonderful weather, I took the girls to a local park. I did some walking on a path with one in the bjorn and the other in the stroller. When we made it to the playground area, Lydia hopped out of the stroller and made a bee-line for the equipment. She alternates between doing her own thing and copying what other kids are doing. She also can't resist a baby. Twice today she saw babies and went right up to them to say hi and pat their heads or hands. She has had the "be gentle" talk for weeks now, and both the mommy and grandma were very gracious about her attention to their little ones. Still, I realize some parents do not want another child right in the face of their baby. I had to coax her away each time.
Over lunch when we got home she was recounting the things she had done at the playground. There is some thing there that kids can spin around on and regarding it she said, " I spinning on dat. I be very busy!". (Busy is Lydia's word for dizzy.)
Before her downtime, I was reading from her new favorite story "We Help Mommy." (It is a classic Golden Book story by Eloise Wilkins.) There is a part where the little girl helps her mommy make something with dough and she has to roll and pat it. Lydia and I talked about how she has sometimes helped me make something in the kitchen. She looked at the book and then back to me and said, "Like pizza, Mom!". I was impressed she made that connection about rolling out dough since the picture was of a pie, I think. The very next thing out of her mouth was, "Auntie Liz can't have cheese". Wow! And she is right. The last time I made pizzas, Lydia was helping and I explained how we had to be careful to leave some of the pizza without any cheese because Auntie Liz can't eat cheese. She has a great memory. Little instances like this remind Ben and me that we need to encourage her in developing that memory -- as in memorizing short Bible verses or the questions/answers she is s l o w l y learning in the catechism.
A week or so ago she touched the wheel on the car tire right after we had gotten out. Of course it was very hot and she really hurt her fingers. After kissing her hand and wiping the tears I reminded her of the importance of obedience. (She had been told before not to touch the car tires.) I told her that sometimes when she did not obey mommy and daddy she could get hurt like this. It made an impression because she kept bringing up that instance all day and for many days afterwards. How I wish other things for which she is disciplined would remain so clear in her mind!
On a much more comical note, Lydia proclaimed during church last night (at a vocal level those sitting nearby could not have missed), "Mom! I'm poopin'!". Ahhh the joys of potty training.