Fireflies, Frogs, and Drive-Ins

Maliana ~

You were tired and thus very ornery on Monday for speech. When Ms. Ashley brought you back into the room to me she asked, “Have you seen the robot?” Evidently, you were trying everything you could to get out of practicing speech, including dancing like a robot. Goofball.

Once we got home, you fell fast asleep on the couch for a bit, and then curled up on my chest for nearly 2 hours. You sleep better when you’re with me, so I just sat with you and even walked around some, trying to do things around the house while you slept in my arms. No easy feat with a 3 foot tall, almost 30 pound kiddo. But the heat from your little hands on my arms, the cuddles and snuggles, and yes, even the dripping drool on my arm made it all worth any discomfort I may have felt. I’ll take what I can get and be grateful for it.

Once you were up you felt much better. You played outside for a while, and after running inside you opened the fridge, climbed up onto the shelves, and had lugged down the milk jug all by yourself. Thank God it was only half full! The triumphant look on your face as you stood there in the open fridge with the gallon jug in your hands was priceless. I helped you pour some milk and you chugged it down, fast. I know if you could have, you would have drank it straight from the carton…Daddy said, “That’s a classic summer move right there.”

Before bed you decided you wanted to try on a hula girl outfit we have had for a while, ever since our Hawaiian vacation. You were so proud of yourself in it, remembering Mom and Aunt Tina dressed as hula girls in the “muddy run” as you call it. I think you have a goal for next year's race. When I sent a picture of you as “hula girl” to Aunt Tina and Uncle Joe, Joe replied back something along the lines of, “We have to remember we inspire our kids as much as they inspire us.” While I probably don’t always provide the best examples or inspirations for you, I’m pleased with this one.

Hawaiian princess or Warrior Dasher?

The middle of the week had a slight rough patch. Daddy had a bad day at work, which in turn caused me to be pretty distracted on one day in particular. You are such an intuitive and outspoken kid, that you immediately observed, “Mom, you look mad.” I explained that I just had a lot on my mind, but unfortunately remained pretty distracted all evening. Before bedtime, in an attempt to make it up to you, Daddy and I took you for a moonlight walk before bed. Just what we all needed.

The next morning Daddy headed to New York, a quick one-night trip to the Big Apple. You had a tough time when he dropped you off at school, lots of clinging and tears. Daddy felt awful and the teachers actually had to help comfort you so Daddy could leave for work. The last thing Daddy saw was your contorted crying face and it completely broke his heart. However, what he didn’t see was that you were fine about a minute later, distracted by making pickles with your class. I’d say it was definitely harder on Daddy than it was on you. Poor guy.

Lao Lao came over to help me with the school drop while Daddy was out of town. She spent the night with us and since you love your evening walks so much, we bundled a ton of blankets and a pillow into the wagon and took you on another long walk just before sunset. You may have been a tired grump for much of the day, but were nothing but happy once Lao Lao got there.

your mobile bed was cozy!

The next day we got to see Audrey Ayi who finally finished her last exam at OSU for the quarter. Yay! We spent some time together and then it was time for me to go to my book club. I took you over to Lali’s so she could babysit and it was another tearful departure. I felt awful, but once again you stopped crying after about a minute. Ms. Jenny (Lali’s mom) even said, “You know Mali, I’d feel a lot sorrier for you if I didn’t know that you have a blast every time you come over.” And sure enough, I came home a couple hours later to find you playing outside with all of the neighborhood kids, where we all remained until dark, playing ball or hide and seek and having a great time. We even had our first major lightening bug hunt right at dark, and to continue the fun, you and I changed into our jammies and kept on going well after dark. Since Daddy was arriving home from New York soon, there was no sense in slipping you into bed without seeing him another night. We walked up and down the sidewalk, tiptoed into neighbors’ yards, with you shuffling in your Christmas footie jammies, telling me about your “light up eyes” (evidently these help you see better in the dark), carrying a pickle jar and loudly whispering for me to “BE QUIET!” And when it was finally time for Daddy to get home, we walked up to the corner and copped a squat on the sidewalk so we’d see him drive past. I’m sure it was a surprising sight for Daddy’s headlights to spotlight the two of us sitting on the sidewalk, dressed in our pajamas, holding a pickle jar with one of the biggest lightening bugs I have ever seen, and grinning like Cheshire cats. I’m sure our neighbors thought we were nuts, but you had fun and I know it made Daddy smile. A definite memory maker.

I'm excited about our firefly and you're...gangsta?

Friday morning, Daddy surprised you with a bonus day at home with him. He was working from home that night so you got to spend the whole day together instead of going to school. You insisted on wearing your Christmas jammies, even to breakfast at Gena’s and to run errands. Not sure why the sudden obsession with these particular PJ’s, but oh well.

When I got home, it was nearly time for Daddy to begin work. So, after putting together a puzzle of the United States (you’re doing pretty remarkable with learning your geography), I plunked you into the tub (where I made a concoction of shaving cream and food coloring that you had a ball with)...

shaving cream sweater

and then whisked you (in your Christmas jammies again) out to Lao Lao’s. We wanted to spend some time on her farm and catch more lightening bugs since she has a TON more out there in the country than we do in the city. We played with her cat, fed her deer, saw her fox, and of course caught lightening bugs, but I think the highlight of your night was listening to the bullfrogs talking across the pond. Every time we’d hear them croak, you’d get this silly look on your face. It was cracking us up.

the pond with all of the bullfrogs

searching for fireflies with Lao Lao, both
of you in your jammies

On Saturday we initially headed to the Rose Festival at the Park of Roses, but ended up at the playground instead. We met our friends, Pam, Brian, and their little boy Jack and since you kids had spotted the playground right away, it definitely trumped seeing a bunch of roses for you guys. So we scrapped the festival and grabbed some lunch, then sat under the shade at the playground while you and Jack worked hard getting good and dirty playing in the sand. A nice afternoon spent with good friends we hadn’t seen in a while, but that we can pick up with right where we left off. The best kind.

with Jack

teamwork

tire swing!

You napped on the way home, and then briefly played outside with our neighbors in the sprinkler, “washing” my car with your buddy Brooklyn. It was so hot and the water felt amazing and helped get at least the first layer of grime off of you from the playground earlier.

aggghh! the sprinkler got you!

it's tough to clean windows when you're short

We hurried inside, off to our next set of adventures of the evening. Baths (or showers) for all of us, then readying you for an excursion with Wai Gong, Memaw Lisa, and Uncle Blaize to go to your first drive-in movie and sleep over at their house. While you finished up your bath, I finished getting ready for Daddy and I’s rare opportunity for a date. You are always so full of compliments, pleases and thank you’s. When I was putting the finishing touches on myself you said, “I like your pretty dress” and then, “Aww, I need my camera. I need to take a picture of you!” You are too sweet kiddo.

Wai Gong and Co. arrived at the house and you were STOKED to get going. If you had any reservations about not wanting to part ways with Daddy or me the rest of the week, you had no issues with saying “See you later!” that night. You headed out and watched Madagascar 3, as well as Men In Black 3, making it through all except the last ten minutes of the double feature (nearly 1am)! Let me just say that when you want to stay awake, you fight sleep with a warrior mentality. You all had a great time together, and they made special mention of how appreciative you are with your countless thank you’s. They also said how nice it was to get to spend this one on one time with you, and how silly you are. See for yourself in the pictures below…I think it’s quite obvious you had a good time.

I posted this picture on Facebook, and I just have to
share a comment from a friend of mine:
"Theresa, your kid is frickin adorable. I just realized that every time I'm
 scrolling the newsfeed and I go past one of her pics,
I get a little smile inside. She looks super happy, too."
(Mali, you make so many people smile without even trying)

On Sunday, Daddy and I took you to meet some friends at their pool. While this didn’t quite pan out, for reasons I will explain in a minute, we still had a really good time…eventually. Before we even left for the pool, I kept asking you to get your bathing suit on. I heard you sigh and mutter to yourself under your breath, “You are a drama queen”, and when I asked, “What did you just say?” you repeated, “I said, ‘You are a drama queen’!” I couldn’t help but laugh, but the real funny part of it all is the rest of the story below…I think you just might be psychic.

Basically, what happened was that we arrived at the pool about an hour or so after our friends had gotten there. Unbeknownst to us at right about the same time, someone had decided to puke on the side of the pool. We had just paid a hefty admission and were finding our way to a space to lay our towels, as our friend told us how tired and hungry her little one was, when they made the announcement that the pool was going to be closed for at least an hour to take care of the “biohazard” that had just occurred. When we all heard this, our friend decided that since her little was tired and hungry, and now expected to not go back in the water again for at least an hour (in sweltering heat), that she was just going to pack it up and go home. We thought that sounded like a good idea too so I went to the office and attempted to get our money back, but was told that all they could give me was a rain check. To put it mildly, I was beyond livid. I took the rain check and went back to our towel. After fuming for a while to Daddy, (and hoping that you only heard a fraction of what I was venting), we decided to wait it out and see what happened. With nothing much to do for an hour, and all of us feeling hotter by the minute, I gave up any hope of maintaining adequate nutrition, pulled out all of our cash, and we gorged ourselves on popsicles to keep both our tempers and our bodies cool while we waited. Luckily, with so many people leaving, we were able to snag three beach chairs and find a small patch of shade. With my irritation subsiding, helped tremendously by Choco-Tacos and Sponge-Bob treats, I was able to relax enough to realize what a trooper you were being about the whole thing. In spite of being hot, tired, and surrounded by pools that you weren’t allowed to get in yet, you were still in great spirits, enjoying the moment for what it was. And of course a big shout out to the inventors of ice cream treats…it’s amazing what popsicles can fix, regardless of your age.

just one of the menagerie of popsicles we ate

all suited up and patiently waiting

trying to distract me from blowing up your innertube

After a little over an hour, they let us all back in the pool and we ended up having a really nice time. We made multiple trips around the lazy river, with you alternating between your arm floaties and your inner tube. We played games you made up of “line leader” and “monster” over and over again, with you taunting us with “Nee Nee Ba Loo Loo!” as you kicked and squealed and squirmed in the water. Just before we left, you even wanted to take off your floaties and attempt to swim on your own (in shallower water of course) and even went under (pretty much of your own accord) twice! It’s definitely a good start and I love seeing you playing and getting more comfortable in the water. It’s all part of working up to learning to swim. Since we decided to forego formal swimming lessons this summer, it’s definitely nice to see you willing to work on all of this stuff with us and even making progress.

after swimming and munching on snacks

relaxing with Mom after a successful afternoon of swimming

As we walked back to the car after the pool, you decided to pick up various pieces of trash in people’s yards and throw them away once we got home. You were excited about it too, wanting to take care of the planet. I’m pretty sure credit goes to an episode of Barney that you had recently watched (I think), but it was pretty cool to see you do this all on your own.

You immediately fell asleep in the car with the exhaustion that only summer swimming can produce. Once home, you played outside some more with the neighbors while I went grocery shopping. When I came home, I found everyone still outside. You and Brooklyn came running to the sidewalk with bug boxes hanging from your necks. I loved seeing the exuberance and excitement on your faces, eager to show off your latest firefly captives. As Daddy helped me carry in groceries, you even asked if I needed you to help with groceries too. Seriously? How many other four year olds are so thoughtful? Of course I told you that I’d rather you just have fun and go back to catching fireflies with your friends. And as I watched you scamper away, I couldn’t help but think how amazingly lucky I am, for about the millionth time this week.

Love,
Mama