For Posterity's Sake: Week in Review 46

I'm not sure what the best description would be for today: productive yet challenging? a little bit merry, a whole lot of meltdowns? We began the day with quite the agenda: errands, Christmas tree decorating, outdoor light hanging, compost bin creation, and a new recipe for dinner. The morning went surprisingly well, Jason and I hitting 7 stores between the two of us with Audrey happily playing a version of parental musical chairs. She couldn't wait to decorate the tree - and wouldn't, no matter how many times we asked her to be patient and wait for us to take the ornaments out of the box. That's where the day took a twist.

She decorated with gusto, then cried with gusto each time we responded to a request with a "no." She thought that riding her tricycle outside while Jason hung lights and I began assembling compost bin materials sounded like a great idea, until a barely skinned-knee turned her into a 3-foot Niagara Falls. No matter how hard we tried, other than two short breaks spent watching an "Angelina Ballerina" episode with her Dad while I made dinner and reading stories with me while dinner baked, those tears could not be dammed up. She refused dinner, opting, instead, to lie her head on the table and cry before asking to be put to bed at 7:15, which is when it finally dawned on me to pull out the thermometer. We put her to bed with a low-grade fever, and after an oddly productive day, flooded with tears, she thanked me for the kisses that I placed on her forehead and cheeks. You never know what to expect with three-year-olds. It's going to be one of those nights where I find myself creeping to her bedside every few hours, just in case.

Now for some other unexpected (and much cheerier - at least most of them) moments from our week:


On Sunday, Jason threw away some cookies. They had been sitting on the counter for a few days, and Audrey was trying all methods climbing-related to reach them. When she saw him carrying the plate to the trash, she began screaming, "You can't throw those away! Jesus made those! God made those! You can't throw them away!"

Don't mess with sacred cookies.


On Monday, while riding in the car, Audrey informed me, "I know how to drive because I'm a big sister, of course."


Jason put Audrey to bed on Tuesday night. He began to lead her in a prayer when she interrupted him. "No. I want to do my own," she said. She began thanking God for her favorite toys and the like before saying, "thank you for kisses."

Jason, thinking this was such a sweet comment, repeated, "thank you for kisses."
"No," Audrey corrected him, "Christmas."


On Thursday it was my turn to make word assumptions. We had moved some chairs the night before while Audrey was asleep. In the morning, Audrey was upset to find them missing. I explained that we moved them to make room for the Christmas tree. We began to talk about the Christmas tree and how it would be fun to decorate it.

"And then we'll have so?" Audrey asked.
"Soap?" I asked. "No, you can't have soap."
"So," she repeated.
"Sew?" I asked.
"No. In winter, we play with so."
"Oh. Snow!" I said, before apologizing profusely, because seriously, how close together does a three-year-old have to put the dots before her mama finally connects them?


On Friday, Audrey saddled up to me in a chair. She had a sticker stuck to the front of her shirt. She was talking about stickers. She put her finger in my ear and dropped something inside. I assumed it was a sticker. Nope. It was a ladybug.

Welcome to three. Assume nothing.