A Few of Her Favorite Things

Little One's most favoritest things in the world are me and J, which we are rolling around in like puppies in the summertime grass, knowing it can't last forever and that it is just super good. But in case you ever come over, and want to win Her little heart, here are some more of Her favorite things:

1)The dogs. Oh how She adores them. She hugs them, kisses them, brings them Her toys saying "share?" and cracks Herself up putting things on their heads. She calls them each by name. "Sh-it!" She tells them, so they will drop to their haunches for a snuggle. "Good Goorl!"

2)Coloring. She will sit at Her little table and color with crayons for an hour at a time. Its fantastic. She proudly shows me that She knows what color She used. No matter how many crayons have been employed, the picture is always purple.

3)READING. Poor thing. The product of a double-nerd dose. Her parents are both lifetime users and She was born addicted. The first thing She wants to do when She wakes up from a nap is pee. But after that, She wants to go in Her room, pull a pile of books off the shelf and climb into the big "rock you" chair to leaf through each one, page by page. Sometimes She just looks, studies. Sometimes Her voice bounces excitedly down the hall as She "reads" each one aloud, telling Her own version of the story She sees. "Bird! Bird tweet tweet! Fly! Fly bird! Oh no! Crash.Tweet tweet!" We read together every morning before nap, every evening before bed; it's still never enough. Yesterday She wanted me to wrap Her in a blanket so She could sink into it in a corner of the living room. Then She delicately demanded, "Bups!" So I would bring Her a pile to pore over for the next half hour. She has favorites which She asks for by title, but She will turn down nothing. Recently at a kids concert, someone handed Her an advertisement pamphlet, and She gasped. "Bup! Mama, Bup! Thank Oo! Thank Oo bup!" She read it to me on the way home. J and I are happy about all this. We're thinking maybe we can bring in some cash in elementary school when kids hire Her to do their homework.

4) The Shoom. Oh, swing. How I love and hate you. Love, because of the immense bliss that you bring my sweet baby. Hate, because just how much time do we have to spend together? Sheesh! Little One can see the playground from our dining room. She is constantly pointing to the french door and demanding "shoom! Shooom! Shoo-ooom!" We swing after breakfast, and only the promise of reading can lure Her back in. And She has a truly uncanny ability to spidey-sense a playground in the vicinity when we are out. The first hint of a lawn and She's hollering "shoom!" from the back seat. Dang if She's not usually right, and there's a playground around the corner.

5)Singing. She makes up songs, She sings in the car, She sings in the playroom. She loves to sing to Her babies. She also likes to point at the radio and say "dance!" so we'll turn it on and She can shake it like a polaroid picture, singing along.

6) Watermelon. Raw onion. Banana. Brussels Sprouts. In that order.

7)O. Maybe it's because the love affair between these two has gone on so long. Maybe he's just really a stud. But of all Her little friends, O is the only one She asks for by name. And definitely the only one She cries for from the time-out corner, as if He's going to come riding up on a white rocking-horse to rescue Her.

8) Brushing Her teeth. A sure way to get Her to agree to bedtime, is to remind Her that She'll get to brush Her teeth first.

9) Glasses. Any kind, any size, so much the better if worn upside-down. J took the lenses out of an old pair so I'd stop worrying about Her ruining Her vision by wearing His all the time and bumping into stuff.

10) As always from day 1, and thankfully still holding out- cuddles!