When we left for dinner that evening, Brooklynn was drawing wavy lines and small squiggles on her white board and telling everyone it was sea turtles swimming in the ocean.

Yesterday, she decided that she was a train like Thomas the Tank-Engine. She called herself Thomas and said we should too. When asked directly where Brooklynn was, she would point to herself and say, “Right here!” while looking at us with an expression that seemed to indicate she worried about our sanity. I mean, where else would she be when she’s right in front of us? Silly mommy and daddy.

But other than that, only Thomas would respond to any sort of requests.

She also likes when her stuffed animals carry objects, talk, and dance. Yesterday, I got kicked off a stool at her table to make room for teddy. Apparently it was his seat first.

We have confirmed imagination happening in our house. I suppose it’s only a matter of time before we have full-fledged tea parties and princess sightings².

You just say sure.

I will also admit that I have not been the most patient of people at 6am in dealing with Brooklynn’s phases. This morning, as I searched for Brooklynn’s travel mug that we apparently left at school yesterday, Rhiannon was the one to go in and get her up. I went upstairs to find Rhiannon and Brooklynn playing a game where Ruffy (the puppy) and Rabbit, her two current favorite animals, where helping to take off her pajamas and get her dressed. And it worked. No tears, no crying. Well, nothing wrong until we got to the part where her travel mug was at school and she would have to wait until then to have her chocolate shake for the morning¹

It’s also times like this when I see Rhiannon making things a game succeeding where my attempt at direct logic has failed when I realize that I really don’t understand children. I will happily play blocks and dance around to music, and, when frustrated in the morning, I will also tell Brooklynn that her recent behavior has been unacceptable² and she needs to shape up.

The hardest thing I think that Brooklynn is facing right now is the fact that she wants to do everything herself³. She puts her own food in the microwave and closes it. She takes her own clothes off and puts them on herself. She can lift and carry that 10 pound bag of flour her own self, thank you very much.

If she gets hurt doing something, well, maybe she will allow us to give her a hug and make it better. And if she spills a little when she carries her bowl of soup across the kitchen to the table, then it’s ok for us to help clean up. Every day, she does a little more on her own. She’s going to be a big sister, after all. No time to act like a baby and let Mom and Dad do everything for her. Especially no at 6am when she’s still a little tired and crabby.

So, moving forward, I’m going to make the attempt to practice patience and stay positive, even in the face of utter and completely irrational thought and actions.

Because, really, who doesn’t want a stuffed puppy to help with putting our clothes on in the morning? I think everyone one would probably be in a better mood with a little bit more of that going on.

Three days in to this week and it’s going. I’ll leave that without a clarifier.

She’s been eating breakfast in her pajamas and taking her sleeping blankie downstairs with her, but we’ve all been getting out the door on time. She’s not at all thrilled to see me in the morning when I wake her up, but that might be a little bit our fault for letting her stay up like it was still Christmas break. I’m sure we’ll get it figured out again eventually.

Considering the picture below was taken at 6:15 am and she had already finished her oatmeal, I guess I could finish my previous though: it’s going ok.