Teamwork

While kicking her soccer ball back and forth:

"We a good team! We not fighting!"

cracking the discipline code

Slowly Sophie's been figuring out how this whole discipline thing works. Today, she started counting to me to get into her fort. "1....2.....3" I didn't even know how to react so I just crawled in the fort obligingly. That was probably not a good choice on my part. I fear I've set a v. bad precedent.

She knows that the person who puts her in time out must a. take her out of time out, b.tell that person why she's in time out, and c.give 1 minute of time out for each year of age. I don't know where she's gotten that last one from, but she was right. She's told me these things in various iterations of playing time out with her stuffed animals. I'm befuddled, surely there must be more fun games than the "leverage-your-power game."

Recently, Sophie's been challenging to say the least. Our best hope rests on making everything a game and trying to beat somebody else. I fear that's my competitive spirit. However, it comes out in some pretty ugly ways, mainly by sabotaging the other person with whom she's competing. If we're trying to get her dressed, we'll see if she can beat one of us. Her first move will be to go sit on the person's clothes or interfere with that person dressing. To be clear, that part of competition is not my genes manifesting. Indeed my deep sense of fair play makes me appalled. Yellow card, Sophie, for unsportsman-like conduct. But it does get us dress and out of the house, so it will have to do for now.

Last week at school at Sophie's parent-teacher conference, the teachers asked me about Sophie's stubbornness: she'll stop, look them in the eye and refuse to do what they ask. Wonderful. That's the way to win over a teacher, Sophie. So off to Amazon I go looking for books on how to train your 3 year old. Hopefully, by the time she goes back to school next fall, she'll be a bit more flexible.

Sophie's first day trip biking

Sophie was a champ. She biked 22 miles with us and not a tear shed. On her "adventure" she discovered the wonder that is Ice Freeze Gatorade or as we seem to be calling it, blue juice. She drank it like liquid candy, which is just about what it is.

Our final destination was a boat launch. I expected more of a park. The water in the river was a dark shade of brown which didn't deter Sophie who now believes she can completely swim--she can't. I was afraid if she went under she'd be gone since I couldn't even see my feet in the water.

cool circumlocution

For breakfast, Sophie wanted cheese. I gave her a mozzarella cheese stick. She then told me she wanted the other kind of cheese, the flat cheese. Ah, the sandwich cheese, sorry but that's all gone. But good job on describing what you wanted.

Excellent!

Her mother asked her to go fetch a can of sparkling water tonight.

And she did!

By Hasbro

"I'm a lucky girl. I have cooties!"

No more school

This morning Sophie declared that she didn't want to go to school anymore. I had to break it to her that she really hasn't even begun "real" school yet. I didn't have the heart to tell her it's two more years before she even starts.