Over using "love?"

I can hear it now: "I totally LOVE these earings!" escaping a cute, fourteen year old girls mouth.  Rolling my eyes slightly, with an adoring grin on my face, I would secretly wonder how she will react when "love" is truly the appropriate verb to use in a situation.  Unfortunately, we all know that this particular verb IS over used thus losing its luster.

But then again, have you ever been around a toddler (girl)? Toddlers are a unique blend of life where everything is new and amazing, and all emotions and belifs are genuine; running through the core, no questions asked.   For example, my daughter truly believes she is a princess and that someday she WILL live in Jesus' castle. Because of this belief she knows and loves the idea that Jesus knows and loves her. And yet, in the same breathe she will explain to you, with the same sincerity, how much she loves Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly sandwiches. Looking at her face, you can not tell a difference in emotion between the two.

Other things she loves:

daddy

hair clips

cheese rollups at Taco Bell

hugging (aka choking) her sister

Barney

going to church

her snuggly bed

mommy

"her" pool

wal-mart and sam's club

singing "Jesus loves the little children"

coloring with her markers

Disney Princess stickers

chocolate

yo-gret (aka yogurt)

...and the list goes on....

My question is, so when does the innocence turn into an avenue for eye rolling? Maybe when the mood swings get more intense...I guess it is something to look forward to.  :)   

Monkey Business

We have been blessed, the last few years, with tickets to our local zoo, being the highlight of our summer for many reasons. Each trip has so many fun memories, but as Mia gets older it is fun to see her interact with the animals she sees, communicate where she wants to go next, and continue to talk about her trip for weeks to come.

We had been talking about going to the zoo for a week, each day bringing tears to her precious face with realization that today was not THE day. So, when Saturday morning rolled around, I was bursting at the seams to spill the beans, congratulating her on waiting so patiently for this day to finally arrive. I had to wait until breakfast was finished, or the poor girl wouldn't eat anything, and give myself a good time frame so she wouldn't feel like she was "getting ready" forever just to leave. Finally it came...

"Do you want to wear your Nike shoes or your Converse shoes today for the zoo?" I said, trying to hide a grin with a twinkle in my eye.

Head quickly turning in my direction, she cocked her head with a don't-mess-with-me look on her face, "the zoo. it's TODAY?!"

She was beside herself. With just her sleep shirt and panties on, she went darting up the stairs to get her socks and "Uncle Nate" shoes. I busted her bubble slightly when I pointed out that she need shorts on and a new shirt, but we dodged that explosion with continual comments about all the amazing animals she was going to see.

The trip was amazing, full of "What's next, Mommy!" and "Hurry! Let's go see ___!" It was a true highlight with pictures and memories that will be treasured forever. She even rode a horse... ("The black one, mommy. NOT the brown one.") continually pointing out to us that she was such a big girl.

To this day, I still have a little voice that says "Mommy. Let's talk zoo animals. Remember?"

bandaids instead of kisses

I remember it like it was yesterday.

Wait. It was just yesterday; yesterday was when the world was just as it should be in this mommy's eyes.  I'm talking about those beautiful days when my naive little girl believed that mommy was so perfectly magical that even her most tender kisses could heal the most horrific of ouchies.  "Mommy kiss it!" was music to my ears as I'd scoop her up into  my arms and smother her with the appropriate number of kisses...and then some!

Then it happened. The scene played out as normal. A small tumble at stage left; mommy waiting at stage right,  on her knees arms opened in a "find refuge here" stance; a horrified "mommy kiss it" creeping through the sobs just as rehearsed numorous times before. But then, someone changed the ending...

"IT STILL HURTS!!!" came tumbling out of precious little lips, leading  way for sobs to turn into whaling!

As of that wasn't enough, her outburts was followed by "please get me a bandaid to fix it?"

Now, I'm no doctor but I thoroughly assessed the situation and found no blood, puncture wounds or excess skin that would naturally warrant the use of a bandaid.  Thus I came to two conclusions with the situation.

One. My lips...nor anything else about me...do not hold special healing, or other amazing, powers.

Two. My daughter continues to learn reality more quickly that I have given her permission for.

S.a.d.