Just A Little Older

 It's bazaar how fast and simultaneously slow time can go. When your not watching it just goes by. When your enjoying every moment it goes even faster. When you're having a rough go it just drags on. I'm learning it's the pace at which parenting happens. Its weird watching your little girl grow up. There are times when I miss having tea parties at 1:30 or getting to the park early in the crisp cool morning and staying until well past lunch. 
           I miss those cute little chubby cheeks that gave me sticky kisses after getting her from daycare. I miss her extra aunts, brothers and sisters she had there. How she would follow some of the older children around little a little duck, having friends as close as siblings, and loving any new babies that joined her world (yet slightly jealous of the extra attention they got from her Suesue). I wish I could be there first hand or have a loving Suesue to update me as if I were there myself to update me on every little thing she did or the funny things she said. Yet at the time I was so excited for her to be just a little older, a little older. 

            I still feel that way, just a little older. But now I think back and wonder "I miss when she was just a little younger." I miss those seeing life through a child's eyes. Last night I dreamed about when we went to the Tetons for the 4th of July. Heidi Anne was nearly 2 years old. Sitting snugly on her Daddy's lap staring at the huge fireworks saying "Oh Stars! Thank-you Stars!!" 

Love her Smile in the Mirror

            I tired so hard to enjoy every moment of her baby, toddler, and pre-school ages. I know we have many, many adventures ahead. She still has so much learning to do. I can still tease her and she still believes I know everything under the sun and that her daddy hangs the moon. I know in 6 years from now I will pine for the "Good Ole' Days" when she was just in Kindergarten, where the worst thing to fear is her hair getting in tangles, skinning her knee at recess, only having 20 minutes of reading and a page of homework a night.  Her dreams are to have hair as long as Rapunzel, which is down to her waist so she is well on her way. She's old enough to love Doctor Who but young enough to love playing dress up. Each age and stage seems to hold something special. Well, growing up is better than regressing. 

To The Airplane Museum

 We've been meaning to go to Hill Air Force Base Airplane museum for a few years now. Saturday was another cold, rainy day. We woke to discover a leak in our apartment. While Char tried to figure out what was going on and try to save our living room I figured today would be a good day to get out of the house with Heidi Anne. 

When I told her we were going to have an adventure and go to the plane museum she started jumping up and down. She was saying "I LOVE it when your friend Valerie comes and visits! I can't wait to see the twin girls! We're going to have so much fun!" I kept telling her that Valerie wasn't coming today, she lives far away. That didn't stop her asking or telling me "Mommy, we have to wait for your friend. They'll get lost if we go to far ahead." 

As soon as we pulled in Heidi Anne noticed something. The airplanes outside the building have picnic tables under the wings. There were a lot of planes outside. We were both sad that it was to cold, rainy, and we didn't know we could have a picnic there. She promptly declared "Next time we come, we are bringing either Kayliah and her family or your friend Valerie's family. We are going to see ALL the planes outside and eat under the neat planes."

I was surprised at all the planes they have there! Everything from models of the Wright brother's planes to F-16's. Most of the materials have been donated, things from uniforms, documents, planes, ect and the displays recreated to great detail. Heidi Anne thought it was fun that you could go up a balcony and have the air control tower with uniformed dummies from WWII looking back and pointing at you. There are a number of WWII model airplanes surrounding it. Heidi Anne thought they were real people at first and started waving to them.

Sadly, both my phone and camera died while we were still in the first half of the first gallery. Which only covered the end of the European Theater of WWII. They had a section showing women in WWII. On this plane only women are shown making repairs / flying the planes to the ports. Heidi Anne would point out the "lady fighters" when we would come near the area. 

There were lots of planes and displays. Right up to the current war. They had a Blackbird! I was telling Heidi Anne how the HUGE jet we were looking at was once a top secret plane. She looked at me and asked "Who do you keep a GIANT plane like that a secret? Didn't the news just tell everybody? Were the people working on it blind? How did they not tell anyone?" This elderly man nearby chuckled and then told her "People were asked not to tell and they kept their promise, otherwise lots of people could have been very hurt." Heidi then told him "I bet they didn't have new people then. They tell everything." Which got more laughter and a "Out of the mouth of babes."

We are going back in a bit. We barely got through the Korean war before she started to tire out.  She wanted to go see the big jets and helicopters, and anything with pictures or "people"around them. I know we missed seeing a lot of planes. At least it's free. Oh, and one thing caught her eye on our way out. 

On our way out she saw this red phone box, ran to it, froze, she seemed so disappointed. I asked her what was wrong. She looked at me and said in a sad voice "It's the wrong color. It should be blue, the TARDIS is a BLUE phone box."  I told her "Well sweetie, that's how people tell the difference between a real phone box and a tardis." She perked up, then looked at the man inside it and told him "That's not the Tardis. It's just a phone. Mommy, when are we coming back?"

PS. We still have that leak. No one can seem to locate it. Anyone have a wet / dry vac or something we could borrow?

I Always KNEW Parent / Teacher Conference Would Be Interesting....

For years I have been saying (mostly in jest) "Oh Heaven help that girl's Kindergarten Teacher" Or "I can't wait parent / teacher conference when she's older." Well, we just had our first Parent / Teacher Conference and you could say I was well prepared for the meeting.

I always knew Heidi Anne was a social girl. Apparently, no matter where the teacher moves Heidi, she just makes new friends. She was even moved into a corner and Heidi Anne would either;

1) Just talk louder to her friends

2) Just started talking to herself 

  -Both bugging her teacher. She now whispers when she talks to herself and is working on not disrupting her classmates. But my child who claims "I don't know anyone's name" seems to have sat by nearly every child in her class and made friends. At least she is social and out going. 

 When I would take Heidi on errands with me, I would hum the 1985 Super Mario Brothers' theme songs to pass the time. I would even do the "Tunnel Theme" for waiting on elevators. Guess who hums it when their class lines up? When told to stop humming, she will bop her head side to side, when caught - she will shift her gaze (in tune to the song).  I never knew that one would happen. The things kids pick up on and make their own habits. Ooopppss. 

She is a smart girl, who is hyper, and forgets things - frequently. Which I already knew, so the teacher seemed shocked that I wasn't surprised or offended by her point of view. I told her, "We've known that about her for years. In fact, she came home a few days ago saying "Mommy, I think I got in trouble today." I asked her "Why did you get in trouble?"  "Oh, I was either talking or didn't pay attention. I can't remember. But when I do get in trouble, it's only for those things, so it was one of them."

She is the most empathetic child who can pick up on the smallest of tones / behaviors of others that she always seems to just know when someone is having an off day or needs a friend. Just a very sweet child. 

Nightmares / EMP

I am pretty sure I am a living EMP. Within days of each other my computer, Wii, and phone all died. Even the toaster died. How on Earth does a toaster die?? So I steal Char's laptop when possible. 
To top it off Heidi Anne has been suffering from horrible nightmares. Her most recent ones have been Ursula from Little Mermaid was been making sand castle dinosaurs which came to life and eat her cat, mommy and daddy. That was one of the many creative nightmares. 
I've been trying to help her re-image her dreams. I tired to have her switch the monsters into My Little Ponies. The ponies then became zombies and couldn't die. She has one great imagination. So I took a different approach. I told her to think of ways to "Zap" the monsters.    
This morning she woke me up, smiling, eager to tell me about her dream."Mommy, there were sand castle dinosaurs, the monsters from Scooby Doo (with their masks still on), and the mean mommy on Tangeled. They were all trying to get me!" I asked her " What happened next? Wait a second, why are you smiling?" 
"Oh, I was really scared. I thought in my head, I wish The Doctor was here. Then I found the sonic screw driver. Only it didn't just make the buzz sound. It blasted all the monsters like Iron Man's hands can do. All the bad guys were gone and I just went and played with my friends."

I think she's a fan of action, sci-fi, and fantasy. I'm not 100% sure so I asked my Magic 8 ball (which has yet to be affected by me, the living EMP:

Where's That Square Temple?

We try to go to Temple Square every year, and every year it seems to fall though or not go according to plan. The same can be said of this year, we kept wanting to go down and have it combined with other trips to save on gas. Sadly, those plans kept falling through. It's almost like we're jinxed when it comes down to it. So Char came home after work and we just went. 
Yeah, it didn't go quite according to plan. Heidi Anne was excited to go to Temple Square. Char and I were telling her stories about the different nativity scenes from around the world, the lovely reflecting pond with it's bubble lights floating around, and the trees strung out with lights, millions and millions of Christmas lights, each branch, each twig strong enough to hold a string, encased in colorful lights. 
Good heavens the traffic was horrible! We were stuck almost from the start. Most of the city was getting ready for the New Year's Eve celebration. We went after Christmas so much of the decor was already taken down. From what we gathered the older trees weren't as decked out due to the heavy snow. Many of the younger trees in the center were covered with lights, but not all the huge trees as had been done in years past. It was still pretty. But not quite as we had built it up to Heidi Anne. 

Heidi Anne kept asking "Where is that Square Temple?" We tried to explain that "Square" used to mean the same thing as "City Center" or a place to gather. She looked at the temple (and the surrounding grounds) and declared "The temple is a rectangle shape and so is the whole area. It should be called Temple Rectangle. I really wanted to see a square temple."