The World the Way it Should Be

A convo with Anissa over dinner tonight:

Me: Well, that was a fun day, wasn't it? We went to the petting zoo and fed animals, then went to the playground. I had fun.

Papa: I had a good time too.

Ana: Me too. More outside now. No home.

Mama: But it's getting dark outside, and you need to have a bath and go to bed.

Papa: Yeah, we need to rest so we're ready for a new day tomorrow. Everybody is going to sleep now - the animals, the people, everyone.

Ana: Ana no need sleep. No bed. I need outside. Yeah, pool open. Pool not closed.

Wouldn't that be great? No one needs sleep and the pools are always open...sigh.

Mama and Papa's Night Off

We went out for dinner last night at a quaint little Bring Your Own Wine Peruvian resto with Mama Jo. The food was nothing to write home about, but I'd go back there any day. How many restaurants, after all, can boast a sweet six-year-old activities coordinator to entertain our daughter?

Yup, we lucked out big time: Andrea, the daughter of the owner and an only child, swooped Anissa up as soon as we got in the door and, for the next two hours, kept her happy by coloring with her, playing hide and seek and chasing her around the restaurant. I'm not sure the other diners were so impressed but if the owners weren't complaining, neither were we!

While walking Mama Jo home, Mehdi and I were debating renting a "family movie" to kill the rest of the evening. We just didn't know if we had the energy to fill Andrea's shoes. When it came time to say goodnight to Mama Jo, though, Anissa surprised us by insisting that she go "ni-night" at Mama Jo's house. Our girl really is growing up. So I made a quick trip home to get Ana's p.j.s and toothbrush. On the way back, I rented a movie...and it wasn'teven made by Disney.

Thanks Mama Jo!

(The only trouble with sleep-overs at Mama Jo's? Anissa wakes up super early and is too excited to go back to sleep. Last night she went to bed at 11 and woke up at 5:30. Result? Post-party meltdown!)

Enthusiasm

Anissa's reaction when we stepped into a bookstore today: jumping up and down (literally), and proclaiming for all to hear, "Books, books, yeah, yeah!".

That would have been enough to make my day (Yeah! My daughter loves books as much as I do!). But then she turned to me and made my week by coming up with a whole new word to describe her feelings: "I'm excited, Mama!"

The little things that make us parents oh so proud...

To Nap or Not to Nap

Anyone who knows Anissa knows that sleep is her biggest enemy. Mehdi and I (but mostly the I - I'm the one who has the most to lose, after all) have been debating for months whether she's ready to cut out naps altogether. I don't love the idea of giving up that afternoon break (or time to wash the floors, scrub the tub, watch Oprah, etc), but on the other hand I love the idea of her going to bed earlier than 11. Most days that she skips her nap, she gets a little crabby but nothing I think (thought?) I can't handle. Until today! WHOA! From about 5 until we managed to get her to sleep at 8, Anissa was a grizzly bear. Impossible to please. I'm so exhausted at this moment that I'm thinking, "It's so not worth it, that girl needs to nap!" Talk to me tomorrow, though, when she's up and ready to party at 10:30 because of a nice afternoon snooze.

The key to all this, we suspect, probably lies in getting her up earlier in the morning. Damn.

Anyway, here's some good news: the little grizzly bear slept all night last night in her new captain's bed! There was no usual 5:30 a.m. pitter-patter of feet as she came into our room (but of course I woke up every 15 minutes listening for it). I promise to post a photo of her in her nice new bed (probably not sleeping though ;) that Memere and Pepere bought and Papa worked soooo hard to assemble in the next few days.