Suddenly, she's almost 4

It's summertime in Maine - the trees have blossoms, the seedlings are growing in our sleep, kids are playing until dark...it's just wonderful. In our little family, our garden is planted, Vi has just started a short season of tee-ball, and we are stocked up on sunscreen.

Dan is still working at Hamilton Marine, and was promoted over the winter to managing the commericial fishing department. He still keeps busy with other areas and would love more responsibility. They are a really nice group of people with good Maine values, so it doesn't seem like the life is getting sucked out of him (especially this time of year.)

I'm still balancing, juggling, and working a lot. Half of my week I am at Gilchrist Scott taking care of bookkeeping, human resources, marketing, and administrative tasks. You probably remember that I was there before Vi was born, and left soon after returning from maternity leave. It's really nice being back with these folks - they are such a nice, smart, professional group of people! The other half of my week is divided between three places. I am doing bookkeeping and human resources for Huston and Company (I know - isn't it funny? I'm back at the two places I worked at before Vi wsa born! Ditto on how nice it is to be back with some of my favorite people!) and a research firm that specializes in early childhood literacy. This is a group of uber-smart and cool women, and I love the half-days I get to spend with them. I am also doing most of the bookkeeping for Vi's daycare center, which is so nice. I feel like a broken record, but I really love being part of the staff among such wonderful people!

And, Miss Vi, you ask? Miss Critter herself? She is almost four. Vi is almost four. She has been talking about her birthday a lot lately, and we're still up in the air about how to celebrate. She would like it if we went to Disney World, but no way in hell am I going to Florida in July. (We're going for MY birthday in January, instead.)

This Spring I kept Vi busy on the weekends with gymnastics and swimming lessons. This summer it's tee-ball, then soccer, and a creative movement dance class. (The required leotard is pretty darn cute.) She can climb like a monkey, ride her bike (with training wheels), and jump a good couple of feet with both feet together. She is practicing her spinning, because she prefers to wear a skirt that twirls. (Don't ask what happens when she is presented with a non-twirling skirt. It's just not a pretty scene.)

She still loves books, reading, and being read to. When I get to peek in at her at school, she is either reading (alone, with friends, with a teacher) or playing "monster" with her friends. This kid has lung power and can shriek and scream with the best of them.

Vi is also using her lung power for singing. She has *such* good pitch - even my mother (who cringes if she hears Canon in D being played in C...I owe her so many apologies for high school...but that's another story) has commented on it. We sit at the piano and I play songs and she sings along. Hurray!! We are firmly in the phase of made-up songs. Here's a little piece she composed for me, at bedtime, as a "Peaceful bedtime song."

The Lost Princess and her Lost Prince

The lost princess, had lost her prince
He was fighting a dragon
She was scared he had been eat-ed
But he fight-ed the dragon
And he went to the castle and went upstairs
And the lost princess found her prince
And they kissed true love's kiss!

(I know...kissing...yikes.)

This morning she had me select a card out of a stack of animal information cards. "Would you like this fox?" "Yes, yes I would, thank you." "Okay, kid, now I'm going into my office to computer-it-up."

She is enjoying going on field trips with her "Hoppy Frog Friends" and her "School Mommies." They visited the planetarium this week, where, she says, they "were doing some learning."

She is now saying the "s" at the beginning of words (including words that used to be 'tephanie, 'chool, 'tairs, and 'top), pronounced pretend correctly (it used to be te-dend), but she still says "pur-ize" for "surprise." It's progress, but her own way of talking was so darn cute. We all 'truggled with the decision to 'tart modelling proper 'peech.

Vi has us participate in a Fairy Day Parade on occasion, where we march around the house banging on instruments loudly. Dan and I try to follow directions, but it's often hard to hear over the cymbals.

She awards people with a "dickory prize" for things like eating all of your dinner, winning a race, or showing good behavior. We think she is saying "dickory" for "victory," but we like it just the way it is.

Vi is really good at Memory games. She kicks our butts most of the time, actually. If one gets a match, Vi will cheer and dance, saying "Yes! Yes! YOU get to go to college!"

She asks what words mean all the time. I love it. The other day she asked, "What does 'predicament' mean?" I offered a simple definition, something like "A predicament is a difficult situation. If you're having a problem, and you have to find out how to fix it, it could be a predicament." She replied, "Yeah. OR- it's like a kind of candy?" Because, you know...it's a predica-mint.

Grammy: Vi, what do you do at college? Vi: That's where you go to die, and rest a while.

Me: Vi, what did you do (with Uncle Drew and her cousins) last night? Vi: Well, we didn't go to Funtown. Wait, what did you say?

"Then the caterpillar crawls inside the canoe, and becomes a beautiful butterfly!"

"I'm drinking poison apple drink, becuase I'm a grown-up, but I won't die, because I'm magical, and poison apple drink turns into sparkles in my belly and turns me into a fairy!"

She's full of imagination, a self-proclaimed princess, coloring artist AND "sunscreener." She has big emotions, lots of energy, *can* sleep through the night, colors inside the lines in coloring books, writes all of the letter of the alphabet to compose various stories/signs/letters/cards/songs, knows all of the words to "Tomorrow" from "Annie," and is starting to replace "Mommy" and "Daddy" with "Mom" and "Dad." She can run and climb in heels, serve herslef a bowl of cereal, operate our cell phones, and communicate with friends to solve problems.

One year from now, we'll be visiting the neighborhood kindergarten for "orientation."

Yup, she's almost four.

(You should hear her say "yup.")

Vi-ral video

Vi's new hit single, "Chickadee Song (Wonderful Day)"

Vi-isms

In the spirit of "I hope you're writing these cute things down," here are some of Vi's silly words of late:

Vi: Boo and Lellow make Geen!
Me: That's right! What do yellow and red make?
Vi: They make....I think it's....something liiiiike.....WE DON'T PUT PLAY-DOUGH IN OUR MOUTHS!!

Me: What do you want to dream about tonight?
Vi: Uuuummm.... I think.... my sleep is about....Pincesses....Kanga-Woos.... and Kickens. (Chickens)
Me: That sounds great! Can I come, too?
Vi: Yeah! (looks at me skeptically) Are you thinking about Pincesses? Kanga-woos? And Kickens?
Me: Yes, yes I am.
Vi: Okay. See you there. Good night. I luzz you. (kiss, kiss) I kiss you.

Vi: When I was really, really born? I came out of your belly and drank hot milk from your nipples. I was soooo cute! I was so born.

Vi: I going to the toy store, 'bye!
Me: Who are you going with?
Vi: My husband. He's 14 years old, and his name is Darrell.

Dan, reading On Market Street, where S is clearly for Shoes: S is for saxophones.
Vi: No, no, no, no, no. S is for Shoes. And for Stephanie, too.

Vi: NO! I DON'T WANT TO!
(Had to throw in a little bit of the temper tantrums she's dished out recently!)

Nonsense words: Boutique. Gleeky. Muggy.

Vi, drifting off to sleep: You my best friend, ezzer, ezzer.

While watching a folk musician perform in the park at Mill Creek, Vi sat and listened to every song, then brought the musician a stick or a leaf. After each song. He sweetly accepted each gift.

I told Vi how to distract Dan from his probing questions about his birthday present. She waves her hands in front of his face and says, "Bacon, bacon, bacon!"

She requests "big long noodles and chopsticks" at least once a week. Still eating a lacto-fruitarian diet, for the most part. Picking out her own clothes. Sleeping through the night. Only wearing diapers at night and at naptime.

Suddenly, she's almost three.

Rising up from the ashes?

Here we are. May in Maine. The lilacs are moments away from full-aromatic-bloom, much to my delight. The birds and wind chimes and giggling children are filling the sound waves with that pleasant sensation that yes, Summer is almost here.

Thank God, because this Spring SUCKED! :-) Two unemployed parents, trying to make ends meet. We did pretty well, considering. I mean, we didn't kill each other!

Dan started his new position with Hamilton Marine today. He'll be the head of the electrical department. He is happy to be back in the marine world, has seen a few favorite customers already, and enjoyed learning more about the company's values from the CEO today. We're hopeful this is a good fit and grateful for the opportunity!

I am gearing up with a few gigs. First, I'm working at daycare, handling the receivables on a barter basis. This is fun, rewarding, and a huge discount on our much-needed, much-appreciated child care. Second, I'm the business manager for a marketing firm which focuses on local, sustainable businesses' image, messaging and overall strategy. Third, I'm an account manager for a sales rep placement group, working to fill short-term sales projects with high-energy, highly-skilled sales professionals. Busy, busy!

Vi is still loving pre-school. We feel really fortunate to have such a wonderful team of people in our village. They truly love our kid and treat her with the respect and kindness we want her to, in turn, learn as a way of life.

Our garden is planted, well... mostly. We're still going to put in some zucchini and squash. Dan keeps adding raised beds. Our backyard will soon be one big garden! I'm looking forward to lots of tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, beets, peppers, beans, peas and herbs. The soil is amazing this year; it holds water and is so rich. Dan's been reading everything he can get his hands on - even making deliberate trips to the library - to expand his gardening skills and philosophies. You know how Dan is - a vat of information. Well, be prepared for lessons you didn't know you needed to learn on tomato roots...or something like that.