Daddy's Shoe

Daddy's Shoe, originally uploaded by chase+kate.

Wren was doing this 5 seconds ago. Luckily I had the camera nearby to document it. Soon afterwards she became enraged with the shoe and flung it (ineffectually, because she's not strong) away. The picture reminds me of a story from one of the Narnia books; the people were called plodders or ploppers or something? with the one giant foot? I thought that was pretty creepy when I was a kid.

Now she's playing with the 'sit n' spin' or as it's known around here, the 'sit n' sit' or the 'stand n' fall over.' Yeah she hasn't really caught on. I don't think she has the upper body strength. Various members of our household have tried valiantly to demonstrate the basics. If you haven't seen a group of supposedly grown men trying to turn themselves in circles on a tiny plastic toy, drop by sometime. When they sit and wedge their legs under the top, yoga style, with their butts hanging off the edge of the seat, Wren seems intrigued, or maybe amused. But it hasn't disuaded her from thinking that it's a toy to stand on and leap off of, usually onto the tile floor.

Also, moments ago, she discovered the volume control on her drum. I'm all for development, but I was hoping volume control and on/off location finding skills would be waaaaay after potty training. Like maybe they teach you in Driver's Ed. I don't think I should have to deal with high volumes AND poop, is what I'm saying. One or the other.

Also in New Tricks, Wren has discoverd door locks. Her favorite door lock is the one on the inside of Arkay's bathroom. The lock in the house for which we have no key, OF COURSE. If the door is EVER open, she runs for it, turns around and slams and locks the door. 1-2-3. This has happened so many times that I keep a variety of lock picking paraphenalia outside that door in a little box. There's a wire hanger, a bamboo skewer, and my favorite, an old credit card. I'm a pro now, and to keep me on my toes, I have the knowledge that inside the bathroom, there's an unlocked cabinet at Wren-height with ant spray, bleach and razors oh-my. So what I'm saying is, I'm fast. Not a skill I would have associated with motherhood, but I'm sure it will continue to be useful throughout my life.

Wren has a nasty cold right now, and all the "get out of the house and talk to adults" groups I'm in take a strong stand against getting other people's kids sick. When I say strong I mean like Intifada strong. There could be uprisings. So we're quarantined until her hacking cough and runny nose go away. One new piece of information gleaned- Wren is in that tiny percentage of the population for whom psuedophedrine does not act as a downer, but rather as an upper. UPPER. Like maybe I know why they use it to make meth. It's heartbraking to see such a sad sick baby tearing around the house in the helpless grip of a crazy-making drug. I checked out Whole Foods for the non-crazy-making granola drugs, but they're all honey based, and according to the APA, she's too young for honey. When I had a sore throat my grandma always gave me bourbon and honey. I don't think she worried that I was too young for either.

Lazlo got a little sick but bounced back quickly, and I seem to have escaped altogether. I attribute my continued good health to the 10-2-4 rule of Diet Coke/ Diet Dr. Pepper consumption.

Wren is eating chapstick again. I'd better put a stop to that.