Random and Odd Attachments

Before we left for Hawaii back in May, I bought Mia a pair of flip flops, but she refused to even put them on so I returned them. It was a period when she was extremely opinionated about her footwear and objected to all open-toed sandals. I recall an episode at StrideRite when she refused to try on most sandals and let me know she did not care for them by chucking them. Fast forward to the last couple of weeks. . .

It all started when our neighbor S, a girl a bit older than Mia, wore flip flops during a playdate. Mia told me she wanted shoes like S. Ever since then she tries to wear my flip flops (one of the few shoes my swelling feet can tolerate). Earlier this week, she said, "I want flip stops like Mama's". It was too cute, so I went to Old Navy (bonus, they were 2.10 for a pair!) while she was attending school and bought her "flip stops". Part of me thought she would not like them once she tried them on, but she likes them so much she wants to wear them in the house, but we're a, "Please Remove Your Shoes, Mahalo" family. I have allowed her to carry them upstairs to avoid the drama.

That brings us to Mia's random attachments that are often very shortlived. When traveling in Boston, we did not bring many toys, in fact, we only brought books and crayons, and her loveys which we do not allow to be removed from bed. She became attached to a rubber duckie given to her when we checked into the Westin. We had to bring the duck everywhere we went in Boston. Now it is an occasional part of Mia's bathtime.

For about a week Mia has been attached to a compass with a string on it. She wears it like a necklace and wants to take it with her everywhere. She sports it while in her carseat, but I make her take it off before we get out of the car. Thankfully she is reasonable about leaving things in the car so they do not get lost. One night she took it to bed, but I told her she had to hang it on the side of her bed. Fearful that she might choke on it during the night, I removed it after she fell asleep. When she woke up crying around 5am, Ken went in, but I heard her crying for her compass. I got out of bed and grabbed it from her shelf and gave it to her. She fell back asleep for a bit.

Mia likes the American flag. She points it out whenever we see one and likes to march around the house with a flag I bought her. She also has a DC souvenir shirt with the flag on it that she likes to wear.

Mia has a pair of toddler safe scissors that she loves. It has conveniently been lost in the car (hiding in the seat back pocket) because she insisted on bringing them somewhere. My main issue with her using the scissors was her level of frustration because she could not cut with them. She would get so upset over it. It's been awhile but she will still ask me where it is every so often.

Do your kids have random attachments?

First Haircut @ 28 months!

We took Mia for her very first haircut this weekend. My genes gave her sparse hair from birth and it has not really grown in much, but is long in the back. If she's anything like me, it won't really come in until she's four years old. Poor thing will be mistaken for a boy until then. I used to be opposed to girly clothes, but gave in because people kept assuming she was a little boy. And she received a lot of girly outfits. But I digress, recently Mia began to scratch her neck and pull at her hair, so we decided that though she does not have much, we should take her for a haircut.
Looking Down

Mia did very well at Lollipop Cuts, a salon that specializes in pee wee clients. We arrived early so that Mia could play and see some other kids getting hair cuts. I think it helps that she has gone with us to get our hair cuts. The shop has various cars for their clients, a large screen TV with an impressive DVD library, a loft filled with toys and video games and of course tons and tons of lollipops! That went over really well with Mia. She picked a pink classic cruiser and though the stylist was pretty rough (guess they have to establish control), especially when trying to get Mia to look down, she did extremely well. You can see her look of dismay in the pictures, but no tears or protests. I think the lollipops helped. We would hand her one to hold every couple of minutes and told her to look down at them when she wanted to look up.
The Sneer

What's Keeping Her Going

Sutures Removed and Cat Crazy!

Mia and I took Kona to get her stitches removed today, but shortly before we left I noticed that some of the stitches were already gone. Sneaky Kona, even with the cone, she was somehow able to do some acrobatics and lick her wound. Thankfully the vet said she healed well.

While waiting at the vet, there was a family there and the mom was crying because they lost their pet. Mia kept asking me, "What's a-yi doing?" and I tried to explain that she's very sad because her dog went to heaven and she can't be with it anymore. Mia kept asking me, "Where's a-yi's dog?" and why the woman was crying. On the way home, she saw some a dog being walked, and said, "Look a-yi's doggy there!" I think she thought she "found" the dog. It's hard to explain the concept of death let alone heaven to a 28 month old! And yes, there is a doggy heaven! I start to tear up whenever I think about Kona dying. She's four and I hope she lives another 10+ years.

We also saw a kitty in box while waiting at the vet's. Because of that darn Caillou and his cat Gilbert, Mia loves cats. Sometimes she says, "I don't love dogs, I love cats." Oh boy, I am so not a cat person. She's already asked for a cat so we promised her a toy cat, but this kid is picky! We have gone to look for stuffed cats, but none of them have been quite right. Mia will say they are too big or just flat out refuses the ones we have come across. I think what she really wants is Gilbert.
I really don't want to give in to her Caillou craze, but sadly I did look online and saw that I can procure a Gilbert stuffed cat from ebay. Should I do it? Maybe it could be from her didi (little brother) when she first comes to visit us in the hospital? I had planned on getting her train tracks, but. . .

Thomas

Mia and Papa on the Train Pulled by Thomas

A couple of weeks ago we took Mia to Day Out With Thomas with some friends from church. It was kind of a let down for us adults, but the kids seemed to have a great time. We took a 25 minute "train ride" where the cars were pulled by Thomas. We were in the third car, but I guess for the kids it was still a thrill.

The events were kind of boring to us as adults, plus it was HOT and wiped me out. Guess we've lost the glint of childhood fun in our eyes. There was a Thomas coloring and painting station where the kids were just given xeroxed copies of Thomas and Friends to color and paint. For some reason this was loads of fun for Mia. Look, we can do that home kiddo, was my first thought. Mia and her friends also had fun running around and climbing bales of hay. We didn't even bother to get in line to meet Sir Toppam Hat. Mia likes and knows Thomas, but not the whole gang so she wasn't affected by her lame parents who didn't want to wait in line.
Mia Painting

Other highlights were getting a tattoo, face painting, and snow cones. But Mia wanted the painting on her arm and then she promptly wanted the tattoo removed. Oh well...
Mia Sharing her Snow Cone with E

We ended the day with a puppet show and then loads of kalbi at F & J's.