Catching Up

Well we did it again ... we let this blog lapse. Gah! So here's an update on what la girl has been saying and doing of lately.

_ We went to a UMass hockey game a few Fridays ago. She fell asleep in the car on the way there, but that was OK, because she was able to stay up through all three periods and a 5-minute overtime.

Good: Popcorn and soda. How can life get better when you're 4?
Better: Daddy gets to explain the magic of the Zamboni.
Best: UMass ties the game with 4 seconds left! Yay ... and poor Sofia had her hands firmly over her ears because it was "too loud." Poor kid.

Between periods they crank the music in the Mullins Center and swing the video cameras around to catch fans acting goofy, and the music between the second and third was the "cha-cha slide." It was a pity that Sofia did not get on the jumbotron, because she really does the cha-cha slide amazingly well.

_ The other day, Sofia was in the bathroom brushing her teeth when I heard her plaintive cry. "Daddy there's a bug in here! It's gonna bite me!"

"It's not going to bite you," I replied, a little exasperated that the kid is afraid of garden-variety insects. "If that bug bites you I will buy you 100 dollars worth of ice cream."

"What if it's a spider?"

"It's not going to bite you if you leave it alone."

"But spiders can bite, you know!"

For the record, it was a moth.

_ She has adapted the "speaking of" verbal construction. Two examples:
"Speaking of cats, I have kitty cat pajamas."
"Speaking of mountains, let's read 'The Bear Went Over The Mountain.'"

_ She's learning to read! This very exciting, and at the same time it's a little frustrating for her -- she wants to be able to do everything at once and gets frustrated when that (very naturally) doesn't happen. To the point that she doesn't want to take eduacated guesses for fear of being wrong.

Last week, she happened to stick the business end of a felt-tipped marker on her tongue (it was dry). I told her not to do that, and then we searched the packaging to make sure said markers were in fact non-toxic. It turned out they were, but that fact was written in small print and not very prominently on the packaging.

Suddenly, Sofia began to cry. "I can't read!" she said. Two steps ahead of us as usual, Sofia -- age 4 -- was upset that she did not see on the package that the markers were non-toxic! That broke my heart. But wow, what a smart kid.

_ Turning Five (this April) has become a major, huge landmark in the life of Sofia. The early money is on bowling for a party, and her planning has alreday begun. It should be a big one. And speaking of parties (and now we know where she got "speaking of..."), her social calendar for February is entirely booked with birthday parties.

_ Can you believe she's a baseball season away from kindergarten? We went to the first parents' meeting a week ago last Wednesday.

Good: The North Stepford Falls schools really have their act together, or at least are able to pull off a presentation with aplomb.

Better: The kindergarten teachers at her school seem great. I think kindergarten teachers come out of the same genetic factory -- relentlessly cheerful, unfailingly positive. North Stepford Falls Elementary has three of 'em and we came away feeling the kid is going to be in good hands no matter what.

Whoa: The amount of paperwork (required forms, suggestions, the "your kid should be able to..." sheet, a 25-book suggested reading list) that was cheerfully provided. All I could think of when I looked at was the Violent Femmes line about "this will go on your permanent record." Well, here it is, folks: The start of Sofia's permanent record. Wow.

Not so good: North Stepford Falls, despite being one of the wealthiest towns in the Nutmeg State, only offers half-day kindergarten, which is is patently ridiculous. Furthermore, there are two morning sessions and one afternoon session, and the morning show would probably work best. Cross your fingers.