GRRR!

Alanna has started her second session of karate and is working towards her yellow belt this time. She's still the littlest in the class and once again is front and center so that sensei can keep an eye on her.

For the most part she does really well. There are moments when her attention span is stretched, but she tries and even though she doesn't get all of the moves exactly right (the coordination just isn't quite there) she's enjoying it which is what counts. The downside is that mommy has to learn all the moves too in order to practice with her and this time we're working on a striking set which consists of a series of punches repeated to the sides and to the front for a total of 20.

At the end of each class, sensei sits down with the kids and they go over some safety tips and definitions. One of the definitions they covered last time was 'kiai' which is a yell. Sensei asked the kids why a yell was a good idea in karate. The answers were that it scares the attacker and that it draws attention.

My child promptly stood up (visualize a little blonde haired, piggy tailed, blue eyed girl in a black karate outfit, barefoot and smaller than everyone else in the class) and said "Like this!" She took a stance and yelled out "BOO!"

This was followed with "This is also scarey!" She brought her hands up next to her face in little claws and yelled out "GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Then she sat right back down.

I don't think there was a dry eye in the house from all the uncontrolled giggles coming from the other parents.

Touchdown!

Jeb has tried to foster a love for football in Alanna. She gets excited every year about the 'football recital' (Superbowl) and has her own pom-poms courtesy of Aunt Woogie. She even rooted for the Zebras last year (Colts).

The other night during date night she proved to our babysitter that she doesn't quite have the fundamentals of the game down yet and Jeb has some more work to do next season.
Alanna and the babysitter were playing train. Train involves Alanna getting into a huge cardboard box that she's decorated, saying 'Chooooo Choooo' and the sitter gently rocking the box until they get to their imaginary destination. The destination of choice that night was a football game.

The babysitter yelled out "Alanna, it's a football game! The team needs your help! Quick go get a touchdown!"

Alanna promptly hopped out of the box, ran to the middle of the room, reached her hands WAY up in the air then crouched down with her fingertips on the floor.

The sitter stood puzzled for a moment as Alanna held the pose, then asked "Alanna, what are you doing?"

Alanna looked at her with conviction and a bit of a 'duh' tone, "I'm touching down!"

Art Project

I would imagine that when most children draw pictures of people they draw clothes on them, hair, eyes, nose, smile, ears, feet, etc. As a matter of fact most of the time when Alanna draws people she includes those details. You can always pick out which one she is in her drawings because her little self image always includes piggy tails.

The other day she was feeling artistic and got out one of the really large pieces of paper from the art supplies. She layed down on it and asked Jeb to trace her. He was able to fit her head and torso on the paper. She promptly pulled out her crayons and a book called, "My Body" and settled in to begin working.

Now bear in mind, this was not something we suggested. She came up with it completely on her own.

She proceeded to use the book to draw her skin, muscles, bones, heart, lungs, and digestive tract. She also wrote down each of the words once she finished with that item. It actually turned out pretty good.

She has such a scientific little mind and is always asking questions. I'm disappointed that our first choice for her kindergarten didn't turn out as we planned because it was a Science Math and Technology Magnet that would have been wonderful for her. Our second choice is also a very good school with a lot of programs available and great technology resources including individual laptops starting in 3rd grade. We're on a waiting list right now, but hopefully will get in for Fall.

It constantly amazes me the things she comes up with.

I Don't Wanna Grow Up Part 2

Late last week we had a follow up "I don't want to be a grown up" meltdown. This one happened in the morning while we were trying to do the morning routine. After reassuring Alanna that she didn't have to be a grown up for a very long time and that she would indeed be younger than daddy forever, I asked her again why it was that she didn't want to be a grown up.

Her response? "Because I don't want to work!" This struck me as odd because up until very recently on a near daily basis she has declared exactly what she wants to be when she grows up. Some days it's an astronaut, others a teacher, veterinarian, cashier at Target, and sometimes all four.

We continued with the morning flurry to get out the door and in the car on the way to daycare we had the following conversation:
A: Mommy, I guess I can be a grown up after all.
M: Oh?
A: Yes, I'm just going to be a princess. They don't have to work very hard!

So that's what I did wrong when I was making a career choice. I should have aspired to be a princess!!