here i am, a few months later, to write about new things i love about arrow.
she exclaims this after completing a task, like buckling herself into her carseat, feeding the dogs or cleaning up a mess. who knew that my exact congratulations to her would become her own congratulations to herself. there is no shortage of praise or high fives in this house. high tens we are still working on though, she prefers to just slap both hands with the same hand. we'll call it the double high five.
2. arrow has started telling us what she is going to do before she does it, a trait she picked up from her sweet cousin abel.
"arrow eat this rock" "arrow slap this ground" + "arrow eat arrows waffle allllll gone gone!"
i like this habit, it's working for me. I can stop all rock eating long before it happens, i can tell her it is okay to slap the ground, just not lucy & i can praise her when she eats things (not rocks) alllllll gone gone. (i told you, no praise shortage around here.)
3. her prayers.
before each meal, we pray. arrow is a speed pray-er, most likely because she is leaving out words that make full sentences. i tell her to repeat after me: dear God. dear God. bless this food. ress dis food. we love you jesus. yeah. amen. aaaaaaamen.
its adorable. we have a prayer for bedtime too, but she ends up 'blessing this food' instead of 'thanking for this day' which is alright with me, God knows what she means.
5. the way she talks on the phone, i am using the term 'phone' here, loosely. it is often not a play phone and is instead a rectangle block or sometimes a fly swatter. I have countless videos of her chit-chatting away to her lucky caller of the day.
"Hi Birdie! yeah. fine. what you doing birdie. yeah. hahahahaha. yeah. bye birdie."
*all the while strolling her baby doll around the house*
on my real phone though, she is super skilled. if i leave it unlocked for even a second she is face timing someone. she doesn't stay looking at the screen for long so her guest is usually face timing the sky or the ceiling fan while listening to arrow, but we're working on the eye contact thing.
6. she is a girl who knows what she wants. she is particular about how many graham crackers i put in the bowl, doesn't want me to take the wrapper completely off her popsicle without her help & knows when i am stingy with the syrup. she knows exactly which shoes she wants to wear & looks at me like i am a crazy person if i try to choose her cup for the day without first asking her preference. her decisive nature & her inability to be swayed are two traits that i often find myself battling, but they are what make a strong minded little girl into a powerful woman, so I'm letting her get away with being a little choosy.
and 7. her intense love for all things daddy. I have been the apple of arrows eye for nearly two years now, i was her main food source for a year so that was in my favor & i am also the one who buys the toys, but i am sensing a shift. now she is ready to play, chase & go upside down and that is what daddy is for. He is also the only person who can take her on the vroom vroom (the mini bike) & drives the big white truck (apparently my big white suv just won't cut it anymore.) She wants to hold his hand and go wherever he goes. when daddy goes bye-bye there is a nuclear meltdown that is often avoided or handled by using popsicles and/or m&ms as distraction tools. he is our main man and might i add, I fall in love with him all over again when i see him with her.
