Thoughts of a 3 year old

Tessa has started using the term "bad guys" with her definition hinging on what she sees in Wizard of Oz and Sleeping Beauty. She knows that good and bad guys fight and she knows that someone (usually the bad guy) gets killed as a result of the fight. She knows that "kill" applies to mosquitoes and she also knows that people can be killed, a subject I felt compelled to introduce to her after she snuck off away from Mommy on a second nerve wracking occasion. She crossed a main street in our neighborhood by herself before I could catch up to her, and walked alone the equivalent of about two blocks. I explained during her time out (after getting no reaction to other attempts to explain the severity of her action) that cars can't see her because she is little and if a car hit her she would get squished like a bug and be killed and sleep and not wake up. Her lip trembled as she repeated back to me what she understood and I feared I'd gone too far, but I truly didn't know how else to get such a serious point across. She seems to understand these concepts as well as a three year old can.

Tonight as Tessa was going to bed she got her nightly phone call to Daddy. His radio was pretty active in the background and she asked what it was. He explained that he was pretty busy helping his friends (code for anybody in a uniform) look for the bad guys. She repeated back to him "bad guys?" and then her chin began to quiver and she asked "are the bad guys going to kill Daddy and then he won't..." and her voice trailed off as she thought of how to say what she was thinking. Daddy reassured her that he was safe and I told her that Daddy has LOTS of friends that are all going to keep each other safe. She seemed to be calm after that and moved on to saying goodnight and talking about dreams. It made my throat catch to see her get so sad and worry about Daddy. It reminded me that even though he has a blast doing his job it is dangerous. In the three years he's been in there have been two "friends" murdered, and others who died on duty in accidents. I have trouble imagining the wives of those men trying to explain to their young children why their daddy's won't be coming home. It's good to be reminded that every day is precious.

While she is still learning complex ideas, she showed me the other night that concrete ideas are no problem at all. As usual she was up and down, wandering around the house and continually moving during dinnertime. After many reprimands and warnings I told her "stay in your seat until you finish your dinner". Without missing a beat she picked up her chair, holding it tightly to her bottom, and walked away from the table. Yes, I laughed.

Winner of the Best Dad contest

Shortly before Father's Day I met my sister and her family at Texas Roadhouse for dinner. There is one conveniently located in between us so it may become a tradition. They were asking the kids to enter their dads in the "Best Dad" contest so I "helped" Phoebe nominate her Daddy. It went something like this, "My Dad is the best because even though he works a long day and gets home at 3 in the morning he always let's me get in his bed when I wake up scared or lonely". Her entry won him a free dinner and she got a free kid's meal too. They love the "peanut" restaurant, and we love it because it's loud and messy, even before we get there!

National Night Out

A friend of mine wrangled me into Neighborhood Watch and made me a block captain. I helped plan the National Night Out, where neighborhoods are encouraged to meet their local law enforcement agencies and get to know each other in an effort to be more aware of the community happenings. It had a great turnout and even the thunder storm that rolled in didn't dampen the party. Everyone just hung out right up until the rain came pouring down! Phoebe did not enjoy the sirens that were occasionally on for the kids to try out but Tessa loved it. A week later she is still talking about meeting Daddy's friends at the park and McGruff the crime dog.

Tessa got a whistle from the SPD.

The most visible agency in our neck of the woods.

McGruff meeting some kids. The officer under the awning ("Big Al") was so cool, I hope he's the next one to pull me over.
We want one of these to keep at our house all the time.

A little girl driving a big truck. Reminds me of my aunt Dana (a Mira Mesa Fire Captain).

Make-a-Wish

At Phoebe's most recent genetics appointment I inquired to the doctor about the Make-a-Wish foundation and if he felt it was appropriate to apply for Phoebe. The charity originally fulfilled wishes of terminally ill children but has expanded their scope to include children with life threatening diseases. He felt that Phoebe's general diagnosis being unkown as well as her suspected seizures and cerebral palsy made it appropriate to apply for her. He signed the papers and his office sent them in and we immediately got a phone call to go over our info. We just received an official welcome packet and notification that they are going to grant Phoebe a wish! It's going to be a challenge to think of the perfect thing that she wants since she is nonverbal. Horses, roller coasters and traveling are the ideas we are exploring.