Interrupted Wanderlust: Isabella at 35 Months

Isabella at 35 Months

6 Comments posted by Kristi on Friday, July 24, 2009 at 2:12 PM

Isabella turned 35 months old on Wednesday. One more month until the big 0-3.

Who is this little girl? Wasn't she just learning to walk and eating pureed carrots last week?

This past month, my dear firstborn has picked up a massively annoying habit, whose emergence is solely my fault and the hubs' fault. She's begun talking about herself in the third person, as in, "Isabella wants to go to the playground" and "Isabella needs help pulling up her underwear" and "This is Isabella's book and NOT the babies'!"

After trying to figure out where this came from, we realized that we often talk about ourselves that way, as in, "Bring the cup to mommy" and "You and mommy are going to the store" and she's picked up on it. Dammit! I've screwed up my child yet again.

I also have a little fear about her going to preschool and expecting her peeps and teacher to bow down and worship at the altar of Isabella. You see, my daughter likes an audience. If we're outside playing and our fabulous neighbors come over with their dog, she'll say, "Can the (ABCs) watch Isabella (grrrr...) go down the slide?" When her friends come over for a playdate, or she's around her friends in gym class, she'll ask them to watch her attempt particular tasks-jumping, catching a ball, etc.

This comes directly from the attention my family lavishes on her every time they see her. She is the rockstar, and she's used to being the center of attention, and even with the twins around now, she still is.

As much as she is very "me-centered" these days, she continues to be a great big sister to Luci and Nicholas. She basks in the praise I give her when she spontaneously does something to help them-pick up a dropped binky, give one or the other a toy, or lay out a blanket on the floor for them to play on.

This makes me long for the day when they can all entertain each other (I know, I know, they will undoubtedly knock each other around as well) and leave mama alone with her laptop. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy playing with Isabella and reading with her, but at almost 3, shouldn't she be playing more independently now? She is continually looking for my involvement in her play, and this makes getting anything work-related done next to impossible.

Birthday plans are in full swing. She's having a party with a few friends on August 15th and her big family party on her actual birthday, August 22nd. Her chosen theme has presented a problem, however. She chose Clifford as the subject of the sign my sister the fab artist is painting for her this year, and therefore Clifford is her party theme as well. But guess what? Clifford decorations, plates, napkins, favors, etc. are nowhere to be found, and I refuse to shell out $50 to an ebay seller for the last remaining party pack on planet Earth.

So, my mom and I are making decorations from scratch with the help of some templates on the PBS website. Fortunately, my mom who has a lot of time on her hands is an art teacher and an artist and quite crafty. We're keeping it simple, and probably running off Clifford coloring pages paired with some crayons as the favors.

(Speaking of keeping birthday parties simple, check out my latest article on this topic on Root & Sprout.)

She's still into stuffing books under her pillows and dictating topics for "Mr. Bleakman stories" before naps and bed (for the last month or so, her requests have always begun, "Mr. Bleakman had a problem...". Today's was, "Mr. Bleakman had a problem. He lost all his makeup and he couldn't find it anywhere."

Isabella at 35 Months

6 Responses to “Isabella at 35 Months”

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