Cerin Amroth

While Ella prefers (nay, demands) to call the shots when it comes to creative play, she usually defers to me when it comes to describing the way things are in the world, and like most kids her age, is always full of questions. Usually. The other day, though, we were talking about dogs and what they like to do.

“The dog likes to stick his head out the window!” she said.

“Yes, that’s right,” I replied, “When they’re riding in cars they like to stick their heads out the window and let the wind blow in their faces.”

“No, daddy. Trucks.”

“Well, dogs can ride in cars or trucks . . .”

“_No_, daddy. Dogs ride in trucks. _Not cars_.”

I tried for a while to convince her that dogs do occasionally ride in cars too, but she would have none of it.

Slowly but surely, Ella is becoming more comfortable talking in front of and with more and more people. When I go to pick her up in the playroom at the YMCA after exercising, I enjoy lurking by the door for a few minutes, before she’s noticed me, and watch her interact with the other kids. More often than not she’ll still be playing quietly by herself, but last week I watched her gradually build up the courage to go and talk to Isabella, a 3-year-old regular there who Ella talks about constantly. Isabella and Sofia, also 3, were sitting face to face and had their own play activity going. Ella clearly wanted, if not to join them exactly, at least to interact.

“Excuse me,” Ella said sweetly, cocking her head and moving her hands nervously, “Excuse me Isabella! I’m Mei! And you’re Satsuki!”

This, of course, is her traditional lead-in — the assigning of roles prior to whatever sort of imaginative play is about to ensue. Satsuki and Mei are the sisters from “My Neighbor Totoro”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Neighbor_Totoro, her new favorite movie.

Toddlers can be merciless. “We’re busy,” said Isabella, without looking up.

Ella paused, then tried again. “You’re a puppy, Isabella! Hi puppy!”

Isabella glanced up. “Go away,” she said.

I stood there in the wings, my heart breaking, quelling the urge to upbraid an innocent 3-year-old and reminding myself over and over that Isabella didn’t mean it, really, and that Ella, who was already elsewhere in the room doing something else, wouldn’t remember this in an hour, let alone a day or a month or a decade.

This morning, when it was just her and one other girl in the playroom, Ella was more in her element, and was apparently talkative with both the caregivers and the other girl the whole time I was gone. I know it’s probably not prudent to extrapolate overmuch from early events like this and predict that Ella’s going to be one of those people who thrive in small groups and one-on-one relationships but shy away from the big parties. But it seems pretty darn likely, not least ’cause that’s the way her mother is.

Welcome to Cerin Amroth’s new url address and new home.  Other than that everything should be pretty much the same.  I’m only moderately happy with the new stylesheet; I wanted something more colorful than the one at “Polytropos”:http://www.polytropos.org/ but still fairly minimalist.  If you can recommend another good WordPress stylesheet or stylesheet resource, let me know.

I tell Ella it’s time for her nap and, tired and grumpy, she shouts “No!” and tosses the toys she was playing with across the room.

“Ella,” I say sternly, “Big girls do _not_ throw things when they’re angry.”

Her reply, after a thoughtful pause:

“Do big boys?”

1. She loves playing with her Pez dispensers, and has no trouble with most of their names — Bunny, Yoda, Boba Fett. But R2-D2, despite her very best intentions, always comes out as “Arty Too-Too.”

2. No doubt the result of having heard the terms “silly” and “troublemaker” bandied about, Ella accused me yesterday of being a “sillymaker.”

3. Playing monster earlier today, I was gobbling on her cheek. Suddenly she pushed me away and said, full of mock indignation, “Monster! Put those pieces of my cheek _right back_!”

Family vacation in Steamboat Springs. Ella got to meet a bunch of her extended family and spend a lot of quality time with Nana, Papa, Aunt Sarah, and Aunt Sarah’s Special Friend Steve.

“397″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella397.jpg — This is a shot from back at home, unusual in that it catches her with a natural smile, more or less. She’s holding her circus finger puppets. The stripey clash in her wardrobe is a late-in-the-day arrangement brought about after a toilet training adventure, not an example of Daddy’s poor color coordination.
“398″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella398.jpg — Making fruit shakes with Papa at “The Condo.” Ella’s mantra on day one was “I don’t _want_ to go to the Condo, I want to go _hooome_.” As we were leaving a week later, it was “I don’t _want_ to go home, I want to go back to the _Cooondooooo_.”
“399″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella399.jpg — Reading with Nana. Ella has two expressions of Serious Concentration, one when she is actively doing something and one when she is paying close attention. The protruding lower lip here is the latter.
“400″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella400.jpg — Chatting with Aunt Sarah on the bed.
“401″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella401.jpg — At the waterfall with Nana and Papa.
“402″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella402.jpg — Just Ella. The shirt was a gift from Aunt Sarah from Nepal. She calls it her “yak yak” shirt; it’s the only article of clothing she ever requests by name.
“403″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella403.jpg — Hamming it up with Mama.
“404″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella404.jpg — This is one of those shots where her hair is, by complete accident, looking a little bit styled. It gives a little peek into what she might look like when she’s older. I feel like I got a lot more of those peeks in the past week than ever before.
“405″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella405.jpg — Taking the easy road back to the car with Daddy.
“406″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella406.jpg — Here’s Ella with an inflatable chair-thing in tow, ever eager for . . .
“407″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella407.jpg — . . . the pool, where she spent most afternoons, hanging out with Nana, loving every minute of it.
“408″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella408.jpg — Ella and A.S.S.F. Steve.
“409″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella409.jpg — On this particular hike Ella got down and dirty in the stream. Pretty impressive for someone who used to show “an aversion to stepping on grass”:http://www.polytropos.org/ella/archives/2005/04/weather_matters.html.
“410″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella410.jpg — With Nana at the stream . . .
“411″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella411.jpg — . . . and with Mama, throwing in a wave with the reliable Cheese Smile.
“412″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella412.jpg — Ella’s first attempt at using chopsticks. Never too early. She managed to snag a few grains of rice once, actually.
“413″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella413.jpg — Kicking back with Nana at the base of the gondola . . .
“414″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella414.jpg — . . . and here making a strong point later in the conversation. Later, at the top of the mountain . . .
“415″:http://www.polytropos.org/mt-static/ella/ella415.jpg — . . . nothing more to say. Other than maybe that the little stain on her shorts is from sitting in a puddle, not from another toilet training adventure. Ella was on vacation from those in Colorado too, though now we’re home and it’s back to work. Wish us luck.