Metal Meredith

Vivienne is going through some major transition problems which we think stem from both losing a tooth and turning 5, getting ready for Kindergarten as well as an uncertain daily summer schedule. It is a lot for a tiny 5 year old brain to process, I suppose.

These problems are manifesting in a unusual need to be no less than 4 feet from me at all times. Add to that the inability to fall asleep and stay asleep and you have two unhappy parents to deal with an increasingly weepy child. It hasn’t been so much fun around here.

My big plan was to get Vivienne to my mom’s house for a good part of one week and then re-do her room. I wanted to rid her of the toddler things that have been in her room since we moved here in June 2005. After all, she was still in the crib then. I have been planning for this for about 6 months, collecting linens on sale, scoping paint samples and planning around things we already have as to not spend too much. I had everything ready to go when Vivienne decided that she wasn’t able to let me out of her sight without having a little kid panic attack. She only made it one night (and two fun filled days) at Camp Grandma before demanding to come home.

So we rushed to get her room done. It was well worth it and I spent a lot of time in there this week just ‘visiting’ the room and sitting on the floor and enjoying the uncluttered, non-baby design of it all. It feels good to pat myself on the back when I am able. I am taking that opportunity now, and bragging on my own abilities.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Vivienne does love the room. She thanked me many, many times and is excited that her room is pink now. Truth be known, I didn’t do it for her, but don’t tell her that.

Honestly, I am just getting used to the whole Kindergarten thing. The idea of allowing her to get on a giant bus with a bunch of other idiot children at the tender age of 5 years old is too much to take on right now. After all, this is the kid that hasn’t even been wiping her own ass for a year yet, who got rid of diapers less than 7 months ago. How can she be doing this to me?

It has been 2 weeks since Vivienne told Phil and I, right before bed, that her ‘tooth felt funny’. It was ‘over top the other one and feels like it is moving’. It only took me about 3 seconds to cover my mouth, start to tear up and inform my husband and child that she had her first loose tooth. She thought it was silly that Mom was crying about it, but she was about to giggle herself into hysterics. She calmed down long enough to ask when it would fall out and what happens when it does. She knew it put her over the edge into Big Kid-Dom.

That weekend was a whirlwind, with the birthday party, Father’s Day at the Grow Farm and then Monday being Vivienne’s actual Birthday. By the time the rest of the week rolled around, I was exhausted. This week, she started Swim Camp, where she was tortured by tan ladies in bikinis by being forced to put her precious 5 year old face under water. The HORROR!

Halfway through the week she was begging not to go until I promised we could make a chocolate cake when she happily stuck her mug in the pool. Of course, dessert being all the reason she needed, she did it on Wednesday. We celebrated that night with a special “Vivienne’s Chocolate M&M Underwater Cake” and dinner at Panera.

On Thursday, she ate watermelon and knocked her tooth all out of whack. It was at a 45 degree angle and really ooked me out. But she was giddy with delight. It took all the effort in the world to get her to leave it alone and convince her to go to bed. This morning, Friday, I was greeted with an outstretched hand and the tiniest tooth in the middle of it.

There is now a gaping hole in her head. It is the perfect size for a sippy cup straw, a pinkie or a french fry. It also, as I have been told, helps her whistle and sometimes makes her talk funny. Today she stood a little taller, acted a little more responsible and helped me clean up after her brother. I am wondering if there is a direct correlation between baby teeth and acting a fool. Perhaps someone should do a study.

So if you are keeping score, Vivienne has accomplished 5 or 6 milestones in June. But tonight, I have one more to conquer. I am off to replace a tooth from under a pillow with a gold coin, some glitter and a special poem. Now, where did I put those wings?

Vivienne is in a different Summer Camp this week than she typically goes to. It is a camp that also has swim lessons. So we kill 2 birds and I don’t have to be out in the heat with Henry running around like a madman for an hour. Last year, he just hung out in the stroller, content to watch people coming and going and getting a bottle every so often. I kept him cool with a small, battery operated fan and lots of shade. It was 2 weeks of 100 degree temperatures.

She came home today, just like last year, telling me that she hates it and doesn’t want to go back. They made her put her face in the water (the horror!) and she doesn’t like that AT ALL. She has agreed to try it one more time tomorrow. If she hates it, she will agree to go one more time on Wednesday. By Thursday, she will be having a blast and there will be no more fierce determination.

The teacher sent me this photo today.

What gives away that she is my kid? Is it the blonde hair? The blue eyes? I know. I know what you are all thinking. It is the 6 pack, right?

Vivienne remains unphased. She tried, but thankfully failed last year, to avoid turning 4 years old. It was months of her insisting that she would not turn 4, would not blow out candles, would not allow us to sing for her. We did it all anyway.

This year, she grasped the reigns of her birthday and ran full force with it. We had one of those giant parties with a lot of kids. It was actually a lot of fun and painless in all areas but the wallet. However, I did not have to lift a finger to do more than go down a giant slide, press the button of a camera and make sure the grin on my child’s face never disappeared.

It is not hard to believe she is 5. After all, our lives have changed so much since she came into the world. I tried to tell her tonight about what was happening 5 years ago at her bedtime tonight. She just listened and then asked, when will I be 7? How about 9? When will I turn 15?

I just smiled. Took a much needed deep breath and told her to slow down and go to sleep.