Greta’s little corner

Three months ago, Greta would babble in her crib, read books, and play with her baby dolls when she woke up.  Eventually she would blurt out, “Mom!  Mom!”  when she wanted to get out.

These days, however, she awakes with a start and immediately starts yelling, “I want out!  I want out!”  She knows that she is missing something and she can’t stand it.  When I open her door, she says, “Where’s Maren?  Where’s Daddy?”  She wants to know where all of us are and what we are doing at all times.

If she leaves the room where I am sitting, she says, “I’ll be right back Mom.”  And I have to say, “Okay, Greta, you’ll be right back.” If I don’t repeat it back to her, she will just stand there and repeat it five, ten, twenty times.  She is so sure of her voice, and wants to be sure she is being understood.  I’ve got to start counting how many times she repeats herself if she doesn’t get the right response; she has serious stamina.

Today I found her stuffed puppy, and I said, “Look Greta, I found your puppy.”

She said, “I want to snuggle my puppy!”  I gave it to her and she picked it up and pressed it between her shoulder and her cheek.  She. is. so. adorable.

She was trying to turn on the light, and I said, “No Greta, no light.  You do not turn on the lights.  No thank you.”  And, she did it again.  I repeated, “No Greta, no light.  You will get a time out if you touch the light.”

She looked at me, and said in a hushed voice, “Time out.”

“Yes, time out if you touch the light.”

With that, she said, “Time out,” and ran out of the room, over to her time out spot, sat down, stood up, and started saying, “Sorry Mommy, sorry Mommy.”  She returned after her self-inflicted time out to give me a hug and a kiss.  Brad and I just laughed.  This kid is awesome, and so smart it scares me.

She is so snuggly.  I put her on my hip and she pulls her legs in tight, puts her ear on my chest, and her forehead at my neck; it is a moment I cherish every time.  Time stands still as we soak each other in.  I’ve always loved little-girl-snuggles, and Greta is full of them.  Maren, from the time she could hold her head up at three weeks, until she was three-years-old, never put her head on my shoulder.  No snuggles were worth keeping her eyes up and remaining at attention so that she wouldn’t miss anything.  Now that Maren is five, she’s a big snuggler too.  But Greta has always loved the snuggles; she wiggles in and has a favorite spot on me.  I love it.

Twenty times a day, Greta stands at my knees, thrusts her hands in the air, and looks up at me, “Hold you, hold you.”  She wants me to pick her up, and adopted the phrase because, evidently, I said to her, “Do you want me to hold you?”  Now that Maren is half my height, I know I will miss Greta grasping my knees a few years from now.  However, I won’t miss dragging her on my leg from the stove to the sink while trying to make dinner.  (Haha!)

These moments and memories are why I started this blog.  The little details of our day that combine into our little life in our little corner of the world.  Here, we are safe and happy and so very, very, very loved.  I love my family.  Please God, keep us safe.