Three reasons I'm proud of Kalina

Although most of us would never admit it, there are times when we look at our toddlers and think, "Oh my. Aren't you the fixer-upper." We don't always phrase it so nicely, but we do set to work and try to wrestle them into not eating applesauce with their fingers (something Elise is still particularly challenged by), putting trash into the trash can instead of licking it and not absentmindedly walking off the playground structure. We're all works in progress, I suppose.

We work, and we work, and we nag, if only for the exhilarating moments when our kids toddle off and actually exhibit behavior we've been aiming for, and over which we realistically have not much control. This happens in small ways first (hooray! You stepped around the mud puddle!) and then in larger ways, and the clouds part and we spy a glimmer of hope that things will, actually, be okay even when we are no longer around to remind them five times to brush their teeth.

Kalina, fortunately, does not lick trash and rarely falls off of anything at all. Beyond that, we've seen signs that show she's growing not only in height, but also in depth.

Kalina and Elise at the end-of-the-year
presentation. Naomi sang along from
her seat.

Proud Moment #1: Memory Master
At the beginning of the year, just for fun (because what's not fun about classical learning? My poor kids...), we joined a classical learning co-op that focuses on memory work. We were hoping to make a few friends, get out of the house a bit and possibly even learn something.

As it turned out, the girls not only adored the co-op, but learned a lot. A ton. Pretty much everything, in fact. By winter, they were both begging me to "let" them try for Memory Master, an end-of-the-year challenge that would test everything covered that year, four times. No mistakes were allowed past round two. They were dying to try it.

I couldn't help but remember when Kalina was a young toddler and hated puzzles, hated shape sorters, generally hated a challenge. Anything she thought she couldn't do stressed her, so I either gave her lots of help or put the toys away.

On an AHG hike, we
met a teen who had
become mommy to
these baby ducklings.
He was mobbed by
8-year-old girls, and
kindly let us hold the
ducklings. "I will
never forget this day."

And so I couldn't say no to the challenge she so desperately wanted to take on, much as I knew I might regret it. After all, when a square doesn't fit into a triangle, it's stressful for the whole household. I could, however, say no to the five-year-old--or at least talk her into an alternative "event."

Kalina cheerfully spouted back Latin noun cases, parts of a plant cell, parts of the Byzantine Empire, the associative law for multiplication (and all the others), long lists of prepositions, her presidents, information about the dominion of Canada, and the entire timeline of the history of the world whenever I asked her. When she got them wrong, she uncharacteristically tried again, not once melting into a puddle on the floor (which, um, never happens, um, during spelling tests or anything...).

And the rest of the story is a non-story: Kalina sailed through all four rounds, and earned the title of Memory Master. We celebrated with food. Elise, who would've felt shorted if she hadn't been allowed her very own show-off night, showed off as well, and we then celebrated with more food.

This isn't the random friend in
question, but Kalina did
wrestle it from the lake. "I
felt like I was playing a shark!"

Proud Moment #2: Making a random new friend from a very different culture.
The other day at the park, Kalina decided she wanted to make a new friend. This would not seem like a big deal to a lot of parents, but I was reminded of the times young Kalina literally ran screaming from other children trying to be her friend, or at least play alongside her. "Ew, get them away!"

I okayed the idea (of course--she didn't really need to even ask) and Kalina approached a Muslim girl several inches taller than her. I couldn't overhear the conversation without appearing very snoopy, but soon I saw the girl solemnly following Kalina, and Elise by default, around the playground. Conversation was sparse enough that I concluded the girl spoke a different language, but I was wrong. Kalina discovered the girl's name, the fact that she doesn't speak Spanish (good guess, Kalina!), and the facts that she's nine and has several younger brothers and sisters. She isn't allowed to have playdates, which Kalina was bummed about.

Kalina patiently stayed with the girl, who clearly wasn't used to playing with strange girls around her age, and soon concluded that if she couldn't have a playdate, she'd like to write letters.

Why was I so proud? It's hard to be friends with someone not very much like you, and Kalina didn't give up or lose interest. She waited super patiently for 10-15 minutes, undaunted, while her new friend simply swung in the swing. She smiled quietly and looked out for her new friend's best interests. I would've struggled, but she seemed at her ease. And perhaps most importantly, she didn't run screaming away.

"I feel like I'm flying!"

Proud Moment #3: Two-wheel biking, knitting, ballet, scootering, cooking, Spanish--the list goes on.
At first I was going to write that Kalina's ballet teacher said she dances beautifully (which I knew, but was tremendously fun to hear from an expert). But then Kalina learned to knit in, like, one lesson. And I realized she had also recently learned to ride a bike with no training wheels. And then the next week her ballet teacher commented on how "precious" she is and that she always has something sweet to say about her sisters in class. Plus she's taking off with Spanish, uses her ears to figure out tunes on the piano and can lend a real hand in the kitchen (not one that spills flour all over me or sneaks tastes every five second). And she scooters around the block, supervised of course, adeptly and fearlessly. And she can juggle one Koosh ball.

Everyone is finger knitting, except
Naomi, who only thinks she is. This
led to needles for Kalina!

Okay, maybe some things are only pseudo-accomplishments, but the point remains: Kalina sure is growing! Sure, she still prefers to be on the same level of the house as everyone else (preferably the same room), she can stare off into space for 15 minutes while theoretically getting dressed in the morning and even Naomi's simplest stories catch her interest (especially away from math), but her new confidence and abilities have clearly signaled a new phase in development.

Kalina's certainly enjoying her new skills and I have to admit that I, too, am enjoying the transition from "Don't put your hand in your milk" to "Please clean up the milk you spilled," or even, not too far off, "Please turn this milk into pancakes for dinner tonight."

Congrats, Kalina!