That is the question I get every morning, before Ainsleigh's eyes are barely even open. I asked her why she wants it to be Easter so badly and she told me, "because then I get to find all those eggs!" She is so excited. I'm trying to teach her what its really all about too. I found this little Bible called the Jesus Storybook Bible and it is so perfect. She was enamored with the image of Jesus on the cross and the crown of thorns. I wondered if understood the meaning behind those images. I explained how, by doing that, Jesus paid the penalty for us so that we could live with him forever in heaven. It's hard to really know what is absorbed. I remember being little and, when I didn't really understand something, sort of making up the details for myself. Like the way that Tim thought that dogs were boys and cats were girls when he was little. A few nights later, during her nighttime prayers, she said, "...and thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross." I thought...she gets it!
She gets a lot of things these days. Like the other night, as I held Paige, she was giving me my usual makeover with her toy makeup, and she said, "...and this product will make you look younger, Mommy." I realized, once again, that we must really watch way too much tv. Just to see what she would say, or to get an idea of how much she understood the complicated issues behind our need to use products like those, that make us look younger, I responded by saying, "Younger? You mean I'm going to look like a baby?" She surprised me by saying, "No. Don't worry. Your friends will still recognize you." Ha! I've got to be more careful with my habit of laughing out loud when she says things that aren't really meant to be funny.
Last week she went to preschool with Grandma Debbie and had a wonderful time. She even talked a lot about it with me, which is new for her. She tends to like to keep things to herself sometimes, but only when it comes to mommy and daddy. Strangers, on the other hand, can hear our life story. I asked her if she wanted to send a letter to the kids, thanking them, and she said, "only to Allison." She made a good little friend while she was there.
She also finished dance class last weekend and I'm always impressed at how much she really knows (since she likes to keep her dance lesson experiences to herself too). We got to watch a little performance where the kids demonstrated the things they learned. She was almost always the first to remember each movement. Her favorite was the hip hop move that the teacher calls the "pulling up your pants" move. Ainsleigh thinks that's hilarious!
We also got kindergarten information in the mail and we go to "roundup" next week with her. I'm so not ready for her to be "rounded up" but I guess she is ready. I have all these high ambitions of homeschooling her and teaching her all about astronomy and geography and history and doing little birdwatching type of side projects, she's so amazingly teachable, but she seems too excited and ready to go meet kids to play with. We'll see.
She's growing by leaps and bounds. Oh, and so is that little sister. She's over 17 pounds now, at 5 months old! I am loving her current stage that involves lots of sitting up/standing practice as well as nose/hair/toy grabbing, face sucking, jumping like a mad woman in her little jumperoo, and great big smiles and giggles! She is enamored with Ainsleigh and they missed each other so much while they were apart last week. I thought only Ainsleigh missed Paige but then I saw Paige's reaction to Ainsleigh once we were all back home together and realized how much she enjoys it when Ainsleigh gives her attention.
Now to contemplate the biggest of sacrifices, give thanks, and prepare our hearts for Easter!
I suppose it will grow back. I put on a brave face and told her it would probably be long by her birthday. But she has no regrets. Daddy was a little sad to see her long hair gone too. It is really growing on us now. It bounces with her.
