Wednesday, 30. December 2009, 04:59:50
Mumma, why don't you cut your own hair?
-Because you can't see what you're doing.
This sign appeared several times in the past - oh why did I not see!?!? But then again, there comes a defining moment in some 5 year olds' lives in which they take a pair of scissors to their own heads. You're either that type of kid, or you're not. Just two weeks ago a friend of ours was telling us how their 5 year old cut her own hair earlier this year. I thought that was hilarious. When it's your own kid, well, I just had to laugh, too. Risa seemed uncertain about what she had done, so I just admonished her for the mess she left in the bathroom, and for the possibility of her hurting herself with the sharp scissors. But otherwise, I told her she did a rather good job and I would just help even it out a little (this picture was taken before I fixed up the sides and back). At least we can see her earrings now.
Tuesday, 29. December 2009, 01:00:35
We're passing quiet (more or less) days at home during this holiday season with not much running around. I'm catching up with some reading. I read Stephanie Meyer last month and am now chasing that down with Philip Pullman and Ken Follett. One afternoon, while I was reading on my pda, Risa picked up her ukulele, dusted it off, and sang a song. She often likes to ad lib and can even bust a rhyme once in a while. This time, as I pretended to continue reading, I simply hit the record button on my pda and captured this:
3-51-pm-27-12-09-Risa-s-Blues.wav Maybe I'll attach a transcript when I figure it all out.
Friday, 25. December 2009, 04:12:36
Risa has been singing Christmas songs for about a week now. Someone's getting awfully excited these days... We did a bit of baking today, gingerbread cookies. While I was cutting out tree and snowman shaped cookies, Risa was busy fashioning her own rendition of a snail, complete with eye stalks, tentacles, twisty shell, and foot. I was quite surprised at the detailed morphology, but then again, Risa's kindergarten class did spend several weeks studying snails this fall. She also likes Gary, the pet snail of Spongebob Squarepants.
There is a cookie (not Gary) and a glass of milk set out for Santa. Risa will say she thinks Santa isn't real, but she still wanted the snack left out, probably just in case! And a very Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!
Friday, 18. December 2009, 00:37:20
Life seems busy, but I don't know why. I guess I still spend my free time mentally shutting down so I don't have time to blog. We had our first snow of the season, a pitiful dusting. Risa sports the apparently much
coveted Olympic mittens. There has been some campaign in town to provide Olympic mittens to all school children, starting with kindergarten. However, the snow and cold weather lasted only a few days and we're back to rain and warmer temperatures.
Risa passed her first hurdle in karate in earning her first badge for being able to memorize and recite a 14 line dojo pledge, or kun. I didn't think she would get it at this time, but she was determined to learn it and get a badge like most of the other kids in her class who had started karate earlier than she did. I wished I had caught it on video, but it happened so quickly. Sensei stood with her just before class and had Risa recite it to her. There was no formal announcement, but I noticed that within seconds, when others realized that Risa was being tested for her badge, the parents and kids in the waiting area with me all stood up and quietly paid attention (a house rule, like standing up when you hear the national anthem). After Risa's last line, everyone applauded and cheered. It was such a big thrill for Risa, and really nice that everyone was so encouraging. It may be a long time before she can earn the next belt, so I was glad that she could gain something in between.
WIDGETIZE