Jayna is getting older. Growing up. To me, that means she's potty trained, sleeps through the night, eats whatever food she wants (except shrimp...may be allergic), and can talk. To her, it means something completely different.
We use the "growing up" or "big girl" schtick for lots of things. When she throws a fit, we say, "Big girls don't throw fits. You're a big girl, not a baby anymore." When she is reluctant to try new foods, it's, "Big girls atleast TRY all the food." And so on and so forth.
We also talk often about things that she can do when she "grows up." You know, things like go to school, talk on the phone, etc. And sometimes this goes tooooooo far. Way too far.
Jayna has a Little Tikes car...this one:
As she was riding in her car in Nana's driveway, Nana made the innocent statement, "When you get bigger, you'll be able to drive a real car!"
After Jayna ate dinner that night, she told Nana, "I got bigger. I drive a real car now?"
Yikes.
There was more than one occasion that she'd ask Chris or me, "Am I bigger now? Can I drive a real car?" We'd tell her no and she'd cry. She was serious about this driving thing.
Last weekend, Chris was chewing a piece of gum. Jayna asked him what he was eating and he told her gum. "I want a gum, daddy!" He told her she was too little and she'd have to wait until she got bigger. She agreed and let it go. She then took a nap.
When she got up from her nap, she told me, "Mommy! I grewed up when I sleeped!" I told her that she did, indeed, probably grow just a smidge when she was sleeping. She said to me, "I have gum now??"
We've also been urging her to swing in the "big girl swing." We have one of those baby/toddler swings that buckles the kid in and then we have a normal swingset swing. She's been using the "big girl swing" a lot and is learning to pump her legs to swing herself. I went to push her last week and she yelled, "I DON'T NEED YOU PUSH ME ON THE BIG GIRL SWING!!!"
Ugh. The kid wants to grow up so bad. And a part of me wants her to stay little. I say a "part of me" because there is a bigger part of me that really wants to watch her develop into an awesome kid/teen/adult. But for now, I've been secretly wishing that something would happen that would make her want to stay little and NOT grow up. Be careful what you wish for....
Jayna would NOT drop the "driving a real car" bit, so Nana bought her a Jeep Power Wheel...this one (sort of):
Did you know that the battery for a Power Wheel has to charge for 18 to 30 hours before use?? I was pretty sure Jayna was going to have a panic attack for 2 complete days. On the second day, she asked once an hour, "Can I drive my car yet?" Since it was raining, I just used that excuse. But seriously, 30 hours is like a complete lifetime for a 2.5-year-old!!!
Nana really bought this for Jayna for being completely potty trained. (An unrelated story...I told Jayna that after her last potty chart, she'd be potty trained and we'd have no more charts. When the chart was almost full, she said, "My potty chart is almost full. Then I get to ride the Potty Train." She thought there was an actual train...) It was her surprise for doing such a good job.
So, yesterday it FINALLY stopped raining and the battery was FINALLY charged.
I carried her Jeep out to the backyard and installed the battery. (Note to parents: install the battery BEFORE you let the kid in the thing. Otherwise the kid WILL run you over.) She started going and would go, stop, go, stop. It took her a couple of minutes to get the hang of the Jeep actually being battery powered. She then got the hang of it and took off. When she'd get close to a tree, I'd yell, "TURN!! Don't hit that TREE!!" And she'd turn and just miss the tree.
She was cruising along and was so proud of herself!! She looked back at me (and was NOT looking where she was driving) to make sure I was looking. She was headed STRAIGHT FOR THE HOUSE!!!
I screamed, "JAYNA, LOOK WHERE YOU'RE GOING!!!"
Not really understanding what I was saying, she just stared at me with her lead foot on the gas pedal.
I ran over and grabbed the back of the Jeep to stop it. (Another note: THAT DOESN'T WORK. The thing was dragging me through the grass.)
She crashed straight into the house. She didn't get hurt, nor did the house...but to a 2.5-year-old, a crash is a crash. Is a crash.
The poor kid. She wanted sooooo badly to drive that Jeep. She did...and she wrecked.
She immediately started crying. She reached up for me and said through her tears, "I don't wanna drive anymore. I wanna go swing. Mommy, will you push me in the little girl swing?"
Well, I got my wish. She won't even LOOK at that Jeep. I know she will again eventually. But for right now, I'll keep on pushing her in the little girl swing. She's only 2 and a half, you know.
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