Dear Ivy...

Dear Ivy,

I'm really behind keeping up on this blog that is supposed to be about you. Well it's about our family as a whole but mostly you. I'm also very far behind on your scrapbooks. I just knew I would be the Mother that was on top of everything and made sure everything you did and said would be documented perfectly. Turns out life gets in the way and I'm totally not that Mother. I do want to take a few moments though to put down some things you are doing recently that are awesome and hilarious and also the things that drive me crazy.

One of my favorite things that you say is "I'M SO UPSIDED!!!!" Which translates into "I'M SO EXCITED!!!!" You have been saying this for a least a year now and I used to correct you and make you say "EXCITED" but then I decided that I love it and I'm probably going to be really sad whenever you start saying "EXCITED" so I've decided to leave it alone and just enjoy it.



You still love Elton John and Bjork but recently you've started loving all things Bob Marley. You know most of the words and request him frequently in the car. Your favorite Bob Marley song is "3 Little Birds".

You have trouble understanding what "favorite" means sometimes. Basically anything you like is your "favorite".  For example you'll say "Can we listen to Elton John because he is my favorite?" The very next day you'll say "Can we listen to Bob Marley because he is my favorite?" You also have several songs that when you hear then you exclaim "OH MOMMY THIS IS MY FAVORITE SONG!!!!! CAN YOU TURN IT UP PLEASE?"

 Songs that make you say that are as follows:

Helena Beat by Foster the People
Don't Stop by Foster the People
Great DJ by The Ting Tings
That's Not My Name by The Ting Tings
Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve
1234 by Fiest
Shiny Happy People by R.E.M.
Second Chance by Peter, Bjorn, & John
Tomorrow Has to Wait by Peter, Bjorn, & John
Daylight by Matt & Kim
Take On Me by A HA
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips
The Zookeepers Boy by Mew
Roam by the B-52's

You love to dance. ALL THE TIME. You took ballet this year and at first you didn't like it too much but I made you finish the year because you had requested to take it and I don't ever want you to think that you can just quit when you don't like something.  You had your first recital in the Roar of Love this past March and I think the performance bug bit you. Now you do ballet all the time all over the house. You often ask me to dance with you and I remember a few ballet moves from when I was younger and show them to you. I'm pretty sure that I do a terrible job but you think I'm the best ballerina in the whole world and that's all that matters.



Whenever you say or yell "Mommy" I almost always respond immediately. But then you choose to either not tell me what you need or ignore my response and then you will say "Mommy" twenty times in a row. Please stop that.


You also call me "Grammie" a lot.  I am Mommy.

Every night at bedtime we read one book...sometimes two. Then you always ask me to lay down with you for a little bit. I know I shouldn't do this and I should let you fall asleep on your own but I figure that me laying down next to you for a few minutes isn't what is going to make you need therapy in the future. Plus it's much easier on me to let you fall asleep while I'm laying next to you instead of you getting up and coming in my room twenty times.  You always roll over and face me and then you wrap your arm around my neck and pull me close until our noses touch. Then you smile really big and rub your nose against mine and say "I love you" while giggling...this is absolutely my favorite thing in the whole world and I look forward to it everyday.  You usually fall asleep within a few minutes but if you don't you ask me to sing. I'm pretty sure you are the only person on earth that likes to hear me sing. I ask you what song you want and you usually request "You Are My Sunshine" or a song that I made up shortly after you were born called "Ivy-girl".



Another thing you do at bedtime is play with my ear while you fall asleep.  You have done this ever since you were a baby.  I remember the first time you did it.  You were about 5 or 6 months old and I was nursing you and you just reached up and started rubbing my ear.  It's one of my favorite things....well it's one of my favorite things when you are gentle.  If you're anxious for any reason you are perfectly capable of making it feel like you are going to rip my ear off. And you don't necessarily prefer my ear....you'll do this to anyone that will let you.

After your bath every night you lose your mind. I thought that baths were suppose to calm kids down but as soon as you get out of the tub it's all I can do to make you stand still long enough to dry you off. You run around naked and dance and scream and laugh like you have gone mad. Trying to get your pajamas on, brush your teeth, and dry your hair should be an Olympic sport and I am exhausted afterwards.

Also, you call Pajamas "Jommas" and that cracks me up.



You say everyone is your best friend. You can't pick just one. Even the kid in your class this year that was mean to you. You would get so upset when he was mean because you thought that kid wasn't your best friend anymore.  I asked you one time to tell me who your best friend was and you named off every kid in your class (and your teachers) plus a couple of our neighbors.  When I explained your best friend is only one person you responded with "But I just LOVE EVERYONE Mommy!"  That is quite possibly the sweetest thing I've ever heard anyone say.

You have also picked out your future husband...Arjan. According to his parents he is just as smitten with you as you are with him. He likes you because you will play Star Wars with him. What he doesn't know is that you only play that because you get to be a character named Princess Leia. You have no idea who she is but her name starts with "Princess" so you automatically like her.

You like to play games a lot and you grasp the concept of a new games really quickly.  We quit letting you win games a long time ago and you usually take losing in stride....except for when we play "Old Maid".  Heaven help us all if you end up with that Old Maid card.  You actually throw a tantrum over being the Old Maid and sometimes I think you might actually cause an earthquake.  We immediately let you know that it is unacceptable to throw tantrums and you eventually calm down but it's also pretty funny to watch.  You like Candyland a lot too.  You do really well with it (aside from one meltdown when a friend was over) but you are always determined to draw the lollipop card.  It doesn't matter if it means you lose....YOU WANT THAT LOLLIPOP CARD!



You are afraid of NOTHING (except for The Grinch).  Seriously you have no fear.  I'm worried that their will be many broken bones in your future.  Climbing and jumping are something you are going to make me lose my mind over.  When you get hurt you just don't understand why the ground has to be so hard.  We went to the mountains on vacation recently and went up to Grandfather Mountain.  I think you would have done a back flip if I hadn't kept a hold of your hand so tight.  You just could not grasp the concept that you were a mile in the air and falling might mean you get hurt or even worse.  I'm a little worried sometimes that you will grow up to be a stuntwoman.

You make silly faces all the time to get people to laugh.  You also make up jokes all the time that make no sense at all. For example:

"Hey Mommy!  Why did the Cat try to get the Chicken?"
"Um Why?"
"Because he was purple and I need some new shoes!  Hey what do you mean I have a bug on my head? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! That's SO FUNNY isn't it!"
"Um Hysterical."



You are a total Princess and Disney has yet to make a Princess item that you don't "need".  We just remodeled your room and got you "big girl" furniture.  You love it!  I always swore that I wouldn't have a girl that was "girly" or a "princess" and you are exactly that....a total Princess.  Your walls are pink and purple.  It looks like Rapunzel exploded in your room.

Lately you are into watching all of the old cartoons from the 80's.  You like Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, and Care Bears but all three of those have been updated.  The ones you really like are the ones that haven't.  I think it's particularly funny that your favorite two are Rainbow Brite and Jem.  Those were my absolute favorites as a kid and it is so weird and cool that I get to sit and watch them with my daughter now.  Your other favorite...the 80's version of Spiderman.  This came out of nowhere too...you just woke up one day and loved Spiderman.

One of my favorite things you do happens almost daily.  Your Dad and I will tell you something and you'll throw your hands up in the air and wave them at us and say "Hold on, hold on, hooooooollllld on a minute!"  It cracks us up every time.

Lately you really like to watch your Dad play video games.  Your favorite is called Hot Shots golf and you nearly explode with excitement when he sits down to play it.  You usually even belt out an "I'M SO UPSIDED!!!!"  He lets you dictate everything too.  You pick out which character he plays with, what outfit they wear, what course he plays and which caddy to use. Then when he finishes you get your toy golf clubs and we play golf in the hallway.You make each of us act like one of the characters and then at the end you determine who comes in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd and we stand on stools like it's the winners podium.



I can honestly say that you were an angel as a baby and nearly perfect as a one, two, and three year old.  But four....four has come with some challenging behaviour.  I know that it's only because you are changing everyday and growing into your own person. You are amazing and your spirit is beautiful.  I love your personality and while there are days that you make me want to scream and cry I don't want to miss a single minute of it.  And I can honestly say that I never thought that my very best friend in the whole world would be a four year old.  I love you more than anything!


Love,

Mommy