Conversations
I've noticed that for some words, Miranda has a distinctly North American accent (although sometimes she'll say the same word a couple of times to "try it out" in different accents). Yesterday she said something of that sort and I said, "Where did you get that North American accent, kiddo?"
Her reply: "From the shops!"
Today she was playing at the computer and having a really good time from the sound of it, chattering happily to herself as she played the (educational, of course!) game.
Me: Wow, you're having a good time.
Miranda: Am I?
And let me tell you, once she gets the laugh, inadvertantly or not, she remembers it and tries to get more. She's going to be a funny one (which is good; it'd be hard to survive this family without a keen sense of humor).
Adjustments
Miranda didn't sleep well all last week. I think the adjustment to the new school schedule might have upset her, and she probably misses Zoë, who's now gone all day, plus Miranda is going to pre-school three times a week now. She kept waking up at night, crying, and she'd come get in bed with us (which isn't very comfortable for anyone but her).
Last night I finally had to be very firm with her and tell her to go back to her own bed. She was quite upset by this, but finally figured out I meant it, and she then announced, "I need to go potty" (in between dramatic sobs, that is). I told her to go potty, then, and then go back to her own bed, and that's just what she did. She was still sniffling when she went to bed, but at least she went to bed.
Saturday, too, she was very difficult at her violin lesson. She was just being silly and wouldn't do what she was asked to do, and then she ended up having a big tantrum over something or other. Later in the day, she had yet another tantrum over wanting to watch a particular DVD, and she ended up falling asleep on Andrew's lap, sobbing and saying over and over what she wanted to watch. When she woke up, she went right back to it, as well!
She was reasonably okay today, thank goodness, and fell asleep at a reasonably early hour of the evening, so I hope she'll be rested and pleasant tomorrow.
Pre-School, violins, and more (and more)
Okay, I've been naughty. I haven't updated this blog in months, I know. The holiday season tends to make me a little nuts, to be honest, and I've been excruciatingly busy with some other matters.
Miranda took up violin lessons in December. She's taking them from a colleague of her grandmother's, a music teacher who lives only a couple of suburbs away from us. The teacher (Miranda calls her "my teacher friend") comes to the house on Saturday mornings for the lessons, and during the week Daddy (who plays the cello) supervises practice sessions.
So far, Miranda's doing very well. She appears to be developing perfect pitch, and she really enjoys the instrument. She can be a little balky at times, insisting that she "can't do that', but she's getting better about accepting challenges.
She's doing well reading music. Nanna's working with her with a music theory book which is aimed at very young children. We had to pause in the music theory to teach Miranda about adding (since you combine the counts of the notes, i.e., you add them), but she's worked that out on a very basic level.
Miranda's at four-year-old pre-school now, and seems to be enjoying it. She goes three days a week, and with the violin lessons and music theory, she seems to be fairly content.
Miranda has also decided that she has a favorite perfume. It's Elizabeth Arden "Sunflowers" in case you want to get her some perfume as a gift.... (I need a winking emoticon here, I think.)
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