Lately Annabelle has become fully engaged in personifying animals. This may come from the stories she hears in kindergarten, but I'm not sure. She is often a monkey, a bunny, a mouse, or a rolley-polley. And for some reason all these animals like to play hide-and-seek in the bed covers, particularly the rolley-polley.
Last night as she was getting out of the bath she complained that she was cold. Dave dried her off as quickly as possible but it wasn't fast enough. She began to cry a little bit and within five seconds was howling. She wailed that she was very very VERY cold and she wanted her pajamas on. Of course, brushing teeth is impossible when those teeth are located in a mouth that is screaming. Things escalated and then:
Annabelle :: I AM COLD LIKE A BUNNY WITHOUT ANY HAIR.
To be sure we understood, she hollered that statement three or four times. And after I hid in the hallway to make sure I could quell my smile, I came to appreciate the jump from personification to simple comparison.
I have been told this panic-riddled dissatisfaction with everything is partly what it means to be four years old. I had truly begun to worry about Annabelle's happiness and coping skills because the smallest things seem to send her over the edge and it generally catches me by surprise. And other seemingly big things warrant a simple, "That's okay!" Those moments surprise me too.
Today in the car on the way home Annabelle began to cry and tell me that she was very upset because she did not have any new toys to play with.
Annabelle :: I am without no new toys!
Me :: Good thing Christmas is coming soon!
Annabelle (crying for real) :: I do NOT want to go back to that place with all the old toys!
Me :: What place?
Annabelle :: That place, our HOUSE. All the toys there are OLD and I SAID I ONLY WANT NEW TOYS.
Me :: (silent)
Annabelle :: I AM WITHOUT NEW TOYS. WE NEED TO GO TO THE TOY STORE RIGHT NOW!
I began to talk to Annabelle about what we would be doing for the remainder of the afternoon, and about unpacking some more of her favorite toys, and making something to eat. She was silent. I turned to look at her and she was fast asleep.
I think we all need this Christmas break that is coming up. Just a few more days... And I'll bet for sure that Santa has some toys in his sack for her!
