SYMPATHY (4 1/2 YRS OLD)

While making the bed today, momma had to put back S's stuffed tabby cat back into her room and the act reminded about how kind and gentle S was while momma was sick. When momma explained that her stomach hurt her, S asked if she wanted Bradley, her teddy bear to put over her tummy. When she couldn't find Bradley, she brought momma the tabby cat and put it over her tummy.

Of course, this is also the same little girl who jumped up and down on the bed as momma was trying to nap while being sick. So,the sympathy was short-lived, but never-the-less, momma loves the fact she has such a kind-hearted and gentle daughter. And, also realizes that sympathy is learned by watching adults model kindness and sympathy.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR LAST (4 1/2 YRS)

S opened up Aunt Cindy's gifts today: a present box and a full Christmas stocking. The box had a scribble pad and the stocking was a myriad of trickets from stickers, grow-them sea animals, Christmas hair barrettes, a notepad, to a rubber squeezy worm (which glowed when shaken). S exclaimed to each item, "oh! I love it!" She even said that to Thomas, the Train stickers. S said, "I love Thomas!"

Momma thinks Aunt Cindy's gift beat all the high-tech gadgets and expensive toys S got for Christmas. Momma knows this because S took the rubber squeezy worm to bed with her, shook it, and said, "I love it when its hiney glows." And said, "Awww..." when daddy said, "Put that away; no toys in bed!"

P.S. On the ride home from Mimi and Poppy's house, S asked, "Which toy did Santa bring me?"

Missing S

S has gone to stay with Mimi and Poppy the last couple days while is sick.

APPLESAUCE (4 1/2 YRS)

Yesterday when momma was trying to explain to S that she got the stomach bug and couldn't each much. S was very sympathetic and told momma, "don't eat the applesauce it will cause you to throw up."

Momma and daddy laughed and tried to explain correlation does not mean causation.

STOMACH BUG GONE (4 1/2 YRS)

Today is the first day for a sick free S! After a mostly sick-free fall and winter, daddy and momma are glad to have the stomach bug over! The vomiting stopped after the first day but the diarrhea and low grade fever last several more days. Christmas was spent propped up in front of the TV. S had moments where she would run around with her cousins but tired easily and went back to resting with momma or daddy or in front of the television.

P.S. S lost 3 lbs during this week. For three days, she refused to eat and then afterwards kept having diarrhea which discouraged her from eating alot.

SANTA CLAUS (4 1/2 YRS OLD)

S has been so excited about Christmas. Everyday she asked how many more day before Christmas, and everyday she had a new question about Santa. Here are her questions and momma attempts at answers.

How does Santa fit in the chimney?
Momma said, "I don't think Santa uses the chimney anymore. Long time ago chimneys were really big because people used them to cook with but now chimneys are small so he doesn't use them. People just tell a story that he uses the chimney, but he doesn't anymore."

Where does Santa live? "The north pole," said Momma. "No," said S. "St Nicolas lives in Heaven. That's what Ms. Denice says."

How come he dresses like Santa Claus (pointing to the Chick Fil A Santa)?
Well, momma asks, "do you think he is the real Santa?" "No," says S. "Well, Santa is really busy so he has other people help out," replied momma.

How does Santa Claus make all the toys?
"Long time ago, he use to make all the toys, when toys were made out of wood or sewn, like dolls. Now, he buys them," says Momma. S followed that response with, "how does he get the money to buy the toys?"

AWFUL NIGHT (4 1/2 YRS OLD)

After a wonderful night, s woke up at 1:30 am coughing, followed by a frantic cry for momma. She had thrown up all over her bed. Momma brought her to the big bed where she threw up again at 4 am and at 7:30 am. Daddy was a darling and cleaned the chunks in the trash but there was still a large pile of laundry for momma the next day.

On Wednesday, S had thrown up nine times and had diarrhea six times. Momma was texting daddy with an updated tally. S had gotten use to the process and learned to throw up in a bucket. But she refused to have applesauce again after throwing it up twice.

With Christmas around the corner, momma and daddy are worried if S will get well in time.

CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR (4 1/2 YRS)

Momma took S to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular yesterday evening at the Bass Concert Hall. S asked to see the Rockettes after seeing them on the Martha Stewart show.

S eyes were glued to the show the entire nite. She said her favorite part were the dancing bears. Momma's favorite was the dancing toy soldiers. Overall, momma was impressed by the entire show and thought it had the best nativity play that she had ever seen.

S asked to do it again next Christmas. That would be a lovely tradition.

RELATIONSHIP SMARTS (4 1/2 YRS OLD)

At bedtime tonight, we talked about couples fighting. I asked if she ever saw mommies and daddies fight. She hesitantly said, "no." (Sometimes S doesn't like to talk about things that disturb her).

Momma knew she had seen momma and daddy fight so momma said, "You've seen momma and daddy fight." Momma knows that S has also seen her Mimi and Poppy fight with each other. Momma asked, "Do you know that you can be angry with someone and still love them? When momma and daddy fight, we fight, but then we say sorry and we hug and kiss. We still love each other. Do you ever see that?" S nodded "yes."

S followed up the conversations by saying, "I love Talia, but sometimes I don't like her." Momma can see S trying to relate to the topic.

P.S. Speaking of relationships, S sometimes asks momma: why does ba ngoai (maternal grandmother) and om ngoai (maternal grandfather) do not live with each other. Momma responds with that they don't love each other anymore. She asks "why?" and momma responds with, "I don't know the answer to that" because she doesn't.

MY TURN (4 1/2 YRS)

Just when momma was thinking her little one was an angel, S had a couple of "fits" today. The first one was over her little friend Alvie grabbing a toy (some maracas) away from her and the second incident was over putting on socks. Momma ended up walking away from S until she sorta calmed down with the first incident and finally, S just gave her maracas to Alvie. With the second incident, a cup of yogurt calmed everything down.

Talia, in response to the fits, asked "Is S having a fit?" Momma said, "yes." Then she went on to add, "I never have fits." The comment only got momma laughing because momma distinctly still remember Talia's fit yesterday.

BABY (4 1/2 YRS OLD)

Where babies come from fascinates S. She often asks again and again "where do babies come from," just because she likes the story. Momma usually tells S that momma has eggs in her, the egg goes into the uterus and daddy adds a little bit of him and then a baby is made and grows in momma until the baby is ready to come out. The answer satifies S, but often she ask for more detail. Recently, she's been asking how does daddy get a little piece of him into momma. Momma's not ready to give more details (i.e. chicken out) so she said, she'd probably do a bad job explaining and maybe S should ask daddy.

P.S. In one of the many conversations that S and momma has, momma asked if S could have a baby now. S said, "no, I don't have any eggs yet."

MEAN MOMMIE (4 1/2 YRS OLD)

Momma had a hard time today with Talia. She threw several fits because Charles threw dirt at her and in return, she kicked Charles (several times while he was lying on ground helpless.) Trying to get Talia to stop crying, wash her hands, and pack up to go home, while she threw herself on the ground crying out that she wanted to go home was a hard feat for momma because Talia wouldn't cooperate.

When Talia was finally cleaned up and packed up in the car and momma tried to explain that what Charles did was wrong but kicking him was wrong too. Momma's not sure if Talia really understood but said, next time she should go tell an adult if Charles does not stop bothering her. To her credit, Talia did ask Charles to stop.

When momma asked S what happened, S responded with "I was doing my own thing..." while trying to avoid eye contact with momma. "Well, did you see what happened?" S reluctantly agreeded that Charles was throwing dirt. "Was he throwing dirt at Talia or just throwing dirt and it hit Talia?" S responded that he was throwing dirt (and added her own commentary that throwing dirt is not nice) and it accidentally hit Talia. It's nice to know that S did not want to tattle on her friend Talia. But, she did call momma a "mean momma."

"Why was I mean?" asked momma. S responded with "Talia was upset and crying and you were mean to her." Yes, momma can see that could be interpretted that way to S. Picking Talia while she was kicking and screaming to wash her hands and carrying out to the car while she was kicking and screaming did seem like momma was a meanie. But, momma considered that better than letting Talia kick and scream on the ground while all the other mommies watched.

OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES (4 1/2 YRS OLD)

Momma and S went to visit Houston to see Aunt Phu and Om Ngoai. At dinner, momma was telling Aunt Phu about her bad day. S asked momma if she was still grumpy. Momma tried to act happy and said, "no." But followed up with, "Do you remember what I was grumpy about?" S said, "No" implying she forgot the details, but followed up with "You know what you did." Aunt Phu started laughed at the response.

CHRISTMAS (4 1/2 YRS)

Momma thinks this Christmas seems more special than previous years. S really is enthralled by St. Nicholas, especially since he visited her school last week.

So, this year, momma has planned some special events for S. This year S participated in decorating the tree and makings some of the Christmas ornaments: candy canes, made from tube pasta, and round ornaments, made from clear lids. Momma put up lights in the front of the house too.

On Friday, Momma and S went to go visit the live nativity scene and play at Barton Hills Baptist church and On Saturday, daddy, momma, and S drove to San Marcus to see the light show at Santa Ranch. On Sunday, daddy, momma, and S went to the lumination celebration at the Wildflower center. What a busy weekend! And next weekend, there's more!

SNUGGLE (4 1/2 YRS OLD)

S made a new friend today, literally. She put a rock in a sock and called it "Snuggles." She tied it up with a rubberband, which she quickly points out. Today, she took Snuggles everywhere from grocery shopping to playgroup at Talia's house and to bed.

When asked how she came up with the idea, she said that her BFF Talia had a unicorn that shook, and adds that Talia tied a rubber band around a sock. Momma's not sure how this is all really related, but "Viola!" a friend was made today.

CRYING (4 1/2 YRS OLD)

S seems to cry over very little things lately. Momma's not sure why. Momma's not sure if it's because S is seeking attention and consolation, is genuinely sad, or is tired from lack of sleep.

Today, after picking up a sleepy S from Starbright, S was in the backseat crying quietly. She said, in a little sad voice, "I didn't have my small blankie at school and I had to use a small (hand) towel." After a couple minutes of consoling her and reminding her that momma said that if you take small blankie out of your sleep bag (on Tuesday) that you won't have it there for Thursday. S cheered up when momma got to the house and mentioned a video.

Later S cried (quietly) when momma snapped at her to get dressed to leave the house. "You yelled at me," said S. Momma said "Sorry," but reminded S that she also yelled at momma right before momma snapped. Was S's feeling hurt? Or, was just being ornery? Or, was she hungry and tired?

ABOUT SLEEP (4 1/2 YRS OLD)

Here are some comments S had made at bedtime.

-- After accidentally poking her eye with her finger in bed, S said, "My eye hurt because I poked it. I will have to sleep with that eye open."

-- After waking up in the morning, "Momma, did you know that I sleep with my eyes closed all night?"

-- Later, "Momma, I'm not scared anymore. I sleep with my eyese closed. I use to sleep with my eyese open."

ST NICHOLAS DAY (4 1/2 YRS OLD)

Today, Starbright celebrate St. Nicholas day. Momma brought S to school to celebrate this special day. Parents were not allowed to come in to celebrate and asked to bring the kids on-time to school before St. Nicholas appeared. St. Nicholas was asked to be a surprise to the children but Momma, worried how S would respond, went ahead and told her that St. Nicholas was coming to visit her school.

Ms. Denise told the story of St. Nicholas. Then St. Nicholas comes, himself, to visit. The children listen for his horse and his footsteps. He comes and talk to children, reading from his book. According to S, his book contained everything about the kids -- for example, it said, S was a good helper in the kitchen and helped momma cook. St. Nick read that Milo was good at soccer and scored several goals. It also said that S needed to eat more vegetables.

At the end, St. Nicholas handed out tangerines and a golden walnut to everyone. S ate her tangerine but wanted to save her golden walnut. She told momma later, that she thought St. Nicholas was pulling out a treasure bag, but it turned out it only had tangerines and walnuts in it.

S really had a good time and talked about it all afternoon, even to daddy when he came home.

P.S. Having St. Nickolas tell S to try more vegetables was not as helpful as momma hoped. S refused to try a bite of tomato or cucumber or piece of lettuce during lunch. And, she even refused to try to roasted potatoes at dinner time. After some prying, she finally gave in and tried the potato and declared it, "delicious." But, momma had a trying battle to just get her to eat one potato.

NEW TRADITION (4 1/2 YRS OLD)

Daddy, momma, and S attended the Capital Sing-a-long and tree lighting for the first time. Although, daddy, momma, and S were late in arriving to the sing-a-long, they still caught some of it. Probably, the best part for S was sliding down the capital hill, left of the stage. A nice boy gave S part of his cardboard box and S slid down until she got thirsty. Everyone headed to get drinks: hot cocoa for S and coffee for daddy and momma.

S says her favorite part was the lighting of the tree (although momma thinks it's sledding). Daddy said, he liked it better than first night. Momma was happy that this will be one of the new Jackson family Christmas tradition.

FRIENDSHIPS (4 1/2 YRS OLD)

S has been asking momma some hard questions about friendship, basically relationships. Most of them stem from her play with her BFF Talia. Both girls are so different in their personality that momma thinks they have a great dynamics with each other.

On the flip side, because of their differences, S has been recently asking what to do when her friend Talia bosses her around or gets upset and angry. Momma thinks these are very good questions to ask and good learning points for S.

After a couple times at Auntie Fiona's pre-school, S said, "Sometimes, I don't want to do what Talia does." Momma asks, "So, what do you do about it?" S shrugged her shoulders and responded that, "I play what Talia wants but I don't want to sometimes. I want to play what I want to sometimes."

Momma asked "Why don't you play what you want to S?..." S reluctantly explained that she doesn't want Talia to get upset, cry or be mad at her. Momma realized that S has a tough time with T. She loves Talia so much that she doesn't want to upset Talia or make her cry and at the same time, she doesn't want to be the blunt of Talia's anger either.

Momma suggested some wordings: "Why don't we take turn playing what we want?" or "I'm going to take a break now and I'll return in a little bit." Momma also said, the tough things about friendship and relationships are that you have to accept the person as who they are. Talia will get upset easy and you have to accept it and figure out how to handle it.

Momma's not sure if S understands the advice but realizes this is difficult for a 4 yr old to understand and do.