Pachycephalosaurus and border collie

Recently Jay was picking up the girls from preschool, and her teacher was wondering about the name of one of his dinosaurs.  He asked Anja, and she said, "Oh, that's pachycephalosaurus".  She told me later, "I think cepha means head, but I don't know what pachy means."  She is very proud of her dinosaur knowledge.  Anja continues to be very interested in make believe games with her stuffed animals and little plastic figures.  Maija is now more interested in that sort of play as well, partly because Anja likes it so much.  But while Anja was always so gentle, even as a tiny toddler, wrapping babies and animals in blankets and pretending to be the mother, Maija is just as likely to stand on a baby's head to reach something on a shelf, or use a baby as a bludgeoning device.

Anja is very patient with Maija generally, though lately I think it has been a lot harder for her.  Maija has been more been more challenging with us well.  She has developed several endearing habits including, but not limited to, the following:

-spitting (on herself, at people, onto the table or her plate)
-chewing food but not swallowing (really, she will keep chewed food in her mouth up to 30 minutes, or until you make her spit it out)
-throwing food
-grabbing toys out of Anja's hands and running away
-smashing block towers and forts
-pouring drinks onto her plate or the table
-putting food into her drink
-filling her mouth with a drink, then spitting the entire mouthful onto her plate
-drawing on the table with milk or other liquids
-pushing away from the table with her feet, such that her chair leans back on two legs
-putting herself in mortal danger, so that you have to save her (I am particularly proud of a recent save, where she stood up on top of her booster seat and immediately fell forward from that height to the kitchen floor,... I was able to catch just her face wide-receiver-style before it hit the linoleum, so that only her hands and knees were hurt.)

Jay and I have decided that Maija is a border collie, and just needs a job to be happy.  The most ingenious activity Jay came up with recently, is to have her help wash dishes.  He fills the sink with soapy water while he's cleaning up after dinner, and lets her play in it with some dishes.  Amazingly she will do this for 30 minutes by herself.

I have also learned to let her help with putting away dishes, and putting away clothes.  I showed her how to gently put a shirt in a drawer without unfolding it, and now she puts them in the drawer like they're made of rice paper.  She can be really patient if she has a specific task.

But then there are times, more and more frequently, when they play well together, like this:

They both like to wear costumes.  For some reason, going to the science museum is almost always an occasion for costumes.  This is great for us, since it is really hard to lose a bright yellow lion with a tail in a crowd of people.  

Anja wanted to wear this outfit to the museum recently, but we made her change out of the cowboy boots since they might be hard to run around in all day.

Anja got to run her second 5k this past weekend.  This time Jay ran with her and Maija and I watched.  Sometimes she is a little sad when we run races without her, so we asked her if she wanted to run this small local race.

Maija hasn't asked about running one herself yet, but she had her own job, holding the signs.  

Anja was the youngest runner there.  There was also one five year old, and I think a few six year olds.  

Jay said she had a great time, and oscillated between wanted to run next to other kids she saw on the course, and talk to them, and running faster to beat them.  One of the volunteers on the course gave Anja a "special running rock" that she carried all the way to the end.  We saved it to keep in our shells and rocks jar.  

After Anja and Jay ran by us, Maija said, "I run too Mommy!"  and started running to the finish.

Free cake at the end!

Later that day I was at the running store that sponsored the race, and I told them that my four year old had run the 5K that morning.  The really nice guy working there said, "Let's see what we can find for her" and pulled out a pile of nonspecific awards.  I picked out a little button with a running chick on it and a green ribbon that says "Finisher" on it.  I gave them to Anja and she carried them around for a few days.  She finally found a spot to hang them above her bed and calls them her "rewards".  She knows she didn't win, but we told her they were for doing such a good job running.  Well, she did beat four people out of the hundred who ran it.

Comments from Anja and Maija:

Me:  Anja, what would you like for dinner… and not chicken noodle soup or peanut butter and jelly.
Anja:  What else do I like?

Anja:  Mommy, Purple Taggie is magic.  At night, Purple Taggie just sprinkles glitter on me and then I’m magic.

Me:  (showing Maija a picture of me when I was pregnant with her) Do you know who is in there?  There is a baby in there.
Maija:  Tiny one.
Me:  Yes, a tiny baby.  That’s Baby Maija.
Maija:  Open it?
Me:  Open what?
Maija:  Open Mommy’s belly?

Me:  Anja, what do you want to be for Halloween?
Anja:  (looks around the kitchen)  A banana!

Me:  Anja, what do you want to be for Halloween?
Anja:  A tiger!  And next time I will be a bunny.  And the time after that I will be a bat.  (looks at her plate)  And then I will be a carrot.  And then I will be a bean.
Me:  Maija, what do you want to be for Halloween?
Maija:  Mommy.
Me:  Aw, that’s nice.  You want to be Mommy for Halloween?
Maija:  Yah.
Me:  You want to wear a Mommy costume?
Maija:  Yah.
Me:  Anja is going to be a tiger for Halloween.  Do you want to be a bat for Halloween?
Maija:  No.  Mommy.

Me:  Maija, stop eating boogers.
(she does it again)
Me:  Maija, stop eating boogers!
(she does it again)
Me:  Maija!  Stop eating boogers.  It’s yucky and dirty.
Maija:  And spicy too!

Me:  (talking about an upcoming race)  It’s pretty soon, it’s on Sunday.
Anja:  Whoah!  That’s so soon!  That’s just like yesterday!
Me:  Oh yeah?
Anja:  I’m serious!  It’s just like yesterday!

Jay:  You know, Maija, next time you can poop in the potty.  You can just tell Me, or Mommy when you have to go, and you can poop in the potty.
Maija:  No thank you Daddy.  Poop in diaper.

Anja:  Mommy, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to check on the computer.  About moving.  I’m going to be moving to Michigan, to live with my cousins.
Me:  Oh yeah?  When will you be doing that?  How old will you be when you move?
Anja:  Uh, I’ll be an adult.
(this followed an exchange about how she is planning on living at home when she is in college)

Anja:  Hitting people is worse than throwing things, right?
Me:  Yes.  Hitting is very bad, it is never okay to hit anybody.  What made you think of that?
Anja:  Uh, I just wanted you to know.
Me:  Know what?  Was somebody throwing or hitting?
Anja:  Yeah, Maija hit me.
Me:  Maija hit you?  Did she throw something too?
Anja:  No, I threw a plate at her.
Me:  You threw a plate at her??
Anja:  A toy plate.