Don't Be a Smartass To Your Nana

Home alone together while the parents have escaped to a movie and Pop has run to the grocery store, Nana tries unsuccessfully to load a DVD while Fiona and Angus (Nana and Pop's dog) wait patiently.

Nana: Honey, it's not working. We might have to wait until Pop gets home.
Fiona: (with a sly smile) Maybe Angus can help.

Best Compliment Ever

For a birthday gag gift a few months back, we gave Pop a learn-to-read Star Wars book. It's pretty crummy stuff--basically lots of pictures setting young 'uns up to become willing Lucasfilm merchandising consumers. Naturally, Fiona loved it, and the book made its way back with us on the plane. She likes to point to the pictures and tell us what they are (C-3PO is a robot, Natalie Portman's character is a lady, etc.)

Anyway, halfway through the book there's a picture of Leia, Chewie, Han, etc. in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. Andrea pointed to Harrison Ford and said "what's that?" And Fiona, to my enormous pride, replied "that's Daddy."

You heard that right, folks. I'm Harrison Ford in his absolute prime--Han Freakin' Solo.



Okay, she only said it once, and the next time through the book she said "that's a man." I don't care; I'm living off of that praise for the next few months.

We're Back

All right, we're back from San Diego and lucky enough to have working electricity in our little nook in Western Queens, although a block or two away it's a different story. There will probably be a plethora of posts in the next few days as I try to get all the vacation stories out; don't take this as indicative of an increased posting schedule.

Homonym Trouble

Fiona did very well on the flight to San Diego. As we taxied down the runway, she kept saying "we're in the air now", which I think was hopefulness on her part--taxiing can take forever at JFK, and I know Fiona wanted to make it through takeoff. As soon as she felt the rumble as the jet picked up speed, she turned to me and said "Daddy, I'm scared," but we had a lollipop at the ready (to help with her ears), and that distracted her so much that she quickly forgot her fears.

The flight, despite my fears about flying with a very active toddler, turned out to be (relatively) easy. It'll still be years, I'm sure, before I can read a book of my own or take a nap midair, but after a single try Fiona understood that she had to remain in the row with her parents rather than running up and down the aisle, and she only had two very brief tantrums (probably less than two minutes of crying on each), which is better than average for a six hour period, let alone a six hour period confined to a few square feet.

On the descent, she barely needed the lollipop. We complimented Fiona on her bravery, and then Mommy just tried to guide her through the final moments as we touched down.

"The plane's going to brake really quickly up here, so it might get a little bumpy, but then it'll stop and we'll be at the gate and all set to see Nana and Pop!"

Fiona's eyes got very wide with distress, and we wondered why she was finding the final taxiing more upsetting than losing altitude. We stroked her hair, reassured her we were right there and everything was going to be okay, but the look didn't go away. And then, once the plane had stopped and we stood up, relief returned to Fiona's face.

"The plane didn't break!" she exclaimed.

We've decided on the return flight to use the phrase "slow down quickly," and then work on the difference between breaking and braking when we're driving the car around the neighborhood.

Preparing to Face a Fear

Ever since Fiona got scared during her last flying experience we've been wondering how we would handle her next flight. With the big day coming up on Tuesday, we decided last night that we needed to begin preparing Fiona for her trip.

We started earlier in the afternoon, telling her that she would go to day care on Monday, and then the next day she would go to visit Nonny and Pop in San Diego. Fiona chattered about her schedule the rest of the day, trying to keep straight the order in which things were going to happen ("go see Nonny Pop and then go see Rita"), and talking about all the things she was going to do in San Diego ("see fish and see the elephants and see a doggy and a bunny...")

Over dinner, we explained that Nonny and Pop lived very far away. Fiona declared she was "going to ride in the car." We replied that Nonny and Pop live so far away that we can't get there by car, so we're going to have to take an airplane.

Fiona's eyes got very wide and she got very quiet.

"I scared of airplane," she said, after a moment.

We nodded that yes, she had been scared on the last flight, but that Mommy and Daddy were going to be right there with her, and that she can take a stuffed animal with her if she wants (this came out of a digression about how her "doggie" might be scared of flying, and how she can help the doggy deal with his fear), and that even if she does get a little scared that's okay, but that she should know that everything is going to be all right.

Ever since the November flight, Fiona has been fascinated by stories about characters who get scared and then stand up to their fears. Whether it's Pooh Bear or Sponge Bob on her DVDs, or Piglet, Babar's children, a baby koala, or a kitten caught up a tree in one of her books, when Fiona comes across a "scary" story she wants to watch/read it again and again. She's been processing how to deal with fear, and she showed us how much she's been learning when she announced what she was going to have to do:

"I have to be brave."

It's a Good Zoo, But Not That Good

We're slowly preparing Fiona for her trip to San Diego. We don't want to get her too excited too soon, since she doesn't have a very well-developed sense of time yet, but we also don't want to wake her up at 5:30 one morning and throw her on an airplane with no idea of what to expect.

So a few nights ago, Andrea told Fiona that she'd be seeing Nonny and Pop the next time we went to San Diego and that when she goes she'll get to see the zoo. With all the animals. Like elephants. And giraffes.

"And a horse?" asked Fiona.

Figuring there might be some variation on a barnyard animal we agreed that she might see a horse.

"And bears?"

"Sure. And lions," we replied. "And a hippopotamous. And a rhino."

Fiona seemed to be getting the idea and chimed in with one of her own:

"And a dinosaur!"

As I recall, dinos in San Diego didn't work out so well.

Lollipops Only Grow in One Place

Fiona had a fun fourth up in the Berkshires. Her highlight was a trip to the Botanical Garden, where she got to run around and spend lots of time at the pond looking for frogs. I think we made three separate trips around the pond.

Still, not everything was perfect. At one point on Saturday evening she announced that she wanted a lollipop and I told her that we didn't have any lollipops at the Berkshires house.

Fiona looked crestfallen for a moment, but then instantly came up with what she believed was the most practical solution:

"I want to go home and get a lollipop."

Apparently the 3-hour drive wouldn't bother her for important purposes.