Genevieve had her second class today (last two weeks were cancelled due to snow and school break). This class we sat around in a circle and sang songs with lots of various hand movements. Some of the kids even watched. Most of the kids were either trying to force down the baby gate to the hallway and to freedom or were trying to figure out the best way to destroy whatever was within his or her grasp. The project today was taking stamps, stamping them onto a (non-toxic) ink pad, and then stamping them onto paper. I'm proud to say that at no point did Genevieve lick the ink pad.
I brought in the class snack of string cheese and grape juice. Half the moms were very pleased, the other half were definitely unwilling to give such a thing to their own children. Which brings me to my tangent of the day: if your child is over a year old and the most complex thing he/she eats is some pre-packaged baby food product, you then forfeit your right to ever complain if your child becomes a picky eater. You know what Genevieve had for dinner last night? Beef tongue. And she liked it. Especially when Danny smothered it with ketchup.
If you are wondering about the title of this entry, I will explain now. For those of you that have been wondering if Genevieve still has poops so massive that the contents have no choice but to blow out the side, wonder no more. I just finished giving her a bath. The clothes are in the wash. She looks like she lost weight.
Genevieve had her first class yesterday. It is for local 14 to 19-month-old kids and their mothers. The purpose is for the mothers to socialize and for the kids to learn by watching others and work on their fine motor skills. The real purpose of the class is for the mothers to compare their kids to others in excrutiating detail while trying to keep their own child from causing any permanent damage to property or others.
Before class I thought this would be a great way for Genevieve to interact with other kids, pick up a few tricks, and stimulate her budding Einsteinian mind. Instead I got lots of screaming, drooling, snatching of toys and cookies, and colored marker stains. The other kids were just as bad. Actually I'm kidding. Genevieve doesn't drool.
I was really worried at two points in the class. The first point is when Genevieve insisted that every cookie there was hers and proceeded to run around the room to enforce this decree. This was no different than what any of the other kids were doing, but Geneveive can be rather, uhm, persistent. I solved the problem by holding G above the chaos and appeasing her with many cookies. The second point is when the instructor gave us markers so our kids could decorate their nametags. Was Genevieve really expected to draw with a marker and not eat it? Thankfully I wasn't the only one with this thought as several moms wanted to know if the markers were non-toxic. I "helped" Genevieve with her nametag, which means she only licked 2 markers, rubbed purple on just one hand, and only got a little marker on my cheek. Some of the other mothers did not do so well. One kid walked in with a white turtleneck and walked out with a tie-dyed one.
We look forward to the classes to come. I've been told that at one point the kids will be able to play at an oatmeal table. I have no idea what this means but will be bringing a change of clothes for us both.
The flight to Georgia was delayed 2.5 hours due to trouble with the plane coming in to LGA. I entertained Genevieve during that time by letting her walk from one end of the gate area to the other, then picking her up and carrying her back to the beginning. She didn't want to hold my hand while walking and doesn't quite understand the command, "Turn around and go back". After doing this for a while I would put her in the stroller and do circuits around the terminal area. Did I mention that we did this for over 3 hours (got to the airport a little early for the original departure time)??? I was quite tired. Genevieve did very well during all of this. She didn't fuss at all and enjoyed the walking/strolling combo. After we finally took off I changed her diaper and she promptly went to sleep for the rest of the plane ride. She was a good girl on the car ride home from the airport. She even sang some to her Grandpa.
As good as she was on the way to Georgia, she was that bad on the way home. She started screaming as soon as we boarded. When she wasn't screaming she would try to rock the seats in front of her or reach through our seats and grab things off the tray tables behind us. When I would tell her to stop, she would start screaming again. I knew it was bad when the flight attendants stopped asking if there was anything that they could do to help (translation: we'll do whatever it takes to get her to shut up) and started asking me if I was going to be ok. She was better on the train ride home. She let people oh-and-ah over her for a few minutes before screaming for the rest of the ride. People that had been saying what a pretty girl she is before were now tapping their feet in hopes that the train would hurry up and let them off.
Thus continues the battle over whether or not Genevieve will be an only child.
