Supergirl

A few weeks ago I was absolutely certain Mila would be crawling at any second. She had discovered the ability to get her knees under herself and was nudging her way all over a room, especially when you looked away for a millisecond.

But then she remembered that she has feet.

You guys, feet are amazing. They are wonderful, magical, and tasty. Feet are everything.

With the rediscovery of her feet, Mila forgot all about trying to get places. Instead of instantly rolling onto her belly so she could try to maneuver every time she's on the floor, she resorted to starting to roll, remembering that she really likes her feet, and then flipping back so she play with feet. Glorious feet!

You can't really crawl with your feet in your mouth.

I'm totally OK with this little delay. I'm super happy to have longer to Mila-proof the house. Plus, I get a special bonus. I get to see Mila do this 40000 times per day.

That's Supergirl. Supergirl is the result of forgetting about your feet until a millisecond too late. Once she's already on her belly, Mila can't decide if she should flip back over or try to launch forward. Thus, she balances precariously on her belly button. Feet and hands hover in the air as if she's in flight over the city.

It's super fun to nudge Supergirl when she is precariously balanced on her belly button.

Its even more fun to watch her try to figure out why she can't get her feet in her mouth from that position.

It Had To Be Done

If Only I Had Thought Of That

The resident 8 year-old possesses some truly phenomenal problem-solving skills. It's the thing that comes up at every parent teacher conference. Teachers are impressed. I am, too, except that the whole thing is quite the shiny double-edged sword.

You know how you something try to shut down your kids with an excuse that may or may not be rational? Like, if your kid asks to make Rice Krispies treats, you just say there aren't any marshmallows. It's a valid excuse, except not. Alexis will tell you that you can run to the store and buy some. If you reply to that saying there isn't enough time left in the day for a trip to the store, she'll figure out a perfectly reasonable way that someone else could go to the store and save you some time. Oh, and she will finish emptying the dishwasher to give you a few more seconds in your day, all the while giving you ten more reasons a trip to the grocery store would be a very good idea.

Those problem-solving skills were why I didn't feel bad about my answer to a question that she asked on the way home from dance class. "Mom, how much money do you start out with when you're a grown-up?" Alexis inquired.

I laughed.

And I laughed.

Heck, I'm still laughing. Did I become a pawn in a giant invisible game of Monopoly when I wasn't paying attention? If so, I want a do over because I started out life as a grown-up broker than broke. Actually, I had negative money because of a car loan, student loans, and blah, blah, blah.

Life as  a grown-up doesn't start out all that fun, frankly.

I explained that Alexis. We talked about how even something simple like putting gas in your car can cost $50 or more. By the you are done paying for the things you "need," there's not really anything left for what you "want."

Alexis the Problem Solver had the best answer ever for that bit of bad news. "I know how I can save a lot of money. I'm just going to stay a kid because when you're a kid you don't have to pay for gas or a car. You don't have to pay for food. Basically you only have to pay for things you want to pay for."

If that isn't the most perfect description of the joy of childhood, I don't know what is.