Teacher Bean

/

I have been meaning for MONTHS to have a list of learnings based on the age of the Bean. Procrastinating has just meant that I need to come up with more learnings. So here goes.

19 learnings from the past 19 months of the Bean

  1. Banana is shellac. On hair, on the face, on the high chair. Glue.
  2. So is oatmeal (especially when it has banana and cashew butter).
  3. My husband and I stand outside of her door and listen to her sing to herself in the morning. Cooing and talking to her stuffed animals. My heart aches with happiness when this happens.
  4. Food inhaled at lunch is poison for dinner (or lunch the next day). Complete with a look of disbelief that you would DARE to serve such offal.
  5. The blueberries on the ground are just as yummy as the blueberries on the bush. It also makes no difference if the bush blueberries are white, green, or blue. They can all be eaten.
  6. Even adorable toddlers have weird skin under their armpits. Pale and full of odd wrinkles.
  7. The Bean also has cellulite.
  8. Drawing with pencil on white walls makes perfect sense all of the time.
  9. Never just one of something, always three. Two in each hand and one in the other. Apple slices, small bottles, pieces of chalk, balls, pencils, crayons.
  10. You can hold an upset child and pee at the same time. Yup. Even wipe.
  11. Her favorite animal is becoming Real in the Velveteen Rabbit sense of the word. One eyeball, no stuffing, torn skin - when you put it into her hands for nap time she giggles with happiness and clasps it to her heart like a drowning man and his life jacket.
  12. Before she started walking she had fat pads under her big toes. Fat pads. Then they became blisters as they hardened up. Now they look like a cartoon toe of cuteness.
  13. Finding a tick on my child makes me want to scorch the earth.
  14. Playing tug of war with the dog is always a good idea. Especially if he lets you win - bonus giggles when he licks your face after you fall down because he has won the stick.
  15. Toys breed in the night and all she wants to play with are essential oil bottles and pens.
  16. Kicking while having a dirty diaper changed makes it more fun.
  17. She is learning to kiss and receive kisses. My heart writes War and Peace and East of Eden and the collected works of Sherlock Holmes when this happens. Soft lips run into your cheek like a fresh donut - no pressure, just there and delicious.
  18. When she runs it is like a pinwheel moving in fast forward under a balloon. So sturdy and purposeful and alive.
  19. The Bean opened a door to another Universe in my experience of adulthood.
IMG_2114
IMG_2114