Building the Car

Yesterday was a pretty nice day out, although the wind was a little cold. After breakfast, I suprised Cailin by taking her outside to play in the backyard with Bailey. Nanny and Grampy Brend gave her a car for Christmas and we still hadn't put it together - we were waiting for a warmer day. The warmer day arrived!

I put one of these cars together last June while getting eaten alive by mosquitos. In comparison, I was sure this would be a snap. Turned out to be a snap alright, but what snapped was my mind.

The pieces were cold and didn't feel like going together very well. Of course, the biggest obstacle was Cailin herself (and the missing instructions). She didn't care if the car had wheels on it or anything else, she had a great time sitting in it and playing with the detached steering wheel. Every time I moved a piece or picked something up, she would grab something else and toss it away in the grass. At one point she had the hammer while I had the screwdriver and was attempting to break a hole in a tire.

I put the front tires on and she realized that this was going to be a great toy - but couldn't make it move very well. There was a lot of grunting as she tried to push the car around. I had an interesting time fending her off while I put the back axle on and hammered the tires on it. At that point the car had all four tires, so Cailin jumped in and scooted it backwards all over the yard. She was getting stuck in the piles of leaves (and poo) I had raked up, and I noticed she had sock feet - her crocs were tossed aside. No amount of bribery would get her to put her shoes back on. I just let her go with her socks on. Mother of the Year Award coming right up!

Getting the top of the car on was difficult. Even after using my newly impressive bulk to try to force the posts in, they just wouldn't go. I was thinking of employing some olive oil and perhaps a drill when I finally found the instructions. The illustration showed how to hold the posts/roof to get it on the car. Still didn't work, but eventually one post snapped into place.

In the meantime, Cailin was getting rowdy at me for chasing her around, stopping the car and adding more pieces to it. She wanted to play, and for me to get lost. She did however, allow me to put the post on so the door would work properly. She alternated playing in the car and running over to the slide all the while making her 'running noise' - whoa-oh-wah-oh-whoa.

The roof went on surprisingly well. One of the rear posts took some persuading but went on eventually. The fourth and final post? Would not go on for sour apples. I tried and tried; and finally gave up, panting and discouraged. Oh well. It would work with three posts until Ryan got home (see above photo).

At this point we had been outside for a couple hours. We played in the car for a while, and I got Cailin a sippy cup to show her how the cup holder worked on the back of the car. She thought that was pretty awesome.

She also took a liking to a milk jug she picked out of the recycling can. She carried it around and chased Bailey all over the backyard with it. Bailey is quite a bit faster than her, so there was some frustration.

At one point, she followed Bailey over to the gate and started running down our crooked sidewalk. I yelled at her to slow down, but she didn't listen. She hit an uneven patch (still wearing only socks) and wiped out right on her face. Big pregnant ladies can move fast, I assure you. I reached her in two seconds flat and picked her up. Understandably, she was one mad baby.

The damage? Re-bruised her previous forehead owie, added another one right beside it that was bleeding, scraped her nose and above her lip (also bleeding) and bit something in her mouth (more bleeding). It didn't seem to be all that bad however. Bailey took this opportunity to grab the milk jug and run away with it. Cailin let out an exasperated, "B!" and wiggled to get down. She and the dog had a fight over said milk jug and Cailin was the clear winner. Until the lid popped off and mommy confiscated it lest sour milk get on either of them.

What really made Cailin mad though? Was taking her in the house. She did not want to have a nap (which was the furthest thing from my mind at that point) and she did not want to be upstairs. She demanded to go downstairs, so we went. She thought being in the downstairs bathroom was pretty cool. I washed her face and hands and the damage was even less than I thought. Once the tears and dirt were washed away it looked much better. (Today the scrape on her nose is gone, but the one underneath looks sore, as do her forehead boo-boos).

She went for a nap willingly enough, although she woke up extremely cranky. She didn't stop crying until I made her rice for dinner. My first mistake was putting it in a kid's bowl with a kid spoon. She immediately pushed it away and sat on my lap and ate from my adult bowl with an adult fork. I usually just give her whatever kind of dish we're using and I should have this time. Although we both got a lot of enjoyment out of her eating my dinner and thinking she was being fairly naughty.

She was so excited when Daddy came home; they sat on the couch and watched hockey together while I made muffins. Cailin exerted her big-girlness once again when I offered her a cut up muffin. Nope. Only a whole muffin for her, thanks.

Cailin is still playing with her kitchen like crazy, and insists on me playing with her before bedtime. She pats the floor next to the kitchen and I sit there and help her sort the food and dishes out. She's been having so much fun at night that it's getting harder to put her to bed. We can hear her playing and laughing in her crib long after bedtime.