A Breakthrough!

As you may or may not recall Wren received a balance bike for her 2nd birthday back in October. Sadly, she refused to get on it, even after she watched one of her friends happily ride it around our house. So we tucked it away in our room for future use. Occasionally Wren asked about it but otherwise was still disinterested. Then this week, one morning while Jay made breakfast and Wren and I were getting ready for the day, she asked about it and I said "when you're ready to ride it, let me know and I'll get it out for you." To which she replied, "I'm ready". No way I was going to double check on that one! 

Out came the bike and she hopped on. To see Jay's face as we came down the hall - priceless. Jay had been looking forward to this moment for months!! Jay envisions Daddy-daughter bike rides all over Oregon and across the US, so this step toward adventure was monumental. We both took a turn guiding Wren around the house and she has continued to have short spells on her bike since then. Pride! Once we break out of this foggy weather it might be time for an outside ride! 

Most favorite thing

Christmas in our household was very fun!  Jay and I were excited for Wren to react to Christmas and Santa, the whole experience.  On Christmas Eve, following a tradition that Jay enjoyed when he was young, we told Wren that we heard Santa was in the area and had already been to the houses of some of her friends.  Wren happily picked out two cookies and the plate to put them on and carried them over to the coffee table to join a freshly poured glass of milk.  A few minutes later we heard footsteps on the roof - SANTA!  I excitedly said that Santa was at the house and we should go to the back room because we can't see Santa when he comes in.  Then things fell apart.  Rather than shock and joy we had a scared little girl on our hands.  She just wasn't ready for a real visit from Santa!  Santa continued by coming down the....pellet stove... and ho-ho-ho-ing and ringing his jingle bells.  None of this to Wren's delight as she clung to me, terrified.  From my perspective it was something out of a David Sedaris story.  After Santa called out his Christmas wishes to the house, he was gone, just like that.  It took a few minutes to convince Wren we should leave the bedroom and when we did we found 2 wrapped presents by the empty plate and glass.  Wren refused to even touch them, no matter how many times we told her she could open her special Santa gifts. Her reply - I want to go night-night.  Oh, hopefully next year is different. 

In retrospect we should have expected something like this after our Breakfast with Santa outing ended with Wren refusing to even look at the poor guy, but at least she managed to tell him her wish list first - a baby and books. 

On Christmas morning, after Wren slept in for what seemed like forever (as I sat on the couch waiting to get to witness present opening mayhem), she was a new girl and all ready for the day.  The first box she opened was from Santa and it was a new baby doll!  Wren absolutely loves baby dolls - at play dates and daycare she heads straight for the babies and usually has one tucked under her arm in every picture we get from daycare.  So Santa really got this one right!  Wren also got books and clothes, baby accessories, flashcards, ornaments, a grow your own flowers kit, and much more!  She really had a bountiful Christmas!  But it really has been that baby doll, who we have to call Big Baby to differentiate her/him (Wren decides on a daily basis what gender Big Baby is) from Water Baby, Tiny Baby and Soft Baby, that has received the most attention since Christmas.  Below are some photos of how well Wren has been taking care of her Big Baby. 

Tucking Big Baby into her homemade bed, which was later destroyed by Wren. Cardboard just isn't made for big kids to lay on!

 

Wren personally laid out little places for everyone to lay down.  From left: Wren, lamby, little bunny, tiny baby, Abigail and Big Baby. 



Wren gets Big Baby in the high chair and buckled in all by herself before bringing over a huge feast!