Tantrums, Headstands, and Pie

We're getting near the end of summer.  Wynn and I only have two more "girl days" left (when she's not in daycare, but Baba's at work).  Most of our girl days have involved speech therapy, which she's getting better and better at, with trips to the store, the library, and the zoo thrown in.  

She's hit the age of rebellion, and, though she's still ridiculously cooperative 95% of the time, she's pitched her share of tantrums lately.  I took her to Como Zoo the other day; it was rainy with no crowds, so we really got to see the animals and have fun.  She recognized the zoo as we pulled up - "Animals!!" - and skipped along cheering, "Flowers!" and, "Oh, MORE flowers!" as we entered the park.  We had a great time; we even got to see the gorilla up close and a puffin swimming underwater.  When it was time to leave, though, she saw a car in the lot that was similar to ours.  She INSISTED that we get in it.  I told her that, no, the gray Honda with Maryland plates was not ours, but she went on and on.  By the time we got to our real car, she was in full-blown tantrum.  There was screaming, kicking, and refusal to listen to reason ("See, there's your car seat and toys in the back.").  I had to strap her in while she acted as if I were abducting her.  The other parents in the lot just gave me the look - Yep, I've been there too.

We've been watching the Olympics on TV and have been feeling great pride at seeing Beijing and the people of China doing such a great job of hosting the world.  Sure, they had to do a LOT to make the city amenable to the athletes (like getting rid of all that smog), but we've been enjoying watching the TV reporters as they get settled, meet the people, and eventually get that look of "this place is amazing" that comes over them.  When you're in China, you definitely feel its foreignness, but you can't help but be charmed by the warmth of its people.  

Watching the Olympic coverage with Wynn has been fun.  She enjoys all the gymnastics and was trying to do a headstand like the men in the floor routine last night.  Her favorite sport so far has been the equestrian event.  She LOVES when the horses jump those rails; she shouts, "Go! Go! Jump!" over and over.  When they come to a particularly tall rail, she looks stunned and says, "Oh, Big!"  When I tell her that the show is coming from China, she smiles and points at herself, then me and Scott.  We've made it a point to talk to her about China and our time there - looking at pictures, telling stories, etc.  We don't know if she consciously remembers China, but she certainly knows the word, that it's a place, and that we met there.  

Yesterday Wynn made her first foray into the world of baking; she and I made a blueberry pie.  ("Pie" is one of the words she's been working on in speech.)  She helped me put the crust neatly in the pie plate, dumped the ingredients in the bowl, and was in charge of stirring.  She loved making the top crust.  Instead of lattice work, we took cookie cutters and cut out shapes to set on top of the pie.  I could only find a few cutters, so we ended up with an odd assortment - Minnesota, a pig, a donkey, and a bell.  

As you can tell by the picture of her cramming some in her mouth, it was delicious.

Ann