Bears, Cats, and Birds

I have nicknames for all my children. They're just sweet little names that roll off my tongue. I couldn't stop calling my kids by these names even if I tried. I have a Bethie Bear, a Katie Cat, and a Sarahburra (my adaptation of Kookaburra).

The girls really identify with these names. If any article of clothing or toy has a cat on it, Katie believes that those items are for her exclusive use only. Bethie respects this "natural law". Nothing pleases Katie more than the pajamas that Mum got her that have a great big pink kitten on the shirt and tiny wee kittens on the pants (she's wearing them in the photo included with the "Dancing Queens" blog). Those are her favourite pajamas and she requests them every night. I try to have those pajamas clean at all times because it thrills my little Katie Cat.

Bethie has gone a step further. She actually believes that she is a bear. As I took her out of the bath the other night, she said to me in an incredibly melancholy voice"I wish I was a human girl". I told her that it must be her lucky day because she is a human girl! The next morning, Katie was dancing around on the deck while I was getting the other two girls dressed inside. Katie came racing inside shouting that a bee was going to get her. Bethie reassured Katie that she would get rid of that naughty bee. I asked Bethie how she planned on doing this. She replied matter of factly "Bees don't like bears because bears eat all their honey. The bee is going to think I'm going to eat his honey and he will fly away!". Bethie Bear to the rescue!

I guess it's kinda cute that Katie meows and Bethie growls in their 3 year old attempts to mimic their animal nicknames. However, Sarahburra takes it to the extreme. I think that this child is genuinely surprised when she tries to fly and is unsuccessful. I have truly and honestly seen that child soar through the air doing somersaults, then come plummeting to the ground. It's terrifying and heart wrenching to watch (heroic efforts are made to prevent this from happening in the first place, but Sarah is one fast cookie!). Just last night, Dan and I were preparing to eat dinner outside. We were running plates, and glasses, and utensils, and the highchair outside. We kept the door open because we were moving fast. Not as fast as Sarahburrah. She hurled herself from the top of the stairs to the deck. I saw her in slow motion soar head over heels through the air. It ended in an inevitable crash to the ground. We assessed her (she's one tough Chickie, not a thing wrong with her!), calmed her down, and started dinner. After a few minutes, Katie said "Gravity got Sarah". It sure did, much to Sarah's surprise!