girls dancing

This morning when Rachel got out of bed she looked at me a little accusingly and said "it's too big." I'm fairly certain she was referring to her pajamas since she was holding them up so they wouldn't fall off. Her pajamas fit her perfectly, except the waist. You could probably fit two of her in the waist. They do have a draw string, but a drawstring is a little beyond her capability. I usually tie it for her, but I apparently forgot to last night, or it might have come undone while she was sleeping. I guess I should put new elastic in the top so she doesn't have to worry about the drawstring. I'm totally letting the manufacturer take the blame for this one. Not that I can explain that to Rachel. Oh well. She had to be reminded to stay on task quite a bit this morning. She took quite awhile to get her shoes and socks on, but her socks have reindeer on them today, so maybe she was just checking them out. That's the story I'm sticking to, anyway. She took awhile to swallow each bite of breakfast this morning (I haven't quite figured out how to hurry her up, if a drink doesn't help) so I ended up sending her out to the bus with food still in her mouth, which means unbrushed teeth. If giving her a drink doesn't get her to swallow, there's not much I can do. Somedays she will only swallow a bite when I put the next bite in. Frustrating.

Yesterday she really retreated into her head. She didn't hardly talk or look at people or anything. Her hands were more clawlike than they've been in awhile. When she does this, her entire look changes. She pushes her lips together kind of like a kiss, but super exaggerated. If she gets mad she'll say something, but that's about the only time. It made me so sad.

When I was tucking her in bed last night I kept talking to her, trying to get her to interact with me a little. As I pulled the covers up, she looked at me, smiled, and said "it's a story." I asked her what the story was about and she said "girls." I asked her several other questions, but didn't get a response. Finally I asked her what the girls were doing and she smiled really big and said "dancing." It's amazing how that little girl can totally melt my heart with just a smile and a couple of words. I tried to get her to talk some more, but she wouldn't. I asked her if she was ready to go to sleep and she smiled and said "yes," so I kissed her goodnight and left. I hope she dreamed amazing dreams of girls dancing. I love it when she's happy.