Connections

This morning while getting dressed Rachel said "My shirt is jello!" She was quite excited about it, but quickly moved on to something else, and I was left to try and figure out what she meant on my own. While things she says seem completely random, usually there is an explanation. If I can get her to keep talking about it long enough I can usually figure it out. For instance, the other day she said "my pants are frosting!" Obviously, her blue jeans are not made of frosting, but as she continued talking, I picked up on words like "Cookie Monster," "blue," and "cake," and I realized that she was referring to the fact that her jeans were blue, just like the Cookie Monster cake we had seen, and it made perfect sense. We don't eat jello that often, but usually when we do it's red, and since her shirt was red this morning, that was probably the connection. I can't be sure, however, because her thought processes aren't always that direct and easy to follow.

Her insults tend to be calling someone something that they aren't, for example, calling her brothers girls, or calling me a grandma. She loves her grandmas, and usually girls rule in her world, but she understands enough to know that she is mislabeling us, and since that is usually not a good thing, it's a way for her to express her displeasure. When she is unhappy about herself, she calls herself a boy. I am truly grateful that she has found a way to express her feelings. She may not be able to pinpoint exactly how she is feeling, but she is able to at least let us know when she is having a hard time. When she went through a phase of being totally uncommunicative/passive it nearly drove me crazy because I would try everything I could think of to make her happy, knowing full well that I could be having just the opposite effect on her, and I had no way of knowing.

She frequently assigns colors and animals or characters to people. The other day she was a blue princess and her brother was a green frog. I don't have any idea how she decides these things, but very seldom does she assign the same color or character to two people at the same time. If she's annoyed with someone they get the animals and colors she doesn't like as much. Since her favorite colors and characters change a lot, it's not always easy to tell if what she says is positive or negative, though. Frogs used to be yucky, but she really likes The Princess and the Frog now, so sometimes they're good.

On a completely different note, she was talking about her birthday (something she does almost constantly) and has made a fairly consistent request. She wants a new boyfriend. Typical twenty year old girl? She also has a guest list for her party. It includes Frodo, Anakin, and Data. I didn't realize how truly nerdy (or is it geeky?) our house is. Those guys are her favorite heroes. I think it's interesting that she chose Anakin over, say, Han Solo (my choice), but I think she is referring to the little boy Anakin. He really appeals to her. I'm not sure why Data is her favorite of the Star Trek actors, but I agree he's fun to watch. Growing up with all brothers has definitely influenced her. She can talk about Star Wars fairly readily, but doesn't even know who Mr. Darcy is (how completely sad is that?).

I am sincerely grateful that she is talking. Sometimes the constant stream of words coming out of her mouth make it difficult to concentrate on something I am trying to do, but it sure beats silence. Hands down.