The Monkey
I have a few things I want to record... but first, I MUST record that tonight when we put her to bed, Daisy said to me, "Thank you, Mom. Thank you for the bed and the milk and the books and the playing." Completely out of the blue!
Lately Daisy has been very into make-believe. She spends long periods of time moving her animals and dolls around, babbling out narratives for them that I can partially understand and that partially seem like nonsense; the stories combine bits of books, things Daisy has experienced herself (like the Scary-go-round and the "Haunting House," which she still talks about almost every day), episodes of "Sesame Street," and things that just seem totally made up. It is very funny and also it seems neat that she can divert herself for so long. I also notice how everything is a text with her--so, for example, she'll make one of her characters say, "Tell me about the Scary-go-round, said Mama." (Or, "said the fairy," or "said the townspeople," or someone.)
Another aspect of Daisy's pretend play is that she herself now has several alter egoes. They are: the monkey, the waiter, the townspeople, the girl that I knew somewhere (the title of a Monkees' song--which is where I think she also got the idea of being a monkey), and the fairy. When she is being one of these characters, she refers to herself in the third person and says things like, "The waiter is washing the wall!" as she herself dumps a cup of water on the wall of the tub (for example). As strange as it might seem that these are her alter egoes, I know where they all come from (the waiter and the townspeople are both from a ballet she likes, and the fairy was her Halloween costume).
Daisy has more and more been insisting that she will do things "all by herself." She pushes my hand away when she's walking, and it can be hard to keep a grip on her when we're crossing the street. She also has been telling us that she "wants some space," ordering us to get off the couch when she's on it, or leave her alone when she's playing make-believe. I used to sit in the tub with her for convenience sake when I was washing her, but now she tells me to get out and give her some space. These tendencies, along with her non-stop talking all day long, tell me that she is really growing up!
Lately Daisy has been very into make-believe. She spends long periods of time moving her animals and dolls around, babbling out narratives for them that I can partially understand and that partially seem like nonsense; the stories combine bits of books, things Daisy has experienced herself (like the Scary-go-round and the "Haunting House," which she still talks about almost every day), episodes of "Sesame Street," and things that just seem totally made up. It is very funny and also it seems neat that she can divert herself for so long. I also notice how everything is a text with her--so, for example, she'll make one of her characters say, "Tell me about the Scary-go-round, said Mama." (Or, "said the fairy," or "said the townspeople," or someone.)
Another aspect of Daisy's pretend play is that she herself now has several alter egoes. They are: the monkey, the waiter, the townspeople, the girl that I knew somewhere (the title of a Monkees' song--which is where I think she also got the idea of being a monkey), and the fairy. When she is being one of these characters, she refers to herself in the third person and says things like, "The waiter is washing the wall!" as she herself dumps a cup of water on the wall of the tub (for example). As strange as it might seem that these are her alter egoes, I know where they all come from (the waiter and the townspeople are both from a ballet she likes, and the fairy was her Halloween costume).
Daisy has more and more been insisting that she will do things "all by herself." She pushes my hand away when she's walking, and it can be hard to keep a grip on her when we're crossing the street. She also has been telling us that she "wants some space," ordering us to get off the couch when she's on it, or leave her alone when she's playing make-believe. I used to sit in the tub with her for convenience sake when I was washing her, but now she tells me to get out and give her some space. These tendencies, along with her non-stop talking all day long, tell me that she is really growing up!
posted by Sarah Goss at 8:53 PM
1 Comments:
I sat nearby as Daisy played with her giraffe family, her townspeople and a big stuffed kangaroo (which she called Abiyoyo). Her narrative included such phrases as "How rude!",
"It was an accident!", "Dammit!" and
"It was embarrassing". There was a lot of kissing going on among the giraffe family members and talk about babies, big girls, mamas, dadas and persons. M.B. (Proud Gommy)
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