To Be Fair, Part 2

Megan has waited very patiently for her time in the sun on this blog. I dedicated a post to Bridget a little while ago, with the intent to do the same for Megan right away, but I'll plead the four under four excuse. So, fresh from her parent/teacher conference today, I'm here to brag about our "golden child" -- Miss Tiffany's words, not mine :)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this evaluation today, considering Megan is only in class two days a week for a few hours each day. I didn't expect a ton of insight, but I was impressed with the typed out, two page progress report we were given, full of glowing remarks, of course!

While Megan played in the next room, Miss Tiffany told Matt and I that Megan is the "golden child" in the classroom, that she can't believe Megan is the youngest in the class. She shows the most maturity of any child in the classroom, has excellent manners, is attentive and very inquisitive, can write her name, holds her pencil correctly, and shows social skills well beyond her age. Miss Tiffany thinks that she shows more empathy for her classmates than she's ever seen, and is a little caregiver for her friends. She helps put on sweaters and backpacks for the other kids, and resolves conflicts in the classroom without going to any teacher for help. Tiffany's analysis is that she's learned the social skills of a child much older because she has three little sisters at home. She said that some of the kids in the class don't even know the teachers' names, and that Megan is the only kid who knows every child and calls them by their name. Her friends are boys and girls, and she is the most outgoing in the classroom (!). It's really heartwarming to know that we haven't done her too much of an injustice (so far!) by making her the big sister of three already. I feel guilty that we don't have as much time to spend with her one-on-one as we would if she was an only child, but it's feedback like this that makes me think she'll probably survive this oldest kid gig, and maybe be better off because of it.

I know -- blah, blah, blah. We were obviously eating this up. I walked out of the room with the biggest smile on my face. I know she's extra special, but she's our kid. It's nice to hear such good things from someone else, and to know that her teachers think she's such a fun, sweet kid, too!

On to some of the latest and greatest from Megan ---

On her (over)active imagination:

This is a typical game for Megan. Here, she's gathered up every doll in the house to sit them on the steps to pretend that they're all in a choir. Her trusty sidekick Bridget goes along with whatever plan she hatches.

Other made-up games include:

• doll hospital, where they line up all of the dolls on the floor in their room and set to fixing all of their injuries;
• simply, "boat," where they pile as much stuff and dolls from their room as possible on to one of their bunk beds, and set off on a journey to fight off pirates, etc, etc. This is a really fun one to clean up after :)
• The Cheerios game, where Megan pretends to be a sneaky princess that wants to steal the Cheerios box or placemats from the dining room table. She crawls around under the table and sneaks her hand up to steal something. Bridget and I have to pretend that we don't know who she is, and act horrified that someone stole the Cheerios. It's as ridiculous as it sounds - you have to be 3 to get it, I guess. Or 2, since it elicits crazy laughter from Bridget every time!

On sensitivity:

A few months ago, while feeding the babies some solid food in their high chairs, Tessa started choking a little bit. Megan was calling me from the other room, and I yelled back, probably a little hysterically, "Megan, I can't come right now. Tessa's choking!!"

I pulled Tessa out of her chair, and was racking my brain for the correct way to perform the Heimlich on her (side note: I really need to update my lifesaving skills beyond what I can recall from my years lifeguarding as a teenager!), when Megan rushed to Annie's side. She immediately started talking to Annie, and said, "Don't worry, Mommy! I'll take care of Annie while Tessa chokes."

Of course, everything was fine with Tessa as soon as I pulled her out of the chair, and by that time Megan had assessed the situation. "Mommy, that was scary for Annie. Tessa's her best friend and her sister, and she didn't want her to choke."

Kind of a big deal for a three year old to piece together that kind of compassion for her baby sister.

On Boys:

Megan: "Mommy, do you always call Daddy 'Matt'?"

Me: "Yep. Usually."

Megan: "But why don't you call him Daddy?"

Me: "He's not my daddy - he's my husband."

Megan: "But, I want to marry Daddy."

Me: "You can't marry your daddy - that's just a rule."

Megan: "Okay, I'll marry (cousin) Joey."

Me: "Great!"

Better to go with the idea of a cousin marriage than encourage Megan to pursue another option for a husband in her preschool class. I figure we'll have enough boy drama for four households eventually, but we'll stave it off as long as possible!!

On husbands:

We always call them on our little toy phones when we're about ready to have a baby.

Playing "hospital" is another favorite game of Megan's. She and Bridget lie on opposite ends of the extra bed in their room, all tucked in - a la the grandparents in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - and they pretend that their babies are coming very soon. I'm the doctor and I come to check up on them and deliver their babies. Honestly, I did not have anything to do with creating this game, other than birthing two babies myself somewhat recently. I feel a little Duggar-ish every time they want to play this game.

And, some factoids, like I did for Bridget:

Favorite Book: Currently, anything she knows all of the words to, and can "read" on her own.

Favorite Movie: any princess movie, although Matt occasionally tries to jockey Princess Bride into the first position.

Favorite Cartoon: Dora or Max and Ruby

Favorite Song: "Papa's Song," just like Bridget

Bedtime Routine: She sleeps with the same doll she's had since she could hold on to anything in her crib, and she loves to read books and hear princess/pirate stories before she dozes off. She falls asleep with a silly smile on her face from a happily ever after ending.

Favorite Food: She eats a lot of different foods now, and is much more adventurous than Bridget, but favorite stand-bys are definitely chicken nuggets, fruit, cheese, broccoli, rice, noodles, waffles cut up into fun shapes and french fries!