I mentioned in a previous post that Noelle had a tumble down the stairs a couple weeks ago. Fortunately our stairs are carpeted and she only fell halfway to the first landing (it still scared me half, make that three quarters to death, though!). To avoid a repeat of this event, and in case she ever outwitted us again, we had a little "talk" the next time we went downstairs. I 'reminded' her of her tumble, patted my head and did a somersault motion with my arms while saying "You fell and bumped your head! Ouch! Be careful!" She took it all quite seriously and said "ooooOhhhhh" and nodded in agreement. Then I let her practice walking down without holding my hand. (If she finds herself facing the great temptation someday - at the top of a long flight of steps, and no parent in sight - I want her to know what to do.) So she placed one hand on the wall and took slow steps while I walked in front of her, hands outspread to catch her.
I thought, "Wow! Great lesson! I think I'm getting this parenting thing figured out!", and patted myself on the back. (I quickly since realized I'm a long way from having this parenting thing 'figured out'. But whatcha gonna do?) Actually, the lesson does seem to be working. We have continued our practice sessions on the stairs, and Noelle is gaining in skill and confidence. She's got so much confidence, however, that she has turned the whole incident into a comedy routine. Every time we go down the stairs together, now she is the one to "mention" the fall. She waves her arms, pats her head, nods and giggles.
This morning was the biggest routine yet. I opened the gate for us to start down, and Noelle began to wildly gesticulate. She waved both arms repeatedly up and down, palms extended downward, all while saying "BUMP - BUmp - bump!" then rubbed her head, big dimpled grin on her face. She did this several times, getting louder and more excited each time. Soon she was grabbing fists of hair and shouting "Bump!" while taking small jumps and giggling wildly. When she was finally composed enough to attempt the stairs, she would only make it down a few steps before teasingly reversing her direction. Her sly look said, "This game is way too much fun to just get to the bottom. Let's extend the fun a bit longer. Mom, you're taking this practice way too seriously. And, by the way, I dare you to catch me!"
I thought, "Wow! Great lesson! I think I'm getting this parenting thing figured out!", and patted myself on the back. (I quickly since realized I'm a long way from having this parenting thing 'figured out'. But whatcha gonna do?) Actually, the lesson does seem to be working. We have continued our practice sessions on the stairs, and Noelle is gaining in skill and confidence. She's got so much confidence, however, that she has turned the whole incident into a comedy routine. Every time we go down the stairs together, now she is the one to "mention" the fall. She waves her arms, pats her head, nods and giggles.
This morning was the biggest routine yet. I opened the gate for us to start down, and Noelle began to wildly gesticulate. She waved both arms repeatedly up and down, palms extended downward, all while saying "BUMP - BUmp - bump!" then rubbed her head, big dimpled grin on her face. She did this several times, getting louder and more excited each time. Soon she was grabbing fists of hair and shouting "Bump!" while taking small jumps and giggling wildly. When she was finally composed enough to attempt the stairs, she would only make it down a few steps before teasingly reversing her direction. Her sly look said, "This game is way too much fun to just get to the bottom. Let's extend the fun a bit longer. Mom, you're taking this practice way too seriously. And, by the way, I dare you to catch me!"
1 comment:
Soooo cute. Noelle is such a character. Thank you for the sweet coment on the post about my mom.
Love and miss you all,
Amorisa
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