Little Miss Sympathy

DeLaynie has recently gotten into a very nurturing phase. I've mentioned that she loves babies, dolls, and teddy bears. She likes to rock them in her arms, put them to bed, and of course kiss them. A new devlopment in this area is that she is very protective of Ella.

Nick was holding Ella up in the air when DeLaynie walked into the room. DeLaynie became upset and yelled, "No! Stop that. Get her down!" Nick quickly handed Ella off to Edwin in order to placate DeLaynie's desire for safety. DeLaynie looked at Edwin very seriously and said, "Be careful." DeLaynie likes that phrase, "Be careful," probably because she has heard it a thousand times a day ever since Ella was born.

Yesterday I put on a video for children with language delays and babies Ella's age whose parents simply want their children to be geniuses. It's incredibly boring, but DeLaynie and Ella both enjoy it immensely. Plus, I don't feel guilty for letting them watch it since it is, after all, therapeutic. One of the words covered on this video is "cry." The way that the video works is that they show the word, say it out loud, and show the action, all simultaneously. This meant that crying was represented by a bunch crying children. I don't know who thought that was a good idea, but it upset DeLaynie immensely. We're talking real tears, sobbing, and running from the room. I comforted her, but even after the next word, "wave," came up, she was still visibly upset.

I'm not sure what brought on this sudden wave of maternal instincts, but it does make for some adorable scenarios. I'm not sure what it is, but there is nothing quite like watching a two year-old cradle her doll, sing to it softly, and kiss its plastic face. I'll just have to make a point of enjoying such moments between the tantrums that are also typical of DeLaynie's stage of development, though not nearly as precious.