May 10, 2010

Rhyme, Crime, Snuffleupagus









There are sweet moments in a mom's child raising years, like the one I had the other day. My 4 year old came running to me in excitment, big ponytails bouncing off her shoulders.



"Mom! I made a rhyme!"



I stopped what I was doing and turned to her. "Great, honey! Let's hear it." I hadn't taught her how to make rhymes yet, although her older sisters could have taught her, so I was eager to see what she had learned.



"Ready?" she asked. Big-eyed, enthusiastically animated, and with a ring of chocolate shake smoothie still outlining her mouth as though I had rimmed her cup with permanent marker. How could I not be ready? I nodded.



Her: "Flower...and stower."


?


Me: "Um...good. Yes, that's kind of a rhyme. What else?" I asked. I begin to prompt, "Flower, tower, power..."


"Oh! Oh!" Her eyes lit up. "Head!"



"Uh, no," I laughed. "That's not a rhyme. Let's try another one. How about Cat? Cat, hat, bat, mat, pat..."



"WATER!" she screamed in excitment, jumping up and down like I had told her that I had thrown away all the vegetables and that sugar with a side of Equate would replace tonight's dinner.










"Mmmmm no. Let's try that again." I was determined to teach, hoping she'd catch on. "Let's start with hat this time," I say.



"No." She pulled a face. She clapped her hands together and shouted, "Let's start with bird!"




"Uh, okay..." Words that rhyme with bird are a bit out of her vocabulary, but I was willing to let her try. "What rhymes with bird?" I asked her. "Bird and..."




*DRAMATIC PAUSE*




"No," she shakes her head. "I changed my mind. Let's do white bird!"



"You can't rhyme with white bird," I say, "let's do something easy. I know, how about toes. Toes and..." I point to my nose.




"NOSE!!!"



"Yes," I applaud. "Toes and nose! You're getting it!"




She does that little "4 year old happy dance"--the one where they shake, laughing chaotically as if Jelly Bellies are line-dancing the Macarena in her tummy. At this point, I expect her to spin 3 times, chase her tail, and bark like a dog.




ME: "Let's do it again. Toes, noooooooose..."




*The tornado that swept up Dorothy and took her to Oz could have happened in this long pause while my daughter thinks.*








She just needs time to think this out, I tell myself. She'll get it...she'll get it...





"Oh! Oh!" She has suddenly selected her answer from the Jeopardy game board inside her head and happily shouts:



"ARM!!"



Then again, maybe not.



ME: "Uh...no," I giggle.



HER: "What comes after nose then?"



ME: "Nothing comes after nose. We're rhyming. Try it again."



HER: "Okay! Nose and water! No, no. Nose and tramp!"



ME: "No, sweetie, that isn't a--"



HER: "Oh, I know! White bird, white flower, white cloud!"




*Clunk, clunk, clunk, goes the sound of my head against the fridge.*




Okay, she doesn't get it. Rhyming is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of her league right now. I think we have a LOT of work to do before Kindergarten starts. :)


8 comments:

AnnieAd said...

Loved it! I can just see those big ponytails bouncing on her shoulders. I think her version was far more entertaining than a regular old rhyme.

MommyMert said...

This one is my life. :)

Jesmyluk said...

Just had this same conversation with y almost 3 year old about 3 weeks ago. With the same "clunk, clunk, clunk" response from me. xD

Anonymous said...

Very well done play-by-play :)
I'm fairly positive I would have a similar experience with my 4 year old too.

Anonymous said...

Camryn, I read your comment on my blog and since this is the only way to get in touch with you, I'm here again :)

Kudo's to those women who can wait to find out. I am SO not that patient. Because of the circumstances of this pregnancy, I knew that I needed to find out to be able to not only get over my loss but to bond with this baby. And I know it sounds awful, but I'm ridiculously excited that its a girl because it will make the whole L&D and going home experience with only one of my girls, so much easier. If that makes any sense.

A friend of mine actually let the doctor tell her husband but she waited till the baby came. You could try that too :)

S Farrell said...

LOL! This is so well written, I love it! I had a similar conversation with my four year old. The only problem was he rhymed a word with truck (technically he was correct) and I almost had a heart attack! BTW, I have an award for you at my blog. Feel free to stop by when you have a chance!

Rachel Sue said...

I love moments like that. Just you wait until she gets so good at rhyming that she starts making up words. "Listen to all the words that rhyme with duck, mommy!"

Heather said...

I LOVED the rhyme white bird, white flower, white cloud! At least they were all white!
I'd love to see you rhyme white bird! The next rhyme can be Four legged phironha. Or children as chew toys!