My Favorite Girl

I have been thinking about my favorite girl a lot this weekend and spending quite a bit of time playing with her and enjoying her company. She has been particularly delightful this past week or so. I think that our snow day together was really important to her. She has been spontaneously saying, "I love you, Mom" ever since.

On the other hand, at Half Price books on Saturday, when I told her she had to stay with me and not run off to look for her dad, she said, "Aw. But I don't want to stay with my mom. Moms aren't my favorite!"

Oh, well, Syd. I don't let you chose your bedtime or whether or not to wear a jacket when it's cold outside. I'm certainly not letting you be old enough to chose a favorite parent.

Moments of declaration of affection aside, Sydney has been in rare form this weekend.

This is Sydney cleaning the coffee table. She was dressed as a princess (remember that princesses wear stocking hats in this house) and the whole thing made me think of Cinderella, so I started singing for her.

Sydney-ella, Sydney-ella, how I love my Sydney-ella
She cleans the table tops.
I swear she never stops!

Sydney-ella, Sydney-ella, how I love my Sydney-ella
She cleans up all the mess.
Although she's a princess.

Sydney-ella, Sydney-ella, how I love my Sydney-ella

Sydney loved the song so much, she kept asking me to sing it over and over again as she ran around the house.


Then yesterday, Sydney rediscovered her Russian nesting dolls. We had a typical Nolen family conversation over that:

Sydney: I like my dolls.
Me: They are Russian Nesting Dolls.
Sydney: Rasshun Nesting Dolls?
Me: Yep. Your Uncle Dave got them for you from the Ukraine.
Jeremy: (from the other room) I thought Dave went to Kazakhstan, not Ukraine.
Me: Yep. Your Uncle Dave got them for you from Kazakhstan.
Sydney: Um. They're just dolls.

Anyway, back when Dave brought them for us, I had to decide if they were something to sit pretty on the shelf, or something that Sydney could actually play with. In the end, I decided the dolls (Russian Nesting Dolls - from Kazakhstan) would have more value if Sydney had actual childhood memories of playing with them. I did put up the smallest dolls (I think the set came with seven or eight dolls and she only plays with the largest four), and we do keep them on a high up shelf so that Sydney has to request to play with them. But some days (like yesterday), she remembers them and plays all day. This time, she assigned roles to all of them. The smallest is the baby (of course). The next-to-smallest is the big sister (not surprising). The next-to-biggest is the 'nuther big sister (huh?). And the largest is the daddy (probably because moms are not her favorite). But sometimes the largest one gets to be the mama instead (probably because she really isn't old enough to chose favorites).


Lastly, the recent trip to go see Alice in Wonderland has created a new interest in tea parties. Sydney has started hosting them and inviting her dad, me, her brother, and her baby dolls to come to the tea parties.

Mostly, Sydney serves overly hot tea which must be blown on. But sometimes she serves pie. And please let me tell you, do not eat the green pie! The green pie is YUCK! At least that's what Sydney says about the handful of air she keeps serving. The other pies are to taste... her daddy likes the purple pie, but I do not. I like the orange pie and the choco pie. But no one likes the green pie.


I find my daughter to be so delightful. I have to admit that it does make me a little sad that moms aren't her favorite, but I have to acknowledge that she has always been a daddy's girl and I think that she and I have a lot in common, not the least of which is an over-fondness for her dad.

Maybe someday I will get to be her favorite. And even if I don't, she will always be my favorite girl.

So there.