Mischievous Misdirection Miss Della

A few nights ago I amended Della's bedtime routine by letting her snuggle in my bed (normal) while eating a Popsicle (not normal). During the witching hour antics she'd managed to smash her lip on her little brother's helmet which was of course securely mounted to his head (recent favorite thing) as they played a crazy game of tag before bedtime (also normal). There were tears of pain and of anger as the two children were separated and dragged off to their respective bed-time routines.
Della isn't one much for holding an ice pack to her lip so I thought a Popsicle would be a brilliant alternative. Which it was as she later informed me that the Popsicle was "soooo good" and "can I have another". To which my answer was no.

Here's where it gets really fun ...

(Della) Can I have an ice pack?
(Mama) Does your lip still hurt?
(D) Yes. 
(M) Go get the ice pack out of the freezer and come right back (as I'm brushing my teeth). Be quiet, daddy's putting your brother down for bed. (Yes Della knows, from past experience, where the ice pack is stashed in the freezer.)
As I crawl into bed Della comes to the bedroom door, peaks her head in but does not open the door all the way nor does she come in the room (unusual)
(D) I want to go to sleep in my own bed (fairly unusual).
(M) Are you alright?
(D) Yes
(M) Are you tired, do you want to go to sleep?
(D) No. I just want to go lay down in my room.
(M) Would you like me to tuck you in? 
(D) No (she still hasn't entered our room nor opened the door all the way)
(M) Do you want to watch your movies (tablet)?
(D) No ... I just want to go to my room.(very unusual)
Finally mommy connects the dots
(M) Della, go put the 2nd Popsicle back.

Sneaky girl had grabbed a 2nd Popsicle out of the freezer. She almost had me!
**Mama Defense: It was late in the work week, past my bedtime, and I wasn't thinking clearly!!**

This mischievous moment followed closely behind one a few days prior where Della held my kindle hostage. Her words were very much along the lines of "mommy, you can have this [kindle] back after you get me a snack"  ... said while holding said kindle in front of her face and looking me solidly in the eyes with a very serious and determined look on her face.

I do believe our little miss Della will be  force to be reckoned with very shortly. 

Wrestling 2015

Every year Stark spends a few days working as Tournament Manager for the Girls Wrestling High School State Championship. Although he's extremely busy managing staff, referees, coaches, teams, media, and the inevitable parents, we always make an effort to stop by and visit daddy. This year daddy made a special effort to take Della out among the mats and introduce her to a few of the girl competitors and female coaches. Girl Wrestlers are the perfect role model for Della. 

Over the past 6 years its been amazing to watch the high school Girls Wrestling program progress from just a few brave girls to several hundred girls across the state. These girls are amazing! 

Strong, athletic, confident, dedicated, respectful -- everything you'd expect from a Wrestler yet with a definite female twist --- carefully braided hair and perfectly applied nail polish and lots of sass. These girls don't compromise. They wrestle with all their heart and soul but remain all girl.

Della LOVES to wrestle. She's been 'wrestling' with us every night since she could first stand up and push back. She has yet to fully grasp the traditional form of wrestling favoring instead a daily moment of parental love and attention in the form of mock kicking, carefully planned pushing, lots of flying thru the air, and massive amounts of tickles. To Della, wrestling is a very positive part of her life and we easily envision her growing into a amazing true wrestler. 

***should she so choose***

 Huck was more interested in stacking cards in a box than watching wrestling. It's always fun to watch Huck's evolution in new places. When we first arrive he's always a bit shy and clingy but once we find our spot he quickly grows comfortable and starts push boundaries. On this particular visit he decided that he'd rather be running amidst the crowd and we were forced to leave simply because I couldn't keep him wrangled and couldn't let him be trampled by coaches and kids who weren't watching for a rugrat darting between their legs. 

Maybe next year I'll actually be able to sit and watch some wrestling. 

Sorry ... no pictures of actual wrestling this year. I was too busy holding onto Mr Huck. 

Swim Lessons

Our little mermaid is formally learning to swim ... beyond splashing around in our hot-tub. 

Twice a week daddy or I accompany her to the local aquatics center where she continues to amaze us.  Although she has her moments of shyness Della continues to be an incredible outgoing and social creature who loves to make friends and be a leader. 

Thanks to her misspent youth splashing and jumping around in our ancient, deep, and lukewarm hot-tub, she is extremely comfortable in the water. Possibly a bit too comfortable as she would rather swim under the water than work on surface technique with her teachers. 

Someday her advanced physical coordination and normal 4-year old mental development will find a peaceful equilibrium but until then Della will be the little girl who surpasses her classmates in swimming ability and courage but really doesn't want to sit still and listen to direction. 

She kicks as if she's running horizontally with her knees bending at 90-degrees. If you can get the video below to work it's adorably cute to watch. 

Teachers ... Bless their hearts for being patient and trying to capture their attention.

Thanks to swim lessons Della now puts her head underwater, eyes open, to pull the bathtub drain plug each evening. We LOVE you Miss Della!