little museums

When Zach was 3 or 4 years old, we used to head to the museums all the time. He has the sort of temperament where he would just hold my hand, walk along anywhere, and soak it all in. I would always invite friends to come along and bring their little ones and I was often met with long stares and heavy sighs. Friends would say they dreaded bringing their little ones to museums because all they wanted to do was run and climb and yell and it was lost on them. I didn't get it back then.  Now I totally do.

Now I have that child. The one who I dread bringing to museums because she just wants to run and climb. But I still also have the child who loves going to museums and always bemoans, "Mom we never get to go anymore!"

We've ventured into DC to go to the Smithsonians a handful of times since Naia arrived. And truthfully, it's orchestrated chaos. Usually the excitement of the metro ride wears her down before we even get there.

It's crowded even mid-week. Everything is behind glass. And it's so spread out that little feet quickly tire out. It's an amazing resource, but not the idea place to spend the day with a 3 year old.

It's so easy just to gravitate to the big (free) Smithsonian museums so close by.  But lately I have been seeking out smaller museums. Smaller museums don't have the draw of being free, but they are almost always more little kid friendly. Finding places where the kids are allowed to touch, and feel, and interact makes all the difference.

The Anne Marie Sculpture Garden was the perfect little place for a kid friendly museum experience. This month there was a really fabulous exhibit on wool embroidery needle work made by common British sailors that made my big kid happy.

And there was plenty of hands on, colorful, not behind glass things for my little one to explore. Books to look through, recognizable things with a new life, bits to glue and paint, and outdoor space too. Even art you can climb on!

And suddenly it's not so terrible bringing them to the museum anymore.

Just Naia

Everyone told me that by age 3 she's be a full on Disney Princess diva. Like there was somehow no avoiding it. No matter how we raised her or what our home life was like, it would just happen. She would dictate to me what she would wear each day, and it would of course be Pepto Bismol pink with loads of sparkles. She would spend her days pretending to get married to Princes and wearing tiaras and tutus and puffy sleeved dresses. And that, I was told, is how little girls end up. Period.

Well here we are at 3 1/4 years and nothing could be further from the truth. Maybe it's having a big brother? Maybe it's this outdoor life we lead? Maybe it's because we don't have a TV and limit what she sees on a screen at all? Maybe it's just who she is.

"I'm just NAIA!", she declares to anyone who bends down and calls her Princess in sugary tones normally reserved for cats.

She could care less about clothes, which I love because then I get to dress her up any way I like.

Colors don't matter either, though she leans towards yellow. Her play is totally gender neutral. She's just as happy playing with her brother's Legos, playing with her animals and babies, or driving her little trucks around. She loves books, sorting tiny things, pestering her brother, singing, dancing, and stomping in puddles.

Dinner conversations with Naia often go something like this, "Mama does Santa Claus fart?" (yes honey, I'm sure he does) "Do you think his farts smell like candy canes and cookies?"

She is confident, outgoing, well mannered, and the boss of the whole wide world. We joke that she will one day be the supreme dictator of her own small island nation.

She loves making sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing. She is also affectionate, extremely empathetic, and loving as anything.

She's of the age where people are always asking if she's in preschool yet. No, we don't plan to send her to preschool, or any school really. I am so happy to have the space enough between kids to have the hindsight about early learning and what really matters. We could care less about her learning letters, writing her name, counting, "socializing", and all the rest of the stuff gringos tend to think is necessary for little ones. After going through the paces with child #1, I have since realized and learned that those things can and will come later on and learning them early offers NO, and I repeat NOOOO benefit.

What is most important to us is that she is well mannered, considerate, helpful, joyful, curious, secure, and experiences as much as possible while in the loving circle of her family.

Playing with bugs, creating something out of nothing, knowing where food really comes from, appreciating understanding music, forming relationships, hearing poetry, testing limits, getting bored, feeling frustrated, solving problems,and most importantly just being free to be.

She doesn't need toddler ballet lessons or gymnastics or karate, (though we are doing swim lessons because ya know, we live on a boat.) She needs to be a kid. And even if one day she decides to bust out in a pink Princess dress and tiara, that's fine by me too. It's all part of growing up. I don't care if she's the first one reading or the last one finishing the race. I don't care if she can make letters or draw people or button her sweater. It will all come when she's ready. I just want her to savor this brief, beautiful ride we call childhood.

She's not a Princess or a Tom Boy. As she always reminds everyone, she's just Naia. And she's just right.

3 Times Around The Sun

Rain and cold and wind could not dull the sunshine my sweet girl radiates. Her third birthday was a wet one, but lovely all the same.

The party was supposed to be a story book theme, as my girl LOVES her books. But the wet day made most of my ideas highly impractical. So we did a little of this and that and kept it simple.

All along when we would say, "Naia what do you want for your birthday?" She has consistently answered, "A chocolate cake and a yellow ukulele." Grandma and grandpa in Hawaii sent a yellow ukulele as requested and I bought a huge chocolate ganache cake.

 (little figure from thrift store and I sewed the mini bunting from an old storybook)

After getting sugared up and totally overstimulated by a steady flow of friends and guests (it was also boat show week here in town, and we have had a zillion cruising friends coming and going and staying the night each day for a couple of weeks now), and skipping her nap, she totally melted down around dinner time. And for some reason every time we sang Happy Birthday, she cried and cried.

My sweet girl, tears or smiles you light up our days and bring joy to our whole family. I adore you. Happy Birthday!