It's all relative

More on the topic of toddlers putting things together...

Gillian truly enjoyed going to bed for most of her little life, without question, but lately she seems to want reassurance that everyone else is going to bed when she goes to bed. Otherwise we might be having entirely too much fun eating ice cream and cookies and dancing, while playing with her beloved Tinker Toys, without her (I am convinced she believes that is what is going on by the way she will occassionally protest bedtime). So, after books when I put her down, I sing our going to bed song and turn on her music, and then we go through a thorough list of who is (at that very moment) getting ready to hit the sack: "Mama go nite nite...Papa go nite nite...Nonni go nite nite...Gaga (Grandaddy) go nite nite...Anna go nite nite...Julie go nite nite...Monika go nite nite...Elliot go nite nite...Elmo go nite nite...Lamb go nite nite...burpy go nite nite...feet go nite nite...(until we get to) GILLY go nite nite! Nite-Nite Mama!".

The odd thing is when I indicate it is nap time or bed time, her reply is a sorrowful, "Gilly Happy..." and then she starts to whine some about how she doesn't want to go Nite Nite, etc., etc. I suppose this is her way of letting me know she is in a great place, is not tired, and since she is so content and full of joy, there is really no need for sleep....because, you know, SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK. (Sign me up. I am weak). After the initial protest, we are gold, and she dutifully rounds up her Burpies and gives Papa a Big Hug and kiss nite nite.

Her naps have dramatic endings, and she wakes up crying 90% of the time (??). I don't have a theory for what caused the shift from happy play to crying after waking up. Maybe she wants results faster and she learned if she acts as if she is experiencing excrutiating pain we are more likely to take her seriously. When I open the door, face stained with real tears (these outbursts are not just for fun anymore), she says "Gilly Happy..." unconvincingly, then (in case I didn't hear her the first time) "Mama!? GILLY HAPPY!!" much more so.

So, the word Happy denotes a few things, it seems, in her girl's life at the moment. Happy= true contentment, as in "I'm good, thanks for asking. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get back to [insert Very Busy acitivity]". Happy= "God, am I glad to see you. You left me in here, for, like, 33 seconds after I woke up, and I was getting worried you don't love me anymore". Happy = "You ARE happy, aren't you Mama? Why wouldn't you be? I mean, it's a glorious day, even though it's still pitch black out BECAUSE IT'S 5 AM. Heck, since we're all awake and don't have anything better to do, let's go watch the sunrise and go to the playground?!"