Saturday, June 2, 2012

What would Princess Leia do?

ViolaMae is four years old today. She is wearing her new princess dress and behaving with royal aplomb and new maturity. Well, not every minute, but much of the time.

Vi is learning that a princess can be strong and assertive--think Princess Leia rather than Disney characters, pretty though they may be. Now that she's four, Vi knows that a princess can get more of what she wants with a declarative sentence ("I'd like more orange juice, please") than pretend baby-talk ("Thirsty!") or whining. A princess can wear a ball gown and play hard

Best of all, Vi could give other princesses lessons in being loving, kind, and generous. She nurtures dolls and toy animals and friends and relatives, and she dispenses hugs and kisses freely and sincerely. 

She enjoyed being center of attention during her special pre-birthday week here at Wild Rumpus Daycare. She and I spent a day playing with her new princess paper dolls, decorating the dresses with stick-on gems and having the princesses try them on. (I was impressed that today's paper dolls are made of sturdy cardboard, and the dresses have magnets behind them. But the dresses still slide off, just as the ones with little paper shoulder-tabs did when I was a kid. Go figure!)

Another day, as we buckled in for the drive to preschool, Augie asked, "Why are the bongo drums in the car?" With that, Peter handed the bongos to Augie, pulled out new maracas for Vi, and cued up the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil." For a few weeks they've been pretending to play along to the salsa beat, and this time they played real instruments. It was an awesome "Sympathy" symphony. (The lyrics are awfully dark; I think we will find other tunes that call for maracas.)

The big gift that Vi asked for is Olivia's house, the crown jewel of the Legos "Friends" series. These are the first Legos designed expressly for girls. They are attractive, but they are meant for kids with bigger hands, so Grandma does most of the building, and then Vi does most of the playing. A good balance, don't you agree?

Her party was this morning, and I had to miss it. I managed to fall yesterday afternoon--at the hairdresser's!--and twist my leg, which hurts like crazy from hip to toe. This coming week is our last week of daycare for the season and I want to be mobile for it, so I'm resting and icing. ViMae and her mom came to see us after I got home on my sore leg last evening, and she gave me lots of hugs and kisses to help make it better. They said if I had to miss the party, they'd understand. That's the kind of princess they both are. 

Happy Birthday, ViolaMae. May the Force be with you.

By the way, I just noticed that posts on Vi's second and third birthdays also show her in princess garb. She is consistent! 

17 comments:

Jeanie said...

Happy birthday to your 4 year old princess. I have two 4 year old granddaughters who would love to wish her a happy birthday and play paper dolls with her.
I hope you heal quickly and are up and around for your last week of day care.

Far Side of Fifty said...

So happy you have your very own princess! Happy Birthday to ViMae! How wonderful to be four!
I hope you recover quickly from your fall. Did you get an x ray? Just to make sure nothing is broken. Take good care of you..I know you will celebrate the birthday all next week! :)

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Happy Birthday to your precious ViMae.
I hope you heal quickly and without too much pain. I hate to fall. The older I get the more it hurts.

Ms Sparrow said...

Just this morning, I was talking to my sister in WI about how now that we're older, we don't "bounce as well" when we fall. It hurts more and takes longer to recover from. Here's hoping you "bounce back" quickly! Best birthday wishes to the darling little ViMae.

Indigo Roth said...

Hey Nancy! I laughed at the "princess can wear a ball gown and play hard". That's a sentiment we should all embrace. You know, ViMae is the spit of her grandma, the lucky scamp. Indigo x

Grandmother Mary said...

Happy day to ViMae! Yes, princesses do it differently now- cute but feisty. Your description of her personality is very dear. My granddaughter is looking for just the right princess crown for her souvenir of Disney.

Daughter Number Three said...

Hope the pain eases soonest!

Deb Shucka said...

What a wonder of a child she is. I love reading you as you talk about her. You bring every bit of her royalness to the surface.

AiringMyLaundry said...

Happy Birthday to her!! She is too cute.

Connie Nelson said...

Yes a princess can wear a ball gown and play hard! She has Royal blood for sure :)

Midlife Roadtripper said...

At least she knows what she likes. My middle son always wore a red button down shirt and an army helmut.

So sorry to hear of your fall. Hope you are much better as time goes by.

Reading your adventures with the grandkids makes me think I might like to have the same someday. I'm getting over the feeling that I just finished with babies and might be open to hanging with a those that go home when I get tired.

Seriously, get better.

Pearl said...

Happy Birthday, Viola Mae! :-)

Pearl

laurie said...

argh. i am so sorry about your leg!

Red Shoes said...

Four years old?!?

She is precious!!!

Happy Birthday!!

~shoes~

Allyson said...

Happy Birthday, Princess ViMae! Your blissed out Grandma is right, being a princess is a royal responsibility and it's not about fits and tantrums. It's about setting a good example for your people. And being a leader. And sometimes wearing diamonds. But ALWAYS having a pocketbook, apparently. I hope you all had some fun with the Queen's Jubilee, too. It was a fairy tale come true!

I hope you are mending nicely. That sounds like a nasty fall, but at least you're not in a cast for the summer. I hear that's a hot, itchy mess!

Jeanie said...

Oh, no! I hope your leg is feeling better by now. That sounds like it hurts a lot! I know they would hve loved you there, but I'm so glad they understand.

They are princesses!

Teresa Evangeline said...

I missed this post, or got distracted and never got back to it....I absolutely Love that you said "May the Force be with you," for ViolaMae's birthday. What a wonderful grandma you are. I'm so sorry to hear about your leg. Hope it heals quickly.

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