Kitty!!!

I was proud of myself for being so productive today. I washed the kitchen floor, cleaned out two cabinets, cleaned my closet, organized two large bags for Goodwill, cooked two meals from scratch, packed our lunches for tomorrow, hung my new calendar, did a blog post, caught up on email and did some laundry.

Almi loves to watch me do laundry. With my new front-loading stackables, she can look right into the washing machine and watch the clothes twirling around. If I try to sneak into the laundry room and do some while she is playing, she will jump up and run over to me and ask me to lift her over the baby gate so she can be in on the action.

This afternoon I put her down for her nap in her underwear by accident. She is basically potty trained (go Almi!) and sometimes can stay dry at naptime, but I should've known better based on the amount of water she had for lunch. Well, she had an accident so while I was preparing dinner I was multitasking and doing laundry simulaneously. I grabbed the sheets off her bed and threw them into the washing machine with a few of her stuffed animals that were in the crib with her and an assortment of clothes from the hamper. Just as I put the detergent in and shut the door, Almi was right there at the baby gate asking to be hoisted over to get in on the action.

I pushed the start button and Almi peered in to watch the clothes start twirling around. Then she spotted him. Kitty. "Kitty!!!!!", she screamed. "Yes," I responded. "Kitty is going to get a bath." "Kiiiiiiiiittttttyyy!!!!" she screamed again, but this time she also burst into tears. Big, huge tears as she pointed to the washer. "Kitty has peepee on him, Pumpkin. Mommy is going to wash him for you."

"Kiiiiiiiiitttyyyy!!!!" she screamed, now in near hysterics. At that moment I realized that she didn't just want Kitty but maybe she was afraid for Kitty or maybe she just wasn't sure what having him in the machine meant. It was more than she just wanted Kitty in her arms but rather she seeemed really scared and as quickly as I could I stopped the machine and grabbed Kitty out and handed him to her.

"Kitty," she sniffed as he tightly wrapped her arms around him.

Aw, she rescued him. It was sweet yet surprising at the same time. I really internalized for the first time how important it is to relinquish control whenever possible with Almi. I have been working hard at letting her just be a two year old and let her do two year old things and not stress myself out about the messes she causes or the things she breaks. I am trying hard at allowing her to explore and be curious and also listen to more acutely to her desires. Her needs I got down. She gets warm baths, a comfy bed, toys, clothes, healthy food, loads of attention and hugs and kisses, etc. but when it comes to things she just wants I admit to being a bit of a control freak at times.

I wanted to wash kitty in that load and get it over with, but she needed him more. So I gave in. And then I quickly ushered her out of the laundry room before she realized Doggie and Bunny were in the wash as well.