Public Persona

I am going to sit quietly at this little table and color. I will hold the purple crayon in my hand and color the picture of the tiger on a circus ball. I will keep the crayon on the paper, somehow. I may get another book to look at or peer into the room where Daddy is working to take a peak at the person on the table. The person on the table wants me to say hi, but I run away. Daddy knows my secret but I don't want the others to suspect.

Before we came to work, I was giving Daddy a hard time. Before the car started and we drove here, I wouldn't stop crying until Daddy gave me his sunglasses to play with. I didn't break them but they sure are bendy! I don't know how he got me in my car seat because I was kicking and screaming once I was in the car. I think our neighbor distracted me-all the waving that I must do in a day! I tried to climb over the seat into the front seat, but Daddy was too fast.

He wouldn't let me leave the house with the things I was going to bring. I wanted to bring my dog and the drum set and Mommy's hair gel. I fought hard to keep hold of them. We can leave the hair gel in the fridge for later.

And my clothes? They insist on dressing me everyday but I won't help. I'll keep threatening to roll off the change table until they won't use it anymore. I'll let them put clothes on me, but hopefully they let me pick them out more often. Daddy doesn't dress me as cute as Mommy does.

Daddy tried to brush my teeth, but I grabbed the toothbrush away and hit him in the face with it. I'll brush my own teeth. And comb my own hair, thank you. Don't worry about washing my face either.

I sat and screamed on the couch. He thought it was for no reason, but my teeth hurt and he wouldn't let me watch my DVD on TV. I did the same thing to Mommy yesterday but it was because she picked me up instead of putting me back to sleep during my nap, and she didn't pat my back the right way. I eventually showed her how to pat my back.

Sometimes I cry to be picked "up up up", sometimes I just cry, whether they pick me up or not. When I want to, I'll play by myself.

I stayed clean for work by not eating breakfast. I used the spoon to play with my oatmeal and threw it on the floor for the dog. I didn't mean to get oatmeal in Daddy's hair with the spoon but he tried to take it away from me. I took the piece of pear that he gave me and I mashed it into the couch.

And I did wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Daddy was there and not Mommy. I fell asleep on her earlier and she should have been there when I woke up. And don't tell anybody, but I didn't really sleep until 4 am this morning. I tossed and turned and cried "mamamama" all night long until then. It was my teeth then too, and my tummy as well because Mommy massaged some oil on my tummy before bedtime to try to make me poop more.

But maybe if I sit quietly enough and color with my purple crayon, no one will suspect a thing. Perhaps when I leave, I will give a little wave goodbye (so much waving and greeting to do) and babble through the hall when I walk away with Mommy. Maybe no body will know.

(Wouldn't we love to know what they think about all day? I am amazed because my daughter has the best public persona-I wonder where she gets it from?)