The Routine(s)

Emily and I have gotten into quite a routine when it comes to brushing our teeth in the mornings and evenings before bed. I know it won't be long before this routine becomes "uncool," so preserving what I can of the memories, I thought I'd jot them down here.. Her favorite part about this routine is that we both do everything exactly the same.

I get her toothpaste on her brush, fill her cup with water, then do the same with mine. She starts the light on her brush (the one that blinks for about two minutes to make sure you brush enough) and we both start brushing. She waits for me to spit so she can spit into her sink at the same time as we brush, and whenever I move to a new spot in my mouth, she moves to the same in hers. As soon as the light goes off, we both wash our brushes under the water, then tap (together) on the side of the sink 5 to ten times (depends on her). Some of the times Emily will say, "let me hear yours daddy!" so I tap my brush on the sink by myself. One time I did this she informed me it sounded like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. There are other times that she asks me to stop so she can listen to the sound her brush makes while she taps.

When we're done tapping, we both put our brushes into their respective holders, then we both grab our cups and swish/spit, then pour the cups out at the same time. We then put our cups down together, turn off our water together, then reach for our towels and dry our mouths off. After as much practice as we've had, we should take the show on the road :)

After going to the yellow park yesterday, and Emily riding her bike for the first time in a while, it made me realize something about her bike riding. For the longest time everything was fine, but then suddenly her bike started "wobbling" (according to her), and it was pretty much the end of riding the bike. I remember getting pretty frustrated with her at times over this wobbling nonsense, but after a couple of tries, she would have nothing to do with it. In fact, she would have rather get on her old three-wheeler than ride her new bike. So, yesterday was our first venture out in a while on the bike, and it went great.

One of the things she did while on this bike ride that she did before (which frustrated me to no end.. my patience runnethed over) was to constantly ask me to hold her handlebars while she rode it. I'd try for a while, then have to stretch out my back for a second as I'd been hunched over for a while, and would get a little tired of her running over my feet because I was so close to her while I did. As soon as I'd life my hands off the bike, she'd slam on the breaks and say, "can you hold it daddy?" UGH.

Well, what I realized yesterday as we were riding is that this is EXACTLY what she did while we would swim this summer. She'd need that constant assurance that I was right there holding on to her for her to feel comfortable. Funny how this only took me three months to figure out, but at least I got there. Anyway, knowing how the summer turned out with swimming (by herself, jumping off of the diving board or side of pool, even trying to swim a little without her floaties), it made me feel very optimistic about the bike riding. Sure enough, as we'd ride along, I would make sure she knew I was holding on, so instead of her asking me, I would let her know every couple of seconds, "I'm right here holding the bike, I won't let you fall," and just a few blocks down the road, she was asking me to let go so she could ride on her own. So, let's see which worked out better:

1. We would ride, and I would tell her she needed to ride by herself. She would constantly slam on her breaks, beg me to hold the bike, which I would for a little while, but then let go and the cycle would begin again. Ultimately, one of us (usually me.. well, at least on the inside.) would end up whining about it, and crying, frustration levels would go through the roof, and the experience as a whole was a big pile of poo.

2. We rode, I told her I'd hold on the whole time, she quickly asked me to let go so she could ride on her own, both of us enjoyed the whole trip, and she was very proud of herself at the end.

Funny how that all worked out, and guess who was the one getting in the way the whole time before? Yes yes, I know you saw that a while ago, again, it only took me three months. It probably helped a little that the back tire was a little flat and didn't wobble either :)

So, I keep trying to remind myself of perspective when looking at routines that aren't working out so well. It seems that every time things aren't going to plan, it's usually because I'm approaching it from the wrong angle. At least she's the forgiving type, gets that from her mother :)