Ayden Won't be Ignored

It is drizzling, and it's cold outside, but Ayden does not care. She has her "warmest" Baby Gap coat on and is nonchalantly making her way around the walking path. We had been inside all day because I fell a week behind in some classes, but she insists we go out into the cold. She sat by me most of the day playing with her alphabet toy and her baby doll. Intermittently, she entertained herself with the television, but she was restless.

After her nap, she had me take her footed pajamas off. It's three o'clock and she isn't having it anymore. I dress her and she puts on her tennis shoes. She runs to the end of the hallway to peak at something. Then, she rushes back, grabs my shoes, and sets them by my feet.

"Mami, shoe. Mami, shoe. Mami, shoe," she chants nonstop for a minute before getting annoyed. She grabs my foot and tries to force the shoe on it.

"Shoe, Mami, shoe." she says as she struggles with the shoe. I put them on slowly to buy time. I know what she wants, but it is too cold outside for me  -- (me no likey cold.)

"Go," she insists.

She tries to pull me off the seat, but she can't budge me. So, she tries to push me off the seat, with no success. She gets more annoyed.

"Go, Mami, Go!" she orders.

"It's cold outside," I say to her, "Where's your jacket?"

She looks around and grabs the flannel monkey-print pajama top she had just taken off.

"Less go, Mami. Go ow-side" she whines.

"Mami needs her jacket," I tell her. She looks around. She takes a hooded sweater out of the clothes hamper and hands it to me.

"Less go." She says slowly and seriously, sitting down next to me.

"Okay," I say giving her her coat and grabbing mine off the closet door behind me. "Just let me finish this."

"No, Mami, Go! Ow-side." she pouts.

"I'm busy, Mamma," I try to explain, as I take notes from my online Psych book. She stands up indignant and stares at my laptop in disgust for a second before yanking my notes out of my hands.

"No! No!" she orders, stuffing the notebook into the desk.

I guess it's Ayden time-- she won't stand for being ignored another second. So, we bundle up, grab an umbrella, and head out in the soft wintry drizzle. It's time to wait for Matt's school bus anyway.