Chips, popcorn, and other stories

I had a hankering for potato chips, so Saturday I bought some. That night I wanted to give Rachel a bath. I said “Rachel, do you want to take a bath?” She said “no.” Okay, that was a dumb question, but I had another plan. I told Jeff to casually bring Rachel upstairs, and when she saw the bubbles I was pretty sure she would happily get in the tub. Sure enough, I was right. She got in the tub, and for a while everything was fine, then she started crying for no good reason. She pointed to her mouth and said “cheep” (which, being interpreted, means chip). I said that after she finished her bath I would give her a chip. The next day, Sunday, she wanted to take another bath after church. Fine with me, and she got in the tub. A few minutes later she started crying. When I asked her what was wrong she stopped, pointed to her mouth and said “cheep.” Well, okay, after your bath I’ll give you a chip. The next morning, Monday, she wanted another bath. Whatever, okay. She started crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she stopped, pointed to her mouth and said “cheep.” I finally caught on. This kid is playing me like a grand piano. “Ah, no. No chips this morning.” She wailed for a few seconds, then forgot about it and enjoyed her bath for like another 45 minutes.

Sunday evening I was washing the dishes and Rachel was in the kitchen with me. My back was to her, but all of the sudden I heard the microwave turn on. Rachel had pulled out a bag of popcorn and put it in the microwave and started it. Unfortunately she had neglected to remove the plastic covering. I took off the plastic and made the popcorn. While I was making the popcorn she pulled out a plastic bowl for her portion. I gave her some of the popcorn in her bowl, then gave the rest to Jeff, and told him it was a gift from Rachel.

This morning I took Rachel to the pediatrician for the seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu vaccine. Rachel likes the pediatrician, and was very happy to be there. There was a big fish tank in the waiting room, and she enjoyed looking at the fish and pointing out each fish, each plant, and each pebble to me. We were called back and Rachel happily followed the nurse. I commented that she had no idea what was coming, and that it was just as well. We went into the exam room, and Rachel pointed to her thigh and said “ouch,” then she said “ban-din” (which, being interpreted, means band-aid). I think she knew what was going on after all. She was a super trooper about the shots. She cried a little, but when she saw the band-aids, she was just fine.

I used to think that it would be at least until Rachel hit the double digit ages before she was smarter than me, but I’m starting to think I’ll be in her wake intellectually speaking by the time she’s five or six.

Saturday morning Rachel got another haircut. Holy cow! That girl’s hair really grows fast! Anyway, Jeff’s sister Trish did it. She took off about 2 inches.

Yesterday I had a piano student here. She is an adult, and Rachel just adores her, and Gabi is starting to become a fan too. Anyway, Gabi was sitting on her lap and started playing the piano. Amazingly she was playing Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata. Okay, it wasn’t really, but it was cute.