More Random Rayna-isms

Rayna continues to make us laugh with her silliness -- both intended and otherwise. We still refer to her as Random Rayna almost daily, because you never quite know what is going to come out of her mouth. Here are some recent examples:


R: Mommy I hurt my knee!
Me; What happened to it?
R: I ankled it!

R: Mommy, tell me a word.
Me: Ummmm..... Supercilious.
R: NOPE!
Me: Supercilious is not the word?
R: Nope -- it's church.

When Pete broke a glass the other night, he yelled "Dang it!" Rayna tried to join in with a similar tone... She said, "Agh! That's just so BORING!"

Teaching her various skills has proven to be challenging at times... For the last couple of months we've been giving her problems like this while we're driving in the car: "Which one is different: a tree, grass, a bush, or ice cream." For the first several hundred of these types of questions, she clearly had no idea. Sometimes she would pick a random element from the list, sometimes just another different random word. Then she would say, "Ok, let me do it. Daddy, which one is different: a tree, four, or a popsicle?" And then it was our turn to be stumped!

But yesterday we had a breakthrough. I said, "Rayna, which one is different: four, three, blue, eight or five?" She brightened right up and said, "The one that's different is..... Mommy, do a big smile...." (This was, I guess, her version of saying, "drumroll, please" and she waited until I complied with a very dramatic surprised/happy face) And then she finished by squealing "..... BLUE!!!!" She's finally got it, it appears.

And, she's finally learned how to write her name -- although she often writes it in a circle, instead of in a straight line. I'm not quite sure how to analyze that.

But my favorite random part of her is when she will spontaneously run at me and hug my legs and say, "I just love my mama!!" usually three or four times a day. And often she'll pick a moment when I'm inwardly so frustrated with how she isn't grasping something I'm trying to teach her.... thus reminding me that she really does have the important stuff figured out.
I realized when I was just flipping back through some old writings that I wrote these things about her exactly one year ago. She's still the same sweet girl, a little older, but still random.