John and the Sprite

Okay, so I finally figured out why people have been asking me if I bequeathed Sprite her nickname based on "Johnny and the Sprites". My blank stare in response to this question before recently was enough reply for me since I thought people were referencing a 50's doo-wop group and I'm all, "Dude, I'm in my thirties? My early thirties? Do you think I would know about that? Or are you hinting at something else?"

Now, I get it. (Or, now I get the Disney Channel.) We got a dvd of the show and watched it a bit. Hm. Yeah. Um. How long has this show been on the air? And did the director never watch "Fraggle Rock"? Now, there was a good puppet show with plots which tackled actual issues. And poor Sprocket never got Doc's attention in time to see the mysterious Fraggles. (Bring back the Fraggles!) (By lucky coincidence, they are back! On sale now! Check your local stores or Internet for the box sets! Collect all three! ) (No, I'm not getting paid for that plug..... Should I be?)

Back on subject here. John and Sprite have become an inseperable duo lately, although I think it's kind of one-sided. Sprite wants all Daddy, all the time.

Where I used to be the negatively charged ion to her positive electron zeroing in on my leg, John has now developed a force field far greater than I could achieve and his rising star status has soared.

She has become a little clingy though. Just a few mornings ago, she woke up on the wrong side of the crib and wanted only Daddy. John went to free her from her bed and change her, the entire time with her moaning and whining and being generally sucky. When he placed her on the floor so she could make the walk on her perfectly capable toddler legs to the kitchen, she fretted and raised her arms. "Up!" she whined, her eyes brimming in warning of the tirade to come lest he not follow her commands.

John, smarter than I give him credit for, promptly picked her up and brought her to the kitchen where he deposited her on the floor again so he could make her breakfast.

"Ehhhhhhh", she moaned, raising her arms again. "Up!"

"Honey, I have to get your food ready." John turned from her again, his excuse more than valid.

"Up!" she demanded, louder. John chose to ignore her and proceeded to open cabinets and the fridge in order to put something in her belly.

I heard all of this while I was getting dressed for work (Total tangent here: It seems like every morning I wake up, I look at the alarm and dare myself to spend one more minute in bed than the day before, ignoring the fact that the day is beginning with or without me. This is making me late and I go to bed that night telling myself I will not let this happen again, and then the next morning, the devil on my shoulder is at it again. All right, tangent over.) and, instead of asking if he needed help, that's a no brainer, I asked him if he got the coffee started already. (Yeah, I can be mean. And selfish. But, come on, COFFEE!)

I came out of our room in time to see John standing at the counter, Sprite sitting on the counter in front of him with her hands clamped on his arms, a bowl consisting of pieces of pancake and banana slices sitting beside her, and John picking the pieces up one by one and feeding them to his sullen looking daughter, whose only way of conveying signs of life was to open her mouth to accept the next piece of food. (There should have been some sort of punctuation in there, but you get it, right?)

Her perfectly capable toddler arms looked to be in working order, but, strangely, were not moving. I zipped around the kitchen, making my lunch and getting her things together (and my COFFEE!) and kept looking back at my VERY patient husband and Sprite's VERY patient servant father who dutifully fed his daughter by hand until I called an end to it and made her use her perfectly capable toddler brain to find her way out to the car so we could leave for school.

John followed us out and lifted Sprite into her car seat, the entire time promising what a great day she would have at daycare, as I started the car and looked back at the two of them in their own little world.

It clicked with me right then. He enjoys this. He likes the fact that she's demanding him all the time. I gave him the perfect chance to ditch us at the garage door, but he totally followed us out, soaking up as much of her attention as he could get before I had a chance to put the car into reverse.

I could consider if he's trying to regain some credit from when I was Sprite's favorite person and Daddy was forever being dismissed.

So, the tides have turned. And just in time for John's birthday too.

Happy birthday, honey. Money's tight right now, so I gave you something money could never buy. Your daughter's idolatry.

I got me a little something too. I got me a break.

And don't even think about re-gifting on my birthday, I want a new purse.

Comments

[Isabelle]

I can totally relate to this one. Gian used to be very attached to me, and now all he wants is his dad. He literally tells me, "Mommy, you stay here. I'm going with Papi, OK? Don't cry mommy."

Enjoy it while it lasts ;) I am.

[Lisa]

Your child eats? Wow. My child refuses to eat. Period. It is very disheartening.

And yes, while he was once clingy with me he is now starting to do it with Hubby.

Loved this post. Very sweet and funny!

[Ash]

I love hearing about Daddy's girls. I really hope Melora grows up to be one. Oh, and the tip to buy Fraggle Rock boxed sets - done and done! We're taking them on our road trip, so hopefully my kids won't mind me hogging the DVD player.