Stars

I'm continuing to discover my daughter's free thinking and ideas that she's forming all by herself. It's fun to see since so much of what she says and does comes from what her mom and I tell her. We had a great example of this over the weekend.

We headed up the canyon to spend the night camping with friends. After dinner little brother got tired so we took him to the tent to sleep. My daughter was concerned that she had to go to bed. And with her best signs she explained that she wanted to stay up to see the stars. She put together the idea that we were outside and that when it got dark she would be able to see the stars. But in summer time it doesn't get dark until well past my little girl's bedtime. So she wanted to let us know in no uncertain terms that she wanted to see the stars.

Well how could my wife and I say no to that? We let her stay up until things got dark and then we turned off the lantern and pointed to the sky. My daughter looked up and smiled. Then she signed, "bed".

It's really satisfying to see her starting to think of things she likes all on her own and telling us about them. It's certainly different than the relationship that most parents have with their three and a half year olds, but especially on nights like that one, it's so rewarding.