Maids and Mermaids

We've had a little busy stretch the last few weeks. But busyness begets blogs. So that's fine with you right? Peyton has a couple of new interests: Cinderella and The Little Mermaid. She has seen one of these movies everyday for the last couple weeks. If we're not watching Cinderella, we're reading the book, or looking at the music box, or making her carriage out of blocks. If we're not on Cinderella at all, we're on The Little Mermaid. If we're not watching that movie, we're talking about it, quoting it, singing Ariel's songs, or looking at coloring book pages with the characters on it. Blake wakes up whistling "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and has googled lyrics to "Part of Your World" in order to sing it correctly to Peyton while he's doing dishes. Today at lunch, I realized I know all the words to the love song Cinderella and the prince sing at the ball. Peyton and I also discussed over peanut butter and jelly "sam-iches" how Ariel doesn't have a carriage, but the mermaid was going to the ball. Hey....wait a minute...?

Anyhow, Peyton was introduced to Ariel by a three-year-old girl from our church who has lots of Little Mermaid toys. She has big ones and small ones, one that is Barbie-sized with hair you brush, and one with fins you can remove to reveal "ooo-man" legs. I'm not sure if it's her mermaid collection or just her personality, but that little girl and her family are never far from Peyton's thoughts lately. And this is how I know that...

We've been teaching Peyton to pray at bedtime. We encourage her to thank God for the people in her life she cares about. She will usually name her two closest friends, Etta and Sadie, first and then repeat them in various ways. These days, a new name is in the rotation: the girl who introduced Peyton to The Little Mermaid, Elizabeth, as well as Elizabeth's mother (Caroline) and baby brother (Seth). Sometimes she prays for us and her grandparents, but it's always those three girls. Her prayers might go something like this, and you must know that every sentence ends with a little upswing in her voice:

Thank you for Etta. And thank you for Sadie. And Etta. And Elizabeth. Caroline. And Elizabeth's mommy Caroline. And baby Seth, Elizabeth's baby brother Seth. And thank you for Mommy and Daddy and baby Harper [pronounced Hopuuh]. And grandparents.

We usually have to help her along. Anyway, two nights ago Blake informed me that Peyton is getting a little more independent in her prayer life and expressing her own thoughts, because she prayed for Elizabeth's mermaids!! And last night, she prayed for Ursula (the sea witch in The Little Mermaid) and thanked God for movies. Blake said that when she started talking about movies in her prayers he thought that was a good time to say Amen. When he did, Peyton looked at him and said with a grin, "We talked about movies!" She then flatly advised Blake, "Don't lay on my animals. Daddy--don't-lay-on-my-animals.