Honeybun

My daughter’s hearing is quite acute.   It’s almost matched by her ability to not hear you when she doesn’t feel like listening.   But for the most part she catches things the rest of us might be able to her, but don’t notice or pay attention to because we have the addition of visual input to process at the same time.

For instance the other day my daughter and her friend had been playing a game on the Xbox called, Kinect Party.  There is a camera that sees you standing in front of the television and puts you on the screen immersed in an environment in which you can do things.   For instance, my daughter and I were in a popcorn machine.   Our job was to run around waving our hands and kicking in order to help the kernels pop.   We then had to grab toppings as they fell, like chocolate sauce, and have them splash all over us.  

The popcorn machine is one of about thirty different yet cute variants within the game.   It rotates through them every few minutes.   We left the game on and went upstairs to get a snack in a bit, planning on coming back.   Things were happening in the kitchen.   Conversations were being had.   Noise was occurring in the general area.   But Kinect Party was still on downstairs in the basement, barely audible.

My daughter suddenly said, “this is the one where you dig for treasure.”   She could hear and was paying attention.   A bit later she said, “this is the one where you become a butterfly.”   Not only was she able to hear the mini game, she knew which one it was from the music or sounds being played alone.   I know the games, but I don’t know them by sound.

Her hearing isn’t always correct though.   I went to the chiropractor and had her with me earlier this week.   Dr. Burr came in and started to feel my spine to see what needed adjusting.    I don’t know if you’ve been to a chiropractor before, but they have to feel your lower back and waistbands get in the way so they feel just inside your waistband.   My shirt was tightly tucked in so I said something like, “you can just take my shirt out”.  

My daughter asked, “does he take people’s shirts off?”   He and I both laughed.   After adjusting my lower back he told me to roll over onto my belly.   He adjusted me lying face down and as I was getting up my daughter said, “did you just say ‘honeybun’?”   He had not said honeybun.  

About that time one of the other chiropractors stuck his head in to say hello to my daughter and me.   I told him I thought my daughter had an entirely different idea of what went on at the chiropractor’s office than what happens in reality.

The Big Boy Update:  It was time to get ready for bed tonight but my son was interested in drawing something.    He told us, “sorry, you can’t tell me what to do.”   I said that actually dad and I could tell him what to do.   That’s part of being a parent.  He said, “but I’m responsible”.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  I was talking to my daughter about hair brushing and eye drops this morning and asked her what she thought of that idea?   She said, “I didn’t hear what you were saying, I was thinking about Halloween.”