Lily loves fire trucks, and every day when we leave our house (and again when we come home) she has to choose whether she wants to look at horses or fire trucks. That is because about a mile from our house, there is a pasture with three horses directly across the road from fire station that always has its fire trucks outside, or inside with the doors open. I always warn her when they are coming and ask which one she wants to look at, and these days she pretty much always chooses the fire trucks and talks about how they are “home” (I think she has finally switched from “homo” to “home”).
Lily was VERY excited to see a real fire truck at the library October 4th when we went for an evening story time. (I forgot my camera that night, so all we have are some videos from our Flip.) We showed up a little early, and tried to contain Lily as she repeated announced to everyone that she was trying to find a fire truck. Lily was very attentive while the firefighters talked to the children about not fleeing in terror when they see a fully dressed fireman, and about how to stop, drop, and roll. Then, Lily got to charge outside to view the actual truck. She charged through the library as fast as her little legs would carry her, sprinting to the front door to go see the truck (and, as usual, also turning it into a game of “chase”).
As soon as she saw it, she started saying “turn! turn!” which is a new thing for her, and is meant to indicate that she really wants to ride/do something ASAP. As in, “it’s Lily’s turn now!!!!” She got to walk through the truck, and sit in the driver’s seat. She had a great time, and talked about it for the rest of the week, how she got to drive a fire truck and the “men” (firemen) gave her a sticker, hat, and book.
Something the firefighters said must have made an impression on Lily, because before bed that night when we were reading “Goodnight, Moon,” Lily started pointing at the fireplace in the book, saying “fire” and then, “hurt…hurt” in a really sad voice. I don’t think I’ve ever really mentioned that fires can hurt you, because it just hasn’t ever come up before. The firemen didn’t make a huge deal of it, but they did mention that you should stop, drop, and roll if your clothes catch on fire so it doesn’t hurt you. Apparently she really WAS listening! I reassured her that the fire wouldn’t hurt her, and that she just shouldn’t touch fires (and randomly added that she should always tell mommy if she sees a fire, which I anticipate will lead to a lot of candle-spotting games…I hadn’t really thought this fire-safety talk out – I just thought it was funny how unprepared I am for handling impromptu safety conversations and how much it panics me to think that she doesn’t really know what to do if she comes across a fire or a road or a rabid dog or Africanized Killer Bees or dog poo or serial killers in vans offering free puppies…ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!). Now, when we pass the fire station and the fire trucks aren’t home (or the doors are closed), we might talk about how the fire trucks might be out helping someone or putting out a fire. She then starts saying, “fire…hurt” in that sad voice, and it just makes me want to protect her and lie about how fires never hurt people. I’m not sure why she takes this so seriously, but I guess it’s better than having a little firebug on our hands.
Last weekend (October 10th), the fire station we pass every day had an open house, so we dropped by, thinking she would LOVE seeing all of the fire trucks out on display, as well as an ambulance, a police car, and a real police dog!
Here she is getting geared up for our trip!
She is going to LOVE this, right?
Ummmm…not so much.
She had NO interest in the fire trucks, gave the German Shepherd only a passing pat, and couldn’t have cared less about the ambulance and police car.
She WILL accept a lollipop from firemen, though, thank-you-very-much.
Oops…caught Daddy mid-bite in his hotdog. Hey, it was for a good cause!
So who was the real star of the show in Lily’s eyes?
Yes, that’s McGruff the crime dog.
She thought he was the bees knees, and wanted to follow him around, asking him to give her a high five. She wouldn’t talk to him much, but would wave and ask for “five.” He obliged, and would eventually move on to greet other children, and she would stare him down from across the parking lot until we went over and asked for more high fives. The man in the costume eventually got hot, and went to change. After a while, Lily realized the BIG pup-pup was nowhere to be seen, and started getting a little frantic. We eventually had to leave because her cries for “pup pup! five five!” were getting a little to loud and desperate. (I should mention that we really pushed back her nap in order to attend this event.) The rest of the day, she talked about the dog and giving him five. She actually said, “pup-pup! Big!” (she combined this with hand gestures to indicate “big” at one point when we didn’t realize what she was talking about – may have been the first time I really noted her using an adjective? I’ll have to think about that one.) She still loves to look at the picture of her and McGruff (and give my computer screen “five” with her sticky little hands) and watch the video.
So that you can share in the joy:
Was it all you imagined? If anyone knows of anywhere we can meet McGruff again, please be sure to let us know!
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