Holiday updates and one interesting article

I've fallen off on my regular holiday happiness posts, in part because we've been making it through the flu here in our household.  After one night of vomiting every 45 minutes and two days of pretty much lying in bed all day, Maybelle is almost back to her normal, curious, energetic self.

I suspect you'll be getting some happy posts from us over the next few days, because the holiday vacation officially starts today!  We're headed to Gatlinburg, home of unbelievable holiday tackiness, a space needle, and a pancake house about every fifteen feet.  Oh, and the Great Smoky Mountains, too, but it's actually the tackiness we're going for.  Then we're headed to middle Tennessee to hook up with all Maybelle's grandparents and aunts and uncles.

Speaking of which, here's an interesting article that Feministing pointed me to.  Its main point is

Backing up a child who doesn’t want to be kissed or hugged does not mean that Grandma, or Great Aunt Edna, or Uncle Bob or Cousin Sara are doing anything wrong, but it does demonstrate that touch and play for affection or fun is your child’s choice in all situations.

Biffle and I have been intuitively doing this with Maybelle all along.  We ask if we can have a kiss, and if she says no, that's totally legitimate.  Our families have respected this, as well.  I think it's incredibly important that Maybelle learns that it's her body.

I've also given her some information that's perhaps confusing--the other day, when she was fluish and lashed out at me, I said, "Maybelle, you don't hit people unless you really, really need to."  I guess we'll have to talk later about what "really, really need to" might mean.