We did have one incident that may have been caused by Shaling feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of people there. However, Mom (me) isn't so convinced of that. Mom is convinced it is because she got told no by Mom. She is a 9-year-old girl that would rather play than socialize with adults, plus she has not yet mastered English enough to do so anyway. On the other hand, people had come from some pretty far away places to come see her.
After corralling her out of a back bedroom a couple of times, I set up Chutes & Ladders in the middle of the floor of the room where most people were sitting. She & Preston and two of my nieces were playing. I think she may have moved out of turn, because I heard Preston say "one minute, Shaling". I was thrilled to hear him say it calmly, as he tends to be very hyper. He then put her piece where it was supposed to be. She stomped off and told me "Shaling NO!" That is her way of saying she no longer wanted to play with Preston.
Within the last week, she has begun to occasionally wanting to exclude Preston -- not wanting to sit by him or ride in the car with him...not wanting him to be a part of fun activities, etc. I pointed and told her she had to play with him. She went to a back corner of the room. I gave her a minute with my cousin, who was trying to talk to her, but then I told her she didn't get to hide over there. At that point, there were tears in her eyes. I took her to a back bedroom to talk about it. I told her that she had to be nice to Preston, that he was a good Ge-Ge (big brother) and that he loves her. This made her pout even more.
The fact that she pouted even more after being told to be nice to Preston, combined with the fact that the only other tears we've seen have been when she's been disciplined, leads me to believe she was more upset about not getting her way than she was upset by the sheer number of people there, but I don't know for sure. I mean she was being asked to say Hello to a lot of people as well.
Anyway, at that point, I decided we would work on the be nice to big brother thing later, and that I needed her to get happy again, so we let her open her presents. She warmed up a little, but really started warming up as the crowd dwindled at the end (lending credence to the theory that she was overwhelmed).
No matter what it was, she harbored no grudges...giving me my hug & "I love you" good night last night & bounding into my room to give me a good morning hug this morning.
Oh, and as far as the be nice to brother thing...they shared a bag of popcorn at the theater this afternoon, despite her initial complaint about him pouring extra butter on it. AND, as I type this blog entry, they are both belly laughing as they play a Mario game on the Wii.
Here are some random photos from the open house:
Shaling with all 3 sets of her grandparents: Reynolds, Coonrod & Barkley
Uncle Scott & Aunt Barbara Coonrod, Grandma & Grandpa Coonrod, Mom & Dad, Shaling & Preston
Kayden really wanted her picture taken too; here she is with Aunt Amy.
Shaling Annabelle Reynolds with her Great Great Aunt Annabelle Griffin
The Reynolds family - front row: Preston, Cooper & Chase; middle row: Nancy, Amy & Michelle; back row: Bill, Brock, Shaling & Scott
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