Affirmative

One day last week, Ania woke up and started saying, "yes" instead of "yeah" as her positive response. We didn't teach her this explicitly, she must have just picked it up. What was funny was that she used it exclusively for two days. No "yeah" at all. And then yesterday? "Yep." Exclusively. We're curious what it will be tomorrow; what's left? Yessir? Uh huh? Oui?








She had her half birthday a few weeks ago, so she's moving on towards two already. She can sing parts of "I've been working on the railroad," "Rockabye Baby" and "Obladi Oblada." She uses pretty big sentences occasionally, like, "uhoh, Diana fall down" and "Mimi, read book right now." She can run pretty well and sometimes catches air when she jumps. She's testing her limits behaviorally here and there, so we'll have to come up with a plan somehow to manage that. In potty news, she uses her little ikea pot pretty well a couple times per day now. Today, in fact, she didn't wear a diaper until it was nap time, and we were even at the park.

Of course, her responses are not always lovely yeahs, yeses, and yeps. She has quite a voice for "no," and sometimes it seems she seeks out conflict with Shamma or one of us, just to try it out a little. She's learned, "no, Ania using it" at daycare once a week. I guess they understandably prefer that to, "mine!" I'm sure it works well with lots of toddlers around sharing toys, but it is sort of funny to see Ania practicing its use at home with us and Shamma.

What happened to Baby Ania?

She used to be a baby. She used to chomp on her fingers just like Violet's doing. Now, she thinks it's funny to copy what babies do. In fact, if you give her a pacifier, she will put it in her mouth, say, "wahhhh!" and go get a blankey. If you talk about her in the third person as "the baby," she certainly does not think you are talking about her, and she'll look around for a baby or for her doll.


Ania's playing with toys in different ways each day. She had a tea party today with a few dolls, spoons, and some of her own Ikea cups and bowls. I showed her how and played with her for awhile, then went off to do something else that was surely important. When I walked back into the room, she was handing out spoons to two different dolls saying, "here-you-go." And several hours later, after a nap and a walk to the farmer's market, she came back to the crate of wooden vegetables and plastic Ikea cups and started setting it up carefully again, giving each doll and herself a cup, spoon, and bowl.

She also makes her toys use sign language. She takes her little troll doll's hands and has them form the "more" sign. Her dolls talk to eachother, usually asking if they want to go on a walk. "Walk?" Sometimes, she'll make them answer with "yes," "no," or "raining." Today, when I was talking to my mom on the phone about yoga, I notice Ania in the living room going in to her version of Downward Dog. Later, during a diaper change, she said, "yo-yo" and put her Elmo doll and her troll doll into head down positions.

I have always loved babies. I loved Ania as a baby with my whole heart, but I love who she is becoming so much that I don't miss her baby days like I expected I would.





Also, I get to nom on friends' cute babies all the time, so that helps.

Child's Work

I worked from home today which was nice, and I was productive. I especially liked walking out the front door with my coat and shoes on, waving goodbye on the steps, slinking through the side yard to the back, and sneaking downstairs to the home office for the rest of the day.

I did get to refill my coffee cup though, because Mat took Ania up to Cathedral Park, where she played in the grass and learned about bridges.

It's nice how occupational therapists call play a child's work. Sometimes, Ania does have certain determination about her play that makes it seem like work. She can play with her A-frame Fisher Price house (another relic from the early 80's) for a good 15 minutes completely by herself, and she often seems compelled to try that puzzle just one more time. Her water cooler distraction is the dog, and her coffee breaks include raisins and milk.

Officially, Mat and I each work three days per week, but we certainly do our share of work on our days at home with her too. I think the lines between work and play become blurred.

Every duckdog has its day

Ania's vocabulary is growing pretty fast. And thanks to Dr. Seuss, I imagine it will soon include things like snergelly, nink, gruvulous, and woset. I'm amused to think how that will play out at school when she comments that somebody's outfit is extra gruvulous. Or that the nink ate her homework.

She has a bit of a cold right now and is spending her recuperation time demanding that many, many books be read to her. We have a Lorax-o-meter going. Mat got to 6 yesterday while I was at work. Today, The Mitten is her favorite, but we're only at 3 so far. She lugs the books over saying, "Mama. Book! Down. Chair. Yeah! + [attempt at title of book (whoa-whoa or mih-mih)]."

Maybe she'll pull out some Polish at school too. As in, "If you kids don't pipe down, that big bear will wake up and EAT you!"

And those glinty streaks coming from the Lorax? Ania radiates those, too.

Baby, I love you.

I'm wondering how baby dolls get names. I'm wondering this because at present we have no fewer than 6 objects in our house right now that are labelled, "Baby." My dolls growing up had names. Well, at least one of them did. The one on the left is Rosie. The one on the right was Baby. Oh.

Rosie's hair is coming out now in little clumps. Ania pulls them out happily saying, "hair!" Baby is no worse for wear though and is finally getting the hang of the potty after these 30 years.

Yes, my mother saved all these doll things including clothing, eating supplies, swaddling, you name it. While this is completely wonderful, it also gives me huge pangs of anxiety. When I see pictures like this one below, I immediately think, "crap, where are those little booties? She was trying to fit one on Mat's foot... ("Naooooo! Big!"), annoying Shamma by trying to put one on her paw..., and forcing one to Baby's feet while Baby was already wearing footed pajamas..." Sigh. Here's to hoping there were dozens of other baby clothes that got lost along the way.

Luckily, Baby is accumulating some new things too, thanks to Babcia. Not pictured is a vest for Baby, just like Ania's. I know, it's too very much.

Toodles

First of all, since I am developing my own voice and my own ideas about what to say, my parents have changed the parental controls on this blog and will be posting for me from now on. Ruiners. Toodle-oo.

I've gone and doubled my age. What have you been doing?

Unbelievably, it has been 8 months since the last post on this site. Well, believably, I guess since we have established that my parents are slackers. I won't try to recap all my adventures but will give you a cheap set of photographs or videos of what's been going on here. Hey, nature and nuture are both working against me here, so forgive my own slack. I'll make it up.

8 Months

9 Months



10 Months:



11 Months:


ONE!:



13 Months:













14 Months:





My word for slide? "Wheeee!"

15 Months:

Feel caught up?

Yep, I'm talking now. I know my title is outdated. Lots can happen in 8 months.