Bucket and shovel

So the last time we saw the Animalia's bucket and shovel was on the beach in Puerto Peñasco. We'd put it on the sand while she climbed all over the barcos. Then, for some reason, she wanted to go to the agua and we walked away from it. I think later we probably walked right by the poor little bucket and the tiny little shovel and didn't remember them on the way back into the condo. ANYHOW, the first thing she asked for at Nana's house was the bucket and shovel. And then she said, "Cupo stole Aya's bucket! Cupo lost Aya's shovel! No, no babao! No!"

That's it, baby. Blame the dog.

Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico

Animalia's second beach vacation. April 23-27, 2009. In attendance: The Animalia (of course!), Mama, Daht, Mahnda, and Deg. Animalia got to see the ocean for the second time in her short life. She loved the "big agua" and the "big sandbox" and the swimming pool and the water slide and chile mango. She loved the barcos, her own and the rental canoes parked outside. She loved her swimsuit that she kept calling a suitcase. She loved her new vestido and bailando in her new vestido, along with her new zapatos and her bracelets and necklace. She also loved the happy cake (strawberries and whipped cream) that we had for dessert the first night and the frijoles at the restaurant on the cliff. She was a happy girl most of the time, until she saw another kid on her slide ("No, no, baby! Aya's slide!") or until I held her too long in the pool ("Aya DO IT!! No, no, mama!"). And she seemed pretty sad when she was really tired, which wasn't hard between the beach and the pool. But otherwise, she was very very happy.

First name basis

I always thought it was weird when kids called their parents by their first names. I still do. It seems a little disrespectful maybe, and certainly uncomfortable, like there's some kind of unnatural distance between parent and child or some strange order in their relationship. I was so uncomfortable with it that it was even hard for me to call my friends' parents by their first names when I was a kid. I just didn't know what to call them but first names seemed crazy and Mr. or Mrs. seemed too formal for my closest friends parents.


It is probably because of my childhood discomfort with this that the Animalia is apparently on a first name basis with us, her parents. Her nana thought it was funny when she'd ask "¿Quien es Maya?" and Animalia would point to me, her mama. Her nana also thought it was funny when she'd ask "¿Quien es Jimmy?" and the Animalia would point to her daht. So now, about half of the time when she calls us she calls us by our first names. It's a week bit heartbreaking as I prefer Mama, Mom, Mommy, and Mum-- the names she used to call me. Daddy used to always be Daht, Da, Daddy-- and now he's Jimmy. Not all the time but enough for me to purse my lips and have to do my best to completely ignore it.

Aya Ho-sey!

Animalia likes to crawl around on her hands and knees and pretend she's a horse. She says "Aya ho-sey!" as she crawls around and around and around the kitchen and through the dining room and into the kitchen and crawls around and around and around the living room. She wants her Daht to play with her but he won't when he's wearing shorts because he doesn't like his bare knees to touch the ground or some kind of nonsense like that. She's fine though, playing like this by herself. After playing horsey for awhile she'll get up and find her blocks or a book. She sits in the mini chair in the corner and reads to herself. Or she'll ask for her crayons and sit for awhile, coloring on her paper. She's very busy and independent and will occasionally put on her shoes, toss her backpack on her back, grab my keys and say, "Bye mom. Bye Daht." Then she walks away.

18 months?! Already?!

At her OFFICIAL 18 month checkup, the Animalia:

weighed 27 lbs, 8oz
was 32 1/2 inches tall
has a big round head
and screamed her head off at every opportunity.

When the nurse put her on the scale, she screamed. When she measured her, the Animalia wailed. When she took her temperature, someone walking by the room would have thought the Animalia was being beat with hot pokers. It is for this reason that both weight and height is probably off by a bit.

Then she calmed down. She introduced me to the doctor, mama. She introduced herself, Aya. She showed her doctor a stuffed bunny, bailando, bailando. And then the doctor touched her with a stethoscope and the screaming began anew.

I'm buying a play doctor kit. Clearly, we need to practice before the next appointment.

Happy! Cake!

The Animalia has a sweet tooth. It's not like she's had much in the way of processed sugars, but when she gets a taste of something sweet that isn't fruit, she goes nuts. But in a cute way, sort of, not in a crazy baby eyes wide open screaming way. A couple of nights ago, we had ice cream. The second she saw it she said, "CAKE! HAPPY!" I gave her a tiny little taste.
"HAPPY CAKE!" she said excitedly. And then she got all tense and shivered. A couple more tastes and she was done, or at least I was done and thought she should be done.
"Ya se acabó. No hay más," I told her.
"Aya happy?" she asked.
"Yes, Amalia, you're happy. But no more ice cream."
"Happy cake! Cake mas! Happy!" she cried in her very best sad toddler voice. She was trying to manipulate me for more happy cake. But I couldn't be had.

Still the Nina

The Animalia hands me my cell phone. "See Nina?" she asks. I find the picture.
"Nina!" she says in her very best husky queen voice.
"Platica con la Nina," I tell her.
"Nina, mama daddy house. Aya books y agua," she says.
"OK, es tiempo de decir bahbye a la Nina," I tell her.
"Bye, Nina! Mwahhhhhh! Mwahhhhhh!" she tells the picture.

I bet she doesn't actually recognize the Nina in real life next week.