Woah-ing is the invention of my silly and smart daughter. I didn't know about woah-ing until she told me that she wanted to "do woah-ing" one evening. Actually, it sounding like "do woahwing." I had no idea what that was until she grabbed my hands and sort of hung from them. Then I realized. Sometimes, when she's off balance, we'll say "Woah!" and she'll grab our hands. So she made this into a verb. Very creative, I say. But now the woah-ing requests are coming in every evening. I toss her around a little, slide her on the floor. And then I'm tired. But Animalia isn't, so she asks to do it "o-gain?" and I comply. A few more times with the woah-ing, then it's time to distract her with a book.
Animalia loves verbs. She constantly creates new ones and gives new meaning to those already in the common vocabulary. She's constantly making or doing or dancing or shaking or wiggling or, another new one, sandling. Sandling is the act of putting on sandals. Also known, in Animalia-speak, as aching, the act of putting on huaraches.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Animalia's babies. An inventory.
Babao. A small stuffed yellow lab that Nana bought her.
Tata's babao. AKA Owney. Nana bought Owney for Animalia at the U.S. Postal Museum in Washington, DC. See Owney's story here.
Ana. Raggedy Ann doll that Mama's Nina bought for Animalia's first Christmas.
Ti Ti. A mildly hazardous ducky/chicky that Nina bought for Animalia around Easter. Ti Ti wears red mary janes.
Teeny Tiny Baby. A teeny tiny baby doll.
Blue Eyed Baby. Description obvious.
Brown Eyed Baby. Again, obvious.
Elmo. A big Elmo purchased, much to Daht's dismay, at a thrift store. It still had it's original tags on PLUS it was washed. So there, Daht.
Red baby. A soft plush doll wearing a red dress and hat that Tia Margaret and "the boys" bought her for Christmas.
Baby Dog. This crazy talking dog that Mama's Nino bought her for her very first Christmas. We took the batteries out. It was slowly making us insane.
She mostly named these "babies" herself and spends countless stretches of time swaddling them and rocking them, hugging them and kissing them, and making them kiss and hug each other. She also feeds them and clothes them. Then she unclothes them. She occasionally diapers them. And chastises them. And makes them jump and dance. And sometimes, she makes them attack.
Tata's babao. AKA Owney. Nana bought Owney for Animalia at the U.S. Postal Museum in Washington, DC. See Owney's story here.
Ana. Raggedy Ann doll that Mama's Nina bought for Animalia's first Christmas.
Ti Ti. A mildly hazardous ducky/chicky that Nina bought for Animalia around Easter. Ti Ti wears red mary janes.
Teeny Tiny Baby. A teeny tiny baby doll.
Blue Eyed Baby. Description obvious.
Brown Eyed Baby. Again, obvious.
Elmo. A big Elmo purchased, much to Daht's dismay, at a thrift store. It still had it's original tags on PLUS it was washed. So there, Daht.
Red baby. A soft plush doll wearing a red dress and hat that Tia Margaret and "the boys" bought her for Christmas.
Baby Dog. This crazy talking dog that Mama's Nino bought her for her very first Christmas. We took the batteries out. It was slowly making us insane.
She mostly named these "babies" herself and spends countless stretches of time swaddling them and rocking them, hugging them and kissing them, and making them kiss and hug each other. She also feeds them and clothes them. Then she unclothes them. She occasionally diapers them. And chastises them. And makes them jump and dance. And sometimes, she makes them attack.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Dog Days
Yesterday I was so tired I felt nauseous. I'm not exaggerating. Nauseous. Dizzy. Not processing correctly. I went for a lunchtime visit the Animalia at Nana y Tata's house and she was napping. She slept right through lunch. Part of me was disappointed since my lunchtime visits help get me through the rest of my crazy work day. The rest of me was relieved. I was so tired I didn't think I had the energy to play with her or chase her or read to her or tickle her. I just relaxed. Ate a little. Went back to work.
After work, I went home. She was already home with Daht. The nausea continued, not as strong as earlier in the day, more like background nausea. We went through our routine mostly, though after dinner, I "played" with her and read to her while laying on the couch. At one point, she asked me to "walk around the town" with her and "mama jump with Aya?" and I just couldn't get up. Daht offered but she turned him down by crying Mama, Mama! as if he were kidnapping her. I felt a little guilty, but too exhausted to do anything about it. I distracted her by asking her to bring me things, el libro de bear y dog, las chanclas, tu baby, Jack. Luckily Jack (her Jack in the Box) distracted her til almost bedtime. She hadn't played with him for awhile and she was finding him particularly hilarious, telling him, "Get in there, Jack," when the music stopped and he popped out and then "Jack jumping" while she bounced the entire thing on the couch mere inches from my head. Then we played a game called Are You? which consists of asking each other silly questions. "Are you a tickle pants?" I asked. "Are you a mama pants?" she responded.
Bedtime came soon enough. She fell asleep fairly easily. I was grateful. I went to bed early. I was almost asleep when I heard her say "Mama change the zapeta?" I groaned, got up, changed the zapeta. "Thanks, Mama, thanks," she said. Then she asked "?Es tiempo hace mimis?" "Si, es tiempo de hacer mimis," I told her. "OK!" she said, and then, out of the blue, quietly, "It's OK, mama." Then she rolled over and fell asleep. I was elated. Everyone slept comfortably and quietly through the night.
The hottest days of summer are the hardest for me. I'm swollen. I'm exhausted. My bones hurt. My hair falls out. My skin hurts. I have to take each day on it's own merits and the big picture blurs. So far so good though, as bad as all that sounds, I've been able to maintain somewhat. And though the guilt hits a little when Animalia wants me to jump with her, I have so far been able to come up with distractions. She's a good baby, that Animalia, a happy baby, and she entertains herself when necessary. She has her moments, but I'm beyond thrilled that her moments aren't really that bad. I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Nature gave me the baby I could handle.
After work, I went home. She was already home with Daht. The nausea continued, not as strong as earlier in the day, more like background nausea. We went through our routine mostly, though after dinner, I "played" with her and read to her while laying on the couch. At one point, she asked me to "walk around the town" with her and "mama jump with Aya?" and I just couldn't get up. Daht offered but she turned him down by crying Mama, Mama! as if he were kidnapping her. I felt a little guilty, but too exhausted to do anything about it. I distracted her by asking her to bring me things, el libro de bear y dog, las chanclas, tu baby, Jack. Luckily Jack (her Jack in the Box) distracted her til almost bedtime. She hadn't played with him for awhile and she was finding him particularly hilarious, telling him, "Get in there, Jack," when the music stopped and he popped out and then "Jack jumping" while she bounced the entire thing on the couch mere inches from my head. Then we played a game called Are You? which consists of asking each other silly questions. "Are you a tickle pants?" I asked. "Are you a mama pants?" she responded.
Bedtime came soon enough. She fell asleep fairly easily. I was grateful. I went to bed early. I was almost asleep when I heard her say "Mama change the zapeta?" I groaned, got up, changed the zapeta. "Thanks, Mama, thanks," she said. Then she asked "?Es tiempo hace mimis?" "Si, es tiempo de hacer mimis," I told her. "OK!" she said, and then, out of the blue, quietly, "It's OK, mama." Then she rolled over and fell asleep. I was elated. Everyone slept comfortably and quietly through the night.
The hottest days of summer are the hardest for me. I'm swollen. I'm exhausted. My bones hurt. My hair falls out. My skin hurts. I have to take each day on it's own merits and the big picture blurs. So far so good though, as bad as all that sounds, I've been able to maintain somewhat. And though the guilt hits a little when Animalia wants me to jump with her, I have so far been able to come up with distractions. She's a good baby, that Animalia, a happy baby, and she entertains herself when necessary. She has her moments, but I'm beyond thrilled that her moments aren't really that bad. I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Nature gave me the baby I could handle.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Restraint
Daht was overwhelmed with love and had his hand on Animalia's pansa. "Kindly restrain yourself, father, as I'm trying to go to sleep," Animalia told him. Actually she said, "Daht. Your hand. Hold it with your hand." But the first thing is what she meant. I could see it in her eyes.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Morning Medley
Mi Animalia, she is a singer. Here's what she sang while I was in the shower:
The itsy bitsy spider went up lalalala Elmo's World aserrín aserrán cantaba la rana debajo del agua and now I know my ABC's next time won't you sing WITH ME.
And then she said YAY! and clapped for herself. And I had just gotten out of the shower so I said YAY! and clapped for herself. And then Cooper woke up and semi-charged the toddler and licked her. And then she said YAY! and clapped for Cooper "O-wake" and I said YAY and clapped for Cooper too. "Oh-gain?" she asked. "Again?" I asked. "But mama's already tired."
The itsy bitsy spider went up lalalala Elmo's World aserrín aserrán cantaba la rana debajo del agua and now I know my ABC's next time won't you sing WITH ME.
And then she said YAY! and clapped for herself. And I had just gotten out of the shower so I said YAY! and clapped for herself. And then Cooper woke up and semi-charged the toddler and licked her. And then she said YAY! and clapped for Cooper "O-wake" and I said YAY and clapped for Cooper too. "Oh-gain?" she asked. "Again?" I asked. "But mama's already tired."
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tick, tock
Time flies.
Animalia is looking more like a little kid than a big baby. Ask her if she's a big girl though, and she'll say no, that she's a big baby. She talks more every day, says several word sentences. This morning she woke up to the sounds of the garbage truck and said, "No, no, Daht. Stop making noise with the garbage truck." No lie. Animalia is a conversationalist.
She's a relatively nice baby. When other adults or big kids are around, she shows her toys, makes animal sounds, and dances for them. She's an excellent hostess. When there are other babies around, she gets shy sometimes, but will quietly correct them when they've done something wrong. A few days ago, she was at a play group and a boy hit her on the forehead with a block. She told him no, then told him to be nice. She made a frowny face though, almost like she was going to cry, but it seemed more like her feelings were hurt than she was physically hurt.
She makes up words. We think. Her speech is pretty understandable, but occasionally she repeats sounds that she likes or attaches sounds to words. For example, Nanani, nanana, nanata all mean Nana. Daddypoo, Dada Da, Dada La all mean Daht. Also, recently when she accomplishes something, she'll say Ta-Da! She also says Geez Louise! And when you ask her if she wants a plátano, she'll say, "¡plata-sí!"
She makes up jokes. Like doing the Itsy Bitsy Spider with her toes. Or with her doll's toes. Or with her Mama's toes. She tickles people and animals. She pretends to be different animals. She also does things that aren't particularly funny and then forces a laugh and then tells us to laugh.
Potty training is slowly evolving. She knows about the potty and toilet paper. She does funny things to go to the potty though. Like one day she insisted on taking off her pants and diaper, putting on her white shoes (specifically the white ones), reading a book, and pretending that a flashlight was a microphone. THEN, and only then, would she go to the potty. She went though, so I can't complain. Also, recently, she's started to think burps and farts are funny. And she'll call people on them too, so careful with the bodily functions around her, because she'll report what you did to everyone. For days.
She remembers everything. A couple of weeks ago she saw one of her Tios and his new truck. A week later she started telling me about his truck. Also, that he was wearing jeans and that she loves jeans.
Speaking of fashion, she "can't live without fashion!" This might be an odd phrase to teach a tiny person, but she loves shoes and clothes. An easy way to entertain her is to give her an ad with clothes in it. She loves to dress herself and choose her own clothing. Her favorite looks are to create a maxi dress out of one of mama's longer tanks (she criss crosses the straps all "by self") or to layer (a la bag lady). She also will create turbans out of pants. Not sure, but she may be hosting Little Edie Beale or Albert Soto (a departed friend who would understand Animalia's love of fashion). She's been putting on her simplest shoes "by self" for several months now.
She's a smarty pants. She knows lots of colors and numbers and letters. She can identify most letters by sight. Numbers too, up to thirteen. Not sure why she's stopped at thirteen but whatever, she's just a big baby anyway.
Animalia is looking more like a little kid than a big baby. Ask her if she's a big girl though, and she'll say no, that she's a big baby. She talks more every day, says several word sentences. This morning she woke up to the sounds of the garbage truck and said, "No, no, Daht. Stop making noise with the garbage truck." No lie. Animalia is a conversationalist.
She's a relatively nice baby. When other adults or big kids are around, she shows her toys, makes animal sounds, and dances for them. She's an excellent hostess. When there are other babies around, she gets shy sometimes, but will quietly correct them when they've done something wrong. A few days ago, she was at a play group and a boy hit her on the forehead with a block. She told him no, then told him to be nice. She made a frowny face though, almost like she was going to cry, but it seemed more like her feelings were hurt than she was physically hurt.
She makes up words. We think. Her speech is pretty understandable, but occasionally she repeats sounds that she likes or attaches sounds to words. For example, Nanani, nanana, nanata all mean Nana. Daddypoo, Dada Da, Dada La all mean Daht. Also, recently when she accomplishes something, she'll say Ta-Da! She also says Geez Louise! And when you ask her if she wants a plátano, she'll say, "¡plata-sí!"
She makes up jokes. Like doing the Itsy Bitsy Spider with her toes. Or with her doll's toes. Or with her Mama's toes. She tickles people and animals. She pretends to be different animals. She also does things that aren't particularly funny and then forces a laugh and then tells us to laugh.
Potty training is slowly evolving. She knows about the potty and toilet paper. She does funny things to go to the potty though. Like one day she insisted on taking off her pants and diaper, putting on her white shoes (specifically the white ones), reading a book, and pretending that a flashlight was a microphone. THEN, and only then, would she go to the potty. She went though, so I can't complain. Also, recently, she's started to think burps and farts are funny. And she'll call people on them too, so careful with the bodily functions around her, because she'll report what you did to everyone. For days.
She remembers everything. A couple of weeks ago she saw one of her Tios and his new truck. A week later she started telling me about his truck. Also, that he was wearing jeans and that she loves jeans.
Speaking of fashion, she "can't live without fashion!" This might be an odd phrase to teach a tiny person, but she loves shoes and clothes. An easy way to entertain her is to give her an ad with clothes in it. She loves to dress herself and choose her own clothing. Her favorite looks are to create a maxi dress out of one of mama's longer tanks (she criss crosses the straps all "by self") or to layer (a la bag lady). She also will create turbans out of pants. Not sure, but she may be hosting Little Edie Beale or Albert Soto (a departed friend who would understand Animalia's love of fashion). She's been putting on her simplest shoes "by self" for several months now.
She's a smarty pants. She knows lots of colors and numbers and letters. She can identify most letters by sight. Numbers too, up to thirteen. Not sure why she's stopped at thirteen but whatever, she's just a big baby anyway.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Silly is relative
Animalia is wandering around, being busy, so I decide to unpack some diapers into the diaper stacker. She stops and stares. I start stacking them on my head. She giggles. "Silly mama," she says before she neighs and gallops away.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Happy Birthday to....
Animalia's latest joke is that she sings Happy Birthday to someone who isn't there. Or, when asked to sing Happy Birthday to someone specific, sings it to someone else. For example, when asked to sing Happy Birthday to Uncle, she sings Happy Birthday to April (Uncle's girlfriend). When asked to sing Happy Birthday to Daht, she sings Happy Birthday to Mama. And then she laughs. Because it's a joke. Get it?
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Attitude-y
I asked Animalia where her zapatos were because I wanted to hear her say "Zapatos... wheeeeh aaaahhh youuuuu?" Instead, she sighed dramatically and said, "They're right there, Mama." And then she shrugged at me, all attitude, and walked away.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
