Lyrics

She's making me change lyrics to our made up songs. Where I normally say "baby" she wants me to say "little girl." Needless to say, this is difficult as it kind of screws up the rhythm of many songs to insert that extra syllable.

Directing the parent

While I was at an evening meeting...

"Daddy, I need to go poop in the potty. Right now. You need to take me." orders Animalia. So he does. Once she's finished what she needed to finish, she tells him, "Daddy. Now I need to eat dinner. Right now."

He says he felt like he was being reprimanded for coming up short as a parent. I reminded him that she's only two.

Fashion!

This fabulous little number was assembled by Animalia herself and consists of a Hello Kitty dress from Target, a ballerina dress, origins unknown, and some Hello Kitty rain boots, also from Target. Jewelery provided by Nana, who, helping Animalia dress, was asked, "Nana, am I fashion?"

The accident

This happened about a month ago.

One day Amalia, distracted by fun things like toys and playing, had an accident. I knew, as I approached her, that she'd done something. She was sitting in the middle of the living room floor, kind of frozen in position... and then I noticed her wet bottoms. I remember stripping her down and leading her to the shower. She kept covering her face with her arm and whispering "You don't go pipi in your chones, only in the potty." I felt so bad for her. I couldn't punish her or even say stern words. She was punishing herself. Then her Daht found the major puddle hidden under one of her doll's blankets. She knew. And she was ashamed. I was so sad that she was so sad.

I'll have to tell her that story one day, tell her that we didn't need to punish or chastise her, that she did it to herself.

So it's been a little while...

...since my last real post. In that time, Animalia has celebrated Christmas (she loves Christmas, she says), a new year (Happy New Beer! she says) and her Dad's birthday (Happy Birthday to cupcakes! she says). The holidays were happy and exhausting and I'm still sad that it's all over, all the extra time off, Nina Amarisa going back to DC, having us all together as a family more of the time. But here we are, 2010.

It's going to be a good year. I can feel it.

Holiday photos

Christmas morning. That blanket draped behind her is hiding a play kitchen!

Sometime after Christmas, holding Lito like a baby.