Tiqui ti, Tiqui tu Two

I wrote about her nicknames and I forgot the one I use the most.

Big Baba.

Yah. My daughter is a big girl. Well, not heavy, just very long. So that's the Big part. The Baba part is drool. She'd been drooling a whole lot during the time I started calling her that. Then she stopped but I just loved seeing her at lunch and saying "Hi Big Baba!!!" and seeing her giggle that it stuck. Now she's drooling like a faucet and the name fits her perfectly again.

Tiqui ti, Tiqui tu

So the Animalia is only six months old and we've already gone through several nicknames.

Not currently in use:
1. Pansa
2. Manzana Pansana
3. Pansona
That's right. Three in a row, all about her tummy. I couldn't help it at the time. She was all skinny legs and arms and beautiful round belly.
4. Princess P'dora
5. Pedorra
6. Gassy Lassie
And those were for her farty stage. She hasn't been lately. Not as much.

Currently in use:
1. Manzana
2. Amalia Bedalia
3. Chiquitina
4. Chachita
5. Tiqui Ti, Tiqui Tu
6. Good Morning Girl

And mostly we just call her by her name. Which she knows. Even though sometimes she ignores us. Or gives us a fake smile and turns away. I think it's genetic.

Did I tell you about Easter?

Ooops. Almost forgot.

So Easter. Animalia's first Easter.

There was a visit to Tía Grande in the morning for brunch. Easter fell on her birthday this year. It was nice and relaxing and Animalia got held by several different people. She did well, no major freakouts but she would complain loudly when someone else was holding her and she could see me across the room. It took me forever to even get a chance to eat. No matter though, she was really excellent. And she looked adorable in a sundress and short sleeved cardigan.

Then we went home for a bit. Relaxed. Dressed the Animalia in a lovely pink cotton dress. Had to have the costume change-- she has like a million dresses that need wearing in the next couple of months.

Went to Tío's house. First time we've been there in a while. It was my Tata's house before. Animalia got STUFF. She had an Easter basket, courtesy of me, a Hello Kitty head wearing a bunny hat, filled with NO GRASS, a baby's first Easter rattle, a large and useful bib with Easter eggs printed all over it and a book that has spaces for pictures. I think it's called "Who loves baby?" I can't seem to find the bib now and the Who Loves Baby still has no pictures in it. We try. She also got an easter basket with a bunny from a Tía and a teeny tiny handmade basket and a fluffy teddy bear from an Aunty. She was poked, prodded, and tickled by cousins. Pictures were taken. We went home and before we could strip her down to a onesie, held a mini Easter photo shoot. Must get those pictures off the memory card and somewhere where people can see them.

What can I say? Everyone loves Animalia.

Chatty Patty

So I think I've mentioned it more than once but the Animalia is CHATTY. She spends a significant part of every day squealing, cooing, making chatty sounds, complaining and laughing. She can be very very loud or whisper something very softly.

My current obsession is her first word. I mentioned a little before but lately she's been saying Dah a whole lot and sometimes it seems like she's calling him that, other times she seems like she's calling everyone and everything Dah. Hard to tell. Another thing she's started to say is "a-ta." She said it a couple of times to my dad, her tata. He's definitely one of her favorite people so this would make sense as a first word.

She's definitely understanding a whole lot too. She giggles at the right times, acts cute when she's trying to impress (at the doctor's office, with some strangers), talks to the dog. And when I say "Dame las manitas" she gives me her hands. Cute.

Yes. This is an ode to my parents.

Hooray. I spent lunch with the Animalia again. She got happy to see me and very very chatty. She was hilarious but still a little congested. Poor manzana. I fed myself, fed her, suctioned her teeny little nose, and fed her a few more minutes before running back to work. Not bad.

I'm very fortunate that my parents live close to where I work. I live just a few blocks away from work. Travel time is nothing. I'm also very lucky that they're willing to spend most of their daytimes during the week taking care of her. They love it of course. She's as much a joy to them as she is to me. Good thing too. Infant daycare is a little scary to me.

She spends her days eating, napping, playing and being carried around. They spend time outside and take her on short errands. They show her the kitty that comes to the yard to visit (only not lately because she's started to sneeze when it's around). They read to her and play music all day long. They chat with her, in English and in Spanish. No wonder the Animalia is so bright and aware.

Sometimes when I'm having a rough morning, my dad will come pick her up, instead of me going to them, to give me just that few extra minutes at home before I have to rush to work. And lately, especially since I've been sick, they've been dropping her off at the house with her Da before I get there, so that I don't have to make the extra trip after a long day at work.

One day she's going to realize how good she has it there and won't want to come home at all.

Locomotion, another part

So she's "creeping" for real now. She can really move. I don't dare leave her in our bed alone anymore. She can sit up on her own for longer periods of time. She'll be crawling soon. She already puts everything in her mouth so we're really going to have to keep a close eye on her. She's like a puppy. A not-yet-housebroken puppy.

In a few months she'll be talking for real.

The last few days the Animalia has been saying DAH DAH DAH DAH DAH. She says it when she's hungry, when she drops a toy and wants it back, when she wants attention. Just all the time. This concerns me. She hasn't even made anything close to the MA sound. Just saying.

The other day, in a fit of DAHS, she sounded like she was complaining. So her nana started talking to her, asking if she was complaining, why was she complaining, what she had to complain about. And the Animalia just got louder, keeping up with her nana, actually seeming like she was talking OVER her nana. It was hilarious.

In other Animalia news, she has another cold. I'm surprised it took this long since I've been sick for over two weeks. She started to get congested a couple of days ago and now when I suction her... well, yuck. Just yuck. Poor baby. She seems to be in a relatively good mood though, as usual. She's almost always smiling when she wakes up. We both need a good long rest though. I can't wait til Sunday.