Busy Social Calendar

As if Christmas wasn't enough, Petra has had a super busy week! In addition to daily runs to the park, on Thursday she visited the "dinosaur museum" (and became a member, including a free gift of the "Owl Puke" learning kit) where she saw lots of dinosaurs that she knew ("A Triceratops!" she says, while an older boy seconds later points and says "A Dinosaur!"), and a few she didn't. She loved seeing them all, and asked lots of questions. She also liked the old-school animal dioramas. She went barreling through the "Africa" animal hall to the Elephant/Giraffe diorama, stood up on the rail and said "We're in Africa!" (much to the amazement of some adults taking in the scene). She loved excavating "fossils" in the discovery center, and learning about bugs stuck in amber (she herself became "stuck" every time we passed the amber exhibit, and a few times at home since then). The only disturbing part of the trip (for me at least) was how many times I heard comments like "Well, if a day was really millions of years long, then...." coming out of people who clearly didn't understand or believe in evolution.

Friday we met Katie at Travel town for some big train action, then went to Katie's for a long nap, playtime, dinner, a bath, and bed (well, she and Katie tucked into bed, but didn't go to sleep).

Saturday was Jenna's 2nd birthday party (Jenna is at the same daycare as Petra). All Jenna's relatives were searching the crowd to identify Petra, whom they had heard so much about from Jenna. Lots of kids were there, and they all got along very well. We were the last to start heading for the door, and were instead invited to stay for dinner. Petra and Jenna had a great time playing and having dinner together. You could tell both hit the wall at the same moment though. Petra yanked a toy away from Jenna and said "No! Mine!", and Jenna started crying and put her head down on my knee. Clearly, they had had all the fun they could handle. We'll have to arrange a play date though, they get along so well!

There are lots of new pictures in the Photo Album, don't miss them!

Christmas Past

Another Christmas has come and gone. This is certainly the first "real" Christmas for Petra. She loved the whole run-up to the big day, opening the advent calendar, singing Jingle-Bells, turning on the Xmas tree, talking about Santa. She was up at 5:30 asking to go turn on the tree, and was quite stunned by the loot piled up there (especially the tricycle). Alison slept another hour while Petra rolled around on her bike, then had breakfast. Opening presents took most of the morning, mainly because she would get involved in doing something and forget other presents were waiting for her. She had a great time though!

Today, instead of being Santa, she was talking with Santa. She has a sticker book with Santa on the cover, and for at least an hour she was having conversations with him (and us, doing ho ho ho Santa voices). It was incredibly cute! She put on her jammies because Santa asked her to, and climbed into bed with Santa, asking me to read a Santa story, and a snowman story. She is such a darling!

We went to the library today, and she found lots of books to read ("I love this library" she said). Then went across the street to get her an ice cream cone (she was singing "I scream you scream" all the way there). Her eyes lit up and she had such a happy look on her face as we handed her a cone (and then she snarfed it down rapidly).

Winter fun

Petra had her red hooded coat on while walking home from daycare. We're chatting, and she pauses, then says "I..I...I'm.....I'm Santa!" For the rest of the night she was Santa, and we were reindeer!

She's really into Christmas this year. We've had an advent calendar with little toys every day, and she'll wake up in the morning and want to "open a little door." She also says the magic words "Pocus Christmas!" to turn on the Xmas tree every morning. She's quite excited about Santa and presents.

We bought a present for ourselves already- a Red Mazda3. Petra climbed right in, buckled up and said "I love this teeny tiny new car." She stubbornly refuses to get in the old car now!

During a walk over the weekend, Petra and I stopped at a yard sale which had some kid toys and a six-or-so-year old boy. Petra walked right up to him, said "Hi, my name is Petra!" and proceeded to play with him for at least an hour. When we finally left, she was saying "Bye Cooper!" and was later asking about going to play with him again. So gregarious!

Walking home from daycare in the sprinkles yesterday she said "It's a beautiful rainy day."

We are going to Lake Arrowhead in mid-January, so we got Petra a snowsuit, hat and mittens at Hanna Anderssen. Super cute. She was immediately making "angels" on the living-room floor, and bouncing a "snowball" around the room.

Mimic

While helping tidy up the wreckage of the living room, Petra found an old pair of my glasses. She put them on, and in a lower-than-normal voice said "I'm Dada!" then "Hello, I'm Muno" (when we are Yo Gabba Gabba characters, I'm always Muno). Such a silly girl! And so clever!

And yes, she does help tidy up. Yesterday we found her scooping the cat box out for us (and actually into the proper bag). Such a good helper!

All I want for Xmas

Petra went to the LA Zoo for their holiday party last night. She didn't get to see Santa, but she did see reindeer (and goats?), get a candy cane, and was transfixed by a big screen showing the Backyardigans.

And when I say transfixed, I do mean it. She ran to the front of the crowd watching the screen, and stopped cold and did not FLINCH for a good 10 minutes. Even when the snow machine started running right behind her, and all the other kids would scramble and squeal, Petra didn't so much as turn her head. Very cute, but also very scary!


After the zoo party, we walked through the "Festival of Lights," which is certainly the way to see it. About 1 mile of lights are pretty enough, but people sit in bumper to bumper traffic for 2 hours or more to see it. Yikes! We walked through far faster than cars made it through, and we didn't have to wait. We weren't done until 8:30, and Petra was ready to conk (though she fussed about "my cheeks hurt" as feeling came back to them once we were in the car- it was COLD outside!).

On the way to the party, we were chatting with Petra in the car, and asked what she wanted Santa to bring her. "A Christmas tree! ... and a Banana" was her response. I'm pretty sure she'll get everything she asked for!

Robot Parade

Petra has been riding the bus with Mama to day care in the mornings (day care is at another location this week, not around the corner, sigh.). She loves it, and told me all about how she "sat in my seat" and "looked out the windows." Today was standing room only. She announced to the bus that she was "holding onto the bar," which prompted someone to say that she was a good little girl. Being in her Plex persona though, she responded "I'm not a little girl, I'm a robot!" Absolutely adorable!

Catching up

So much going on! Sorry there haven't been any postings. Petra has been busy!

Spent a couple of days at a beach condo in Carlsbad. "Our teeny tiny house" she called it. Lots of playing. Visited the San Diego zoo again. I think she had more fun riding the bucket in the sky, and playing in the amphitheater than she did seeing the animals, but as long as he is having fun, I'm happy!

Petra's imagination is working overtime! For a week or so, she decided we were a family of seals, and everyone was "dada seal" "mama seal" and "baby seal." She would keep this up even when waking in the middle of the night. Then we were bears, then "baby super bear." Most recently, we've all been the Yo Gabba Gabba! characters. Petra is "Plex" the robot (or, naked robot at bath time), Dada has been "Muno" and Mama has been "Foofa." We played Curious George and I became "Dada Yellow Man the Hat" for the day. She's also been "superman" with a cape, and a mermaid with a crown and headband around her chest (no seashells). I'm amazed that she will stay "in character" for days or a week at a time, morning, noon, or (middle of the) night. Such an active imagination!!

I said catching up, and I mean that literally as well as figuratively. Petra has become quite a runner (I've told about her running around the block saying "better hurry!" before). Last week we went from the park to the fish taco shop for dinner, and she ran 3 long blocks saying "I'm running for fish tacos!" After dinner, she ran all the way home- OVER A MILE!! Non-stop (except when scooped up to carry her across busy streets), with us trotting along after her trying to keep up. The whole way she was talking about being "super baby bear," and she certainly is!

Remember how Petra bathed in the kitchen sink, once a week whether she needed it or not? We finally tried her out in the "big huge bathtub" in the "beautiful bathroom," and she loves it! Suddenly she is taking a bath every night! It's completely changed our evening routine. We used to have book then boob then bed in the living room, and I'd carry her to bed and tuck her in. Now, after her bath she is dried and put into her jammies, and she climbs into her crib, mama tells her a story, and we turn of the lights. After a week or so, she's started crying a bit for another story, or for "Muno" to come be with her, but for the most part, a whole new routine just appeared out of nowhere.

Petra came to work with me on a Saturday morning (I was interviewing prospective students). She was very well behaved, with Desiree taking good care of her. But then she spent all week saying that she was "crying for Dada," and that she "rescued Dada from Desiree's house." My hero!

Meeting the Mouse

We took Petra to Disneyland for the first time Sunday. She was excited about going (with no clue what she was excited about), but most excited about seeing Katie. We took the train from the main entrance to Toontown (Petra didn't like it at all- go figure! Too many tunnels I guess). The girls just ran around and played there for quite a while. Minnie made an appearance, and Petra jumped the line to go give her a hug. She then took Minnie by the hand and lead her away, up the walk to "Minnie's" house. Minnie seemed thrilled (as far as someone in a big fuzzy suit can 'seem' to be anything), and Petra loved her!

We rode "Small World," which Petra found mildly interested in, but mainly she was hungry by this point, and was snarfing all the Pirate's Booty that Katie would hand her. So after the ride we went and got pizza for lunch. The girls were having a great time together, walking hand in hand, sitting together to take a juice break, or trying on hats together (Petra ended up with Minnie ears).

After lunch, we took the girls to Autopia, so Petra could drive. She found that fun for about 30 seconds, then it was "here Dada, you drive." She was clearly getting tired and squirmy, and ended up bonking her head on the seatback and bawling for Mama the last few minutes. As soon as we popped her in the stroller after the ride she was out cold until we arrived home. Luckily, we didn't feel we had to do a death march, because Tim works for the Mouse, and we could get into the park for free. Thanks Tim!

Pesky Time Change

5 am footsteps in the hallway. "Eat breakfast now" she says. Managed to get her back to bed though. Then at 10 to 6 we hear her singing "Mary had a little lamb" to her friends. Super cute! That we can handle.

In the News:

Petra walks into the living room looks at me and says "Hello Richard" then turns to Mama and says "Hello Alison." Uhoh, is she going to be those "modern" kids that address her parents by their first names? I was still waiting for "I love you Daddy," but instead got an "I love you Richard" on my way to work in the morning.

How did she suddenly develop a fear of "scratchy monsters?" We certainly never brought up monsters at home. She also did a little freakout when the pop-up dinosaur book had a T-Rex head come out at her (I warned people the pop-up book might be a little too much for her right now). So much for dinosaurs! Everything is a phase!

Her "Ow, kiss it!" has now turned into "I have a scratch. Kiss it!"

We noticed that Petra's other 2-year old friends don't talk nearly as much as she does. At first, we were saying, "isn't it weird that they don't talk?" But now we have realized the truth- PETRA is the weird one! She talks up a storm, has a vocabulary that is frighteningly large, and remembers EVERYTHING that she ever hears, and can recall it when needed weeks or months later. Yikes! We have a prodigy!

Trick or Treat

Definitely a treat.
Petra loved getting ready for halloween, and sang a song to all the pumpkins.



Then went out and trick-or-treated her way around the block (so cute and happy).

See the whole string of pictures (ears included!) on Flickr.

And an only in LA moment that I can't wait to tell. Petra now asks me "New house please" when she wants to go out and visit open houses. But we're not even in the market, I'm just snooping!

Boo at the Zoo

We visited "Boo at the Zoo" at the LA Zoo yesterday. Lots of Halloween events going on, and swarms of children in costume (not Petra though, we're not quite sure if she wants to be little red riding hood or a dinosaur). There were places to trick or treat (at which Petra would say "trick or treat", and "thank you" to each person handing out treats), and there was pumpkin "stomp and chomp" with the animals. Petra saw the black bears sniffing at the pumpkins (but eating the melon), and the super cute baby tigers playing with the pumpkin had her giggling ('wrestling' she said, and 'climb on mama' when they were playing with the mama tiger).

We completely wore her out though. She conked within seconds of getting in the car to leave. And last night slept solid from 7:30pm to 7am, and woke up starving (for macaroni and cheese!).

She's Number One!

And she did number 1 IN HER POTTY today! Go baby go! I was changing her before going out to the market, and she passed some gas (stinky). I asked if she needed to use the potty, and she said yes, and trotted right in to the bathroom, sat down, and took a pee. Such a good girl! She seemed quite pleased with herself, and we were sure to let her know we were proud of her. She's growing up so fast right now!

She also had a bath in the bathtub tonight (for the first time). Our plumbing is 70 years old, and we've never risked it before, but it felt like time (and we had someone come clean for us!). She was thrilled at the prospect, and climbed right in (with daddy). She had a great time, and praised the "beautiful bathroom" and the "huge bathtub." So incredibly cute! I think we won't have any trouble getting her to do it again.

Lost her Mommy

Petra didn't, thank goodness, but obviously all those darn children's books (are you my mommy? etc.) have freaked her out. Not only the little Triceratops "lost his mommy" bringing her near to tears, but yesterday she found a white rock "hey look, cool!" but then was immediately sad, wandering the house saying "rock lost her mommy." Poor thing!

In other news, we are definitely going to jail. It was bad enough that the pediatrician was looking at her bruised up legs ("you climb a lot don't you?"). Yesterday, she bumped her cheek and came to get a kiss. Then 5 minutes later I walk into the dining room to find her kneeling on the floor, holding the corners of a chair, and banging her cheek against the edge. "My cheek hurts!" she said, giggling, when she saw me come in. Yikes! We are definitely going to jail!

Nothing Much Happening

Hah! Busy as heck! Growing up! Turning 2! Left and Right! What wasn't happening was posting. My website quota filled up with Petra postings, at the same time that I got a new computer, so it took a while to get the new software configured and then reallocate my web space to accommodate more Petra!

So, let's work backwards.

Petra is two! We celebrated at least three times. Grandma and grandpa came down on her birthday (Thursday), and picked her up from day care. That was a big thrill! She just LOVES her grandparents! She was so giggly and happy to see them, she was just bouncing up and down. We went out to dinner at Farmer's Market, and had a great time. She especially loved the 'Pink Cake' (jelly roll with candles). Surprisingly, she slept like the dead after we got home, though she was singing "happy birthday Petra" as we came up the steps.

Friday I dropped her off at the hotel to spend the day with the g'rents (I was late to work because she slept past seven! But when she woke up she was instantly excited to go to see grandpa and we got dressed and left without even having breakfast). She spent the day eating pancakes, swimming, shopping (blinking light tennis shoes!), and napping with grandma. For dinner we went out to a great (new) little Italian restaurant on Robertson (Bella Roma SPQR) where they adored her and we adored the fish and pasta. And you should see Petra snork down prosciutto e melone!

Saturday was the official birthday party. 9 kids from the neighborhood came, all Petra's age or younger. Everyone was well behaved. No tantrums or fights over sharing or anything! She was absolutely ecstatic about having everyone sing to her. Her little face was shining!

She definitely knew her birthday was coming up. In the mornings I'd sometimes hear "birthday cake" or "party hat" from her room.

A week ago we took Petra to a harvest fest/pumpkin patch. She was very excited ("pumpkin patch" came out of her mouth at least a hundred times that weekend). She rode a little tractor, went on the wagon ride, counted pumpkins, and rode the little train (twice, with Katie). She also saw the hay bale stack ("pyramid" she said), and climbed straight to the top (with Mama trailing behind, just in case). She had fun, but we didn't leave until 3 (it took forever to get there), and she was ready to melt down. She didn't completely recover until the next day. Poor thing, bad parents for running you ragged!

Suddenly, Petra knows left and right! Either she has been practicing in secret, or she picked it up in one repetition, because the first time I tried it with her she nailed it 100%!

Did I mention dinosaurs? Well, the birthday was dinopalooza. Books, puzzles, rubber dinos etc. She loves them all (and even gave uncle Guillermo a hug to thank him for her Triceratops- a first!). She was thrilled when I found a Triceratops finger puppet, then got all sad and nearly cried- "Lost its Mama!" she said! We had to go find a larger one to be its mother, otherwise she would have cried! So sweet! She knows them all- Triceratops is her favorite, but she also knows Tyrannosaurus Rex, Stegosaurus (also called "pokey one"), Brachiosaurus ("long neck to eat trees"), and Iguanodon! We'll have to get our paleontologist friend to come visit!

Sorry for the break

Petra's blog overloaded my web site. It took a while for me to get things reallocated to make room for more postings. More to come, because, of course, she is super cute!

Short Takes

The last few nights, when tucking Petra into bed, as we walk out of the room she says "good night!" in her sweet little voice, then goes right to sleep. Awwww!

"Crazy Dada, Crazy Dada, Crazy Dada!"

"Better hurry, Better hurry" as she runs as fast as she can and we run to keep up.

Drawing volcanoes, flowers, and dinosaurs on her chalkboard.

Digging dinosaur bones ad nauseum on the Caillou website.

Playing with Kenya (a 2 year old around the corner), mimicking everything she did and being led around by the hand. Big hugs!

And another little girl at the park took her by the hand and took off, leading her on all the playground toys, pushing her up onto the jungle gym, and generally being enamored of Petra.

Spinning round and round and round and round and round and round. Thud.

"Go away Piper! Go Away!" when Piper gets too close to Petra's food.

"Play rolling ball game?" having only ever seen Katamari Damacy twice, she's already hooked!

Halloweenie

Petra's getting ready for Halloween, and this time she is definitely going trick or treating. As you can see, she's planning on going as little red riding hood. She is pretty darn cute too!

She's also discovered her "magic hat" and "magic wand" which she will wave and say "hocus crocus" and turn Daddy and Mommy into frogs. She'll also "hocus crocus" herself and then hop around the house ribbiting. Super cute!

A house up the street is all decorated for the holiday, and at first Petra loved it, but then the next day (after she ran all the way around the block calling "better hurry" to us to keep up), she was scared by it and clung to my neck (which was pretty sweet as well). She does still like pumpkins though (she calls it "pumpkin pie").

Pirates were the other leading contender for halloween. She loves them at the moment, and likes us to sing pirate songs for her (Yo ho yo ho; or sailing sailing). She will also cover one eye like an eye patch. Cute.

Hit by a Truck

But in a good way. It kind of feels like you are hit by a truck full-o-love when you are playing with Petra and she looks up and says "So happy!" And she is such a happy little girl!

And then parents go and screw things up. Petra woke this morning crying out "Daddy, Daddy!" When I went to her she said "Trucks!" (she could here the garbage trucks going down the street), then "Run over you!" (she still says "you" instead of "me"). Poor thing, I must have freaked her out about getting run over by trucks! She couldn't just love garbage trucks, no, Daddy had to go make them something scary again. Sigh, poor little girl!

Dino-girl

Petra is just nuts about dinosaurs at the moment. She insists on playing online dino games, watching dino movies, and walking like dinosaurs (super cute when she does Iguanadon, walking on hands and feet and going "rargh!"). She loves the Gertie videos on YouTube, and just about anything else we can Google up. Well, she wasn't too thrilled about the dinos eating one another, but that's perhaps a bit too much for an (almost) two-year-old. We found a little pith helmet at the party store, and she immediately had to have her "dinosaur hat," and was ready to come home and "dig up dinosaurs" on the computer. We'll have to tell Laura, our Paleontologist friend. She'll make a great role model!

Petra also likes to wear her dinosaur rain coat (not that it's rained since she was born!). The because it's blue, when she wears it she is pretending she is Benny (the blue cow in the Dora books/videos/mind control conspiracy. Really very cute!

Fake Out!

Which is one of Petra's new favorite phrases. She really got me yesterday when picking her up from daycare she was crying and saying "no, no!" not wanting me to take her home. This made daddy VERY sad. But then as the gate squeaked as we got home, she burst out laughing, and was happy and sweet the rest of the day. I don't know if it was a fake out or not, but I was certainly glad that today she was happy to see me and very sweet.
That was really the only truly upsetting behavior I've seen. I can handle the "Go! Go!" first thing when she wakes up, but not wanting to come home with me was a bit scary.
Otherwise, she has been an absolute angel. She is talking up a storm, and has some very sweet phrases she uses. We were walking along holding hands with her smiling and, in a very singsong voice, saying "beautiful day." Every day with her is a beautiful day!

She's in love with dinosaurs at the moment, especially a game on the Caillou website where she (meaning me) can dig up bones and reconstruct the dinos for the museum. Pirates are also high are her list ("yar!", eyepatch and other words on her list).

She is also super girly sometimes though, picking and sniffing flowers, playing with jewelry, cooking in her kitchen, tucking her stuffed animals in bed. But at the same time she refuses to wear a barrette or a hair band, so she spends half her time brushing her hair out of her eyes.

Na naaaa, naa na na na na, naaa na na, nanana

Petra was supercute with our guests yesterday afternoon (of course), including "playing" Katamari Damacy with Jimmy (he was playing, and Petra went and found a game controller and stood in front of the TV "playing"). And I think she was pretty good at it too! Uh-oh, TV, videogames, what's next on this slippery slope?

Uh-oh!

First, the fever went away by morning. No problems at all.

Well, no problems at all unless you count the sound of little footsteps coming down the hall at 5:30 this morning!?! Seems someone suddenly knows how to climb out of her crib (3 times today- twice while trying to get her down for her nap). I suppose now we'll have to invest in restraints, or a cage.

And of course, this coincides with hot weather making her sleep poorly, so we're having a very hard time getting her to sleep at bedtime or for a nap. I hope this is just heat related, otherwise we might be having to start sleep training all over again. yikes!

Such a Mouth!

Petra and Mommy are both conked out on the bed, so time to blog!

Petra's language skills have shot through the roof recently. Not only in improved pronunciation, but also in concepts. A few examples:

Rocket ship, space, planet stars
Garbage truck, garbage black can, grass green can, Dump it
Big blue bus, pay money, bus token
Choking hazard (used to describe coins and buttons)
Hedgehog, hippo, giraffe, monkey, lion, bunny, etc.

She's started using lots of verbs (she's very carefully testing out -ing right now- do-ing, runn-ing, jump-ing), and the occasional mild profanity ("Crap!" when she dropped an earring off the dresser). We've gotta be more careful with our language!

Her brain is almost scary! So sweet and smart!

Of course, her brain is burning up at the moment. Poor thing has a fever, and in the middle of a heat wave at that. If she hasn't cooled down by tomorrow it's off to urgent care for us all! Mommy had strep a couple of weeks ago. I just hope Petra hasn't become a carrier (like her dad!).

Winkie!

We came home from work one day and found that Petra has been replaced. If you ask her what's her name, she'll reply "Winkie!" We have grandma to thank for this. Apparently she was so thrilled by Petra being able to wink, that "Winkie" became a nickname, and stuck like a bug on a windshield. We can just picture the poor lost child telling security her name is Winkie, or the bailiff saying "All rise for the honorable Winkie Lindstrom." I'm sure it will stick with her forever.

The three of us survived 3 weeks of vacation (meaning the babysitter was on vacation, not us). A week with grandma and grandpa (swimming pools, beach, Chico's), a week at home with grandma (beach, travel town, first bus rides), and a week split with mommy and daddy (park, bakery, beach, aquarium). She had a wonderful time, and it's amazing how much she has changed in just three weeks. She talks much more, using whole words and short sentences. She has a mind like a steel trap, remembering everthing about the garbage collecting process (garbage truck, pick up, empty, go dump, grass in green can, etc.), the names of all her friends at the bakery (Carmen, Josephine, Robin), and of course, Winkie.

We nearly did her in though. We ran her so ragged, on the night before going back to "school" she was super cranky and running a fever. Poor thing! We ended up putting her to bed an hour early, and running the fan on her all night. But this morning she was back to her normal cheerful self, with no hint of fever. Such a good baby!

All Aboard!

Choo-choo, Choo-choo, Choo-choo! That's what Petra was all about today. And no jolly trolley at the Grove for her! Grandma and I took her to Travel Town at Griffith Park and saw the real thing! I think she had more fun here than we've had anywhere before! Halfway across the entrance bridge she broke into a run straight for the locomotives, and climbed up to explore. Each time I dragged her down from one, she'd say "more more more" and run to the next. She explored every train, and then had to ride the little train that she had been staring at every time it circled the park. She loved the ride, and then, of course, wanted "more more more." We had a little snack first, and she ran through the museum, played with the toy trains, and did handstands (!) in the padded play pit. Then another ride around the park in the little train (and again she wanted "more more more"). She conked out within minutes of hitting the car seat for the ride home, but boy was she happy!

And Travel Town wasn't even our first stop today. We started out with a walk (she in the stroller) to Maison du Pain to visit our friends the bakers, Carmen and Josephine. Petra knows their names now, and was excited for a visit. She was snuggled half to death by Carmen, and given lots of tasty treats. Even at the end of the day Petra remembered the trip and told Mama that "Josefee" gave her fruit. So sweet! Oh yeah, and the pastries are great!

All last week Mama's father and his wife were visiting to sit for Petra while Karan, our wonderful babysitter is on vacation (3 weeks!). This week is my Mom, and next week we're all on our own! Petra is just having a wonderful time with all the g'rents, though I imagine it's a bit exhausting for her. She has been sleeping like a log!

Just in the last week her language skills have been shooting through the roof again. Two weeks ago Carmen and Josephine would have been "Ca" and "Jo" at best, but now she has the whole name down. Lots of words that she only had used the first syllable of, she now pronounces perfectly (she got lauded today for saying "yes" so pleasantly when asked a question). She's also using two word sentences quite often. Such a smartie! And of course, she's super cute too, as a woman leaned out her car window to tell us this morning!

Youuuuuuu!

A very busy week! Grandparents galore (all of them, one after another after another!). Parks, beaches, playgrounds, shopping, swimming. Whew, I'm tired just thinking about it! Petra has been great for all the g'rents, making them feel VERY special (which, of course, they are). How special is grandma? This morning, Petra wanted to go see grandma BEFORE she even had any boob!

We're trying to figure out pronouns at the moment. Petra has a rough idea of how they work, but how the heck do you teach the first and third person? "You" clearly means "me" or "mine" to Petra (after all, we always are referring to her when WE say "you"!). Nowhere was this more apparent than the other day at the playground when her cracker-keeper cup went rolling down the slide. A kid materialized at the bottom and grabbed a handful of crackers. Petra shouts "Youuuuuu!!!" and (cue adventure music a la "Indiana Jones") flings herself down the slide grabs the cup and yanks it out of the other kid's hand. We have some issues with possessiveness, even if we aren't to clear on the possessives!

Red

Petra still loves Little Red Riding Hood. Yesterday, as she was running out the door wearing only a diaper, she stopped and said "cape?!" She wanted her Little Red Riding Hood cape (really just a hoodie sweater). I hung her sweater on her head, and she asked for "bask?" her little wire easter basket, so she could collect flowers for Grandma. Once she had her basket, we walked around our yard picking flowers and filling the basket. We tried to video with grandma (any of them!), but alas, none were available to take the cutest video call in all history. Oh well, their loss!

Petra is also big on the three bears at the moment, and we've gone from having oatmeal in the morning to having "porridge" (still oatmeal, but easier to get her to eat!). Very cute!

Belly!

Petra went belly dancing this weekend! She and Daddy were out on a walk and we stopped by at the Bazaar on the corner to see what they had. Petra was obviously attracted to all the shiny objects. The back room of the shop was set up as a dance studio, and they had just finished a belly dancing class. Petra started playing a drum she found, and the women from the class ooh'd and ahhh'd, and came running over to meet her. One wrapped her up in a scarf covered with jingly things, and got Petra to start dancing. She loved it! She shook her little self round and round, jingling jingling jingling! Add the giant mirrors on the wall so she could admire herself, and Petra was in heaven!

If she hadn't just filled a diaper, we would have bought her an outfit, but we got out without spending a penny. She was so cute though, and had so much fun that we'll have to go back. She has a standing invitation to come for belly-dance lessons every Sunday!

Summertime

And the living is easy! It's always easy with Petra. Well, easy for Daddy at least. Mommy and Petra were left alone for 4 days while Daddy was away on bidness (long story involving missing groundcrews, thunderstorms, mechanical problems, and squalid accomodations. Don't ask). Petra remembered her daddy though, and came running down the hallway calling "daddy" when she heard his voice when he got back. Ahhh, my heart! Such a sweetie!

Daddy and Petra stayed home together to play on Friday. We played in the water table in the back yard and played around the house, but despite being tired she refused to take a nap. We decided to head to the beach, and of course just before getting there she conked out in her car seat. We parked in the shade and waited, waited, waited. But 1/2 hour later she was still out, so we just came home. She woke just as I parked at home, cheery and ready to play some more.

We went to meet Mommy for lunch, and Petra got cuted left and right on the visit. Co-workers and strangers all adored her.

Back at home it was nap time again, but no nap was forthcoming. By 4:30 she was getting cranky and I put her down, like it or not. And like it she did. She must have been more tuckered than I thought, because she conked out and didn't wake up until the next morning! Sleepy baby!

Saturday Petra woke up hungry (shocker there, she didn't have any dinner)- she ate a whole bowl of oatmeal and some yogurt, and a few strawberries. While Mommy hit the gym we had an early morning visit to Le Maison du Pain for yet another breakfast. Petra was greeted as a celebrity, and got the full tour of the kitchen. Then she scarfed two rolls, two bowls of fruit and feta, and a slice of ham. She might be having a growth spurt- so much sleeping and eating! Petra met a 3 year old named Zoe and greeted her with a big hug. Zoe is all of 4 inches taller than Petra. Zoe's mom was amazed at how big Petra was, and how active.

We finally did make it to the beach with Katie, and the girls had a great time. We stopped for coffee at Peet's and Petra took a little swim (it IS awfully hot). Again, though, she conked out the second we got home, and didn't wake up again. She MUST be growing.

Petra continues to be a little monkey, despite the name change. At the park Sunday she was climbing the monkey bars and hanging by her arms with no problem. She poits up to the bars and says "monk." Soon she'll be swinging from one bar to the other! She also loves her motor vehicles, from cars to rockets. Mommy found a little car by the side of the road and brought it home for her and she loves it!

The Keys to my Heart

She always had them, but recently she really learned how to use them. Keys that is. She has her own little set she'll carry around and stick in all the keyholes in the doors. Such a clever little girl! Thank God for deadbolt locks though! It won't be long before she is on her way out the front door!

Petra is in a very loving mood. She is giving everything hugs and kisses. Trees (hug, smooch), toys (big hug, kiss, kiss), the pillow (hug!), Mommy and Daddy (big hug! Big kiss!). I love our loving little girl!

She's become quite a walker. Sometimes coming home from daycare can involve walking 4 or more blocks as she keeps picking new directions to go. Going anywhere is not particularly efficient, but at least she isn't a couch potato! Now if we could only get her to go the direction we want her to walk in!

One of Petra's favorite stories right now is "Little Red Riding Hood." She loves both the cheesy pop up book version (wolf with no teeth, sent down river on a log) to the Trina Schart Hyman version (Red and grandma eaten by wolf, woodsman splits him open to rescue them). From the popup version she learned how to cry "help! help!" and now she'll stand in front of the window in the breakfast room and cry "help! help!" out the window. I just hope a cop isn't driving by or Mommy and Daddy will end up in jail! Petra likes to dress up in her "Red" out fit, with her hoodie sweater and a bucket. So cute!

Bad Parents!

We are bad parents- lounging by the pool at the mansion while poor Petra's blog sat unattended. We should be ashamed!

Petra's Uncle Joe is in town cutting a movie, and Petra is in love. She flirts with him endlessly, and will say his name over and over if we mention him in conversation. He's house-sitting a lovely old Spanish house up in the hills, and the whole family (well, half of it) came together to BBQ and hang out by the pool for the weekend. Auntie Naomi brought new books to read (and read and read and read) and Auntie Kirsten brought a kitchen (!) for Petra. Petra had fun in the pool with Gramma and cousin Adia, and ran herself ragged playing. She loved the room to run in the big house and courtyard, she was entranced by the koi pond, and she got to play a solo on a grand piano. What a lucky girl!Her cousin Adia really loved playing with Petra, and they did everything together, including take a bath. Poor thing, when we went home she fell asleep in the car and didn't even wake up when being changed into her sleeper and put to bed!

Watch your language!
Petra has begun broadening her vocabulary beyond your basic nouns (though she's added plenty of those, like wall, floor and ceiling). She added proper nouns (Unka Joe, and all the kids in her daycare's names), a bunch of verbs (get, hold, push, pull, catch, kick), a few adjectives (more most prominant), and she's started trying to figure out pronouns (me and you- try explaining those without sounding like an Abbott and Costello skit). She is really a language sponge now- she seems to learn every new word the first time she hears it. And of course, we really have to watch our own language as well. She seems to like to repeat the word "Crap!" whenever she hears it (though luckily rarely enough that she doesn't use it on her own (I hope!).

We've started to introduce Petra to the idea of using the potty. We bought one and had it around to let her get comfortable (hah!) with it, and have started to check with her if she thinks she needs to go pee or poop (she loves the words at least). She certainly doesn't have any fear of it! She does say yes occasionally and go in to sit on the potty, but no luck yet. Just stinky diapers (she loves to say stinky and pinch her nose!). Along the same hygiene lines, we've got her brushing her teeth every night. Well, eating toothpaste off her brush at least. She does wiggle it around in her mouth a bit, but she refuses to let us help her ("Hold" she says whenever we try to take it). She also likes to take floss and run it through her mouth (but not her teeth). It's probably better than nothing at all, but we've got a ways to go before achieving real dental hygiene.


Daddy got his first night home alone with Petra. Mommy was out of town on business. The evening went very smoothly (if you can call reading the Dora book 2.5 hours straight "smooth"), with no fuss at all. She took a book to bed with her, and didn't want to lie down, but sat and read while I left the room and she just read herself to sleep. Such a sweetie. Of course, morning she wanted Mommy and nothing but. She screamed and wandered room to room looking for her, and then going to the front door and yanking on it crying for Mama! So sad. She eventually screamed her way back to the crib, and once I put her in she again started reading, and when I came back in a few minutes to take her for breakfast, she was smiling and sweet again. I love this baby! Though I'm going to have to stop calling her a baby. She really is a little girl now, with opinions and everything.

Auntie Patti sent a pair of frog galoshes to Petra today, and she carried the box into the house, and as soon as she saw the boots she pulled off all her clothes (?!) and put on the boots to march around the house. Very cute!!! Petra likes running around naked ("nay"), though we've had a couple of puddles to clean up because of it. She's also getting good at taking off her own clothes- too good. We've been reading the Dora at the Beach book, and emphasizing the sunscreen application scene to her, to get her on board with the whole SPF thing. Luckily, it looks like she has Daddy's skin, so she tans rather than burning (so far at least, and Hawaii was a good test).

Ten!

Petra sat down in a basket of old baby clothes ("old"?) that we were sorting through this morning. "So many clothes!" Daddy says, so Petra...starts to count them! Pointing to one after another:

"on"
"two"
"tee"
Daddy's jaw drops "One, two, three" he repeats, dumbfounded
"fo"
"fi"
"shi"
"sha" (almost every S word is "sha" right now)
"eh"
"ni"
"two"

She just counted from one to ten unprompted!!! (well, if 10 is two, but just yesterday all numbers were "two"). Lots of praise and hugs!

I love this baby!!!

Opinions

Don't know where they came from, but sometime after we returned from Hawaii, Petra got herself some opinions, and pretty strong ones at that. Remember the sweet, querulous "nooo" that she used to have has been replaced by a no-nonesense "No!" She now makes it clear that she wants to be the one to "hol" things (no matter how messy that makes the eating). She goes limp and drops to the floor screaming if she doesn't want to go with you (or wants to go, or wants to play, or wants something, whatever that something may be, not really sure on this one!). She is still a playful darling, but clearly she is rapidly approaching the dreaded "terrible twos." It's just a phase. hope hope.

Grandpa and grandma came to visit last week, and Petra loved seeing them (especially "Pa"). She was a perfect darling when we went out to dinner at the (delicious) La Bodeguita de Pico. She was boogie-ing to the salsa music and scarfing pork. As we passed a yard sale on the way to the restaurant, she was gifted with (in her eyes) the best gift on earth- a Dora doll! She has been madly in love since then (as long as love includes the pulling out of hair). Awfully cute that she has fallen so hard for a symbol of the military-industrial-entertainment complex. Sigh.

Aloha!

Where have we been? Well, if you ask Petra, she'll tell you that she's been in "Awayee" (Hawaii), where she played at the "pooo" (Pool, or Beach), and especially had fun in the "sha" (sand) where she would "digdigdig" with the shovel and pail Mama bought her at the ABC store and smoosh the pear cakes (molded sand) that Mama would make her. We spent 10 days there (5 work related, 5 vacation), and Petra was a champ- good on the plane coming and going, and not too jet lagged at all. She had lots of fun as well. We spent the first 4 nights in Waikiki, and the last 6 in Hale'iwa on the north shore. Petra visited the zoo, the aquarium, the pineapple plantation, and the Waimea Valley Audubon Center. She even went to a Luau, where she had a great time chasing a little Japanese boy (the flirt!), and dancing to the music. Many days though we just hung out with our little girl and watched her stuff herself with about a million bananas!

Petra loved having Mama and Dada full time for 10 days. She also liked the hotel room and condo. She systematically dismantled the hotel room, including the telephone. Hopefully no one had to call us. We tipped housekeeping to make up for all the cheerios and noodles on the carpet (and the little puddle she left behind one morning after breaking away from Mama after the bath. Oops!). At the condo she made sure that each and every single coaster was carefully flung into a different corner. I'm not sure if we ever found them all. In the lobby she was also a little engine of destruction. She ran away from Mama and straight into a shop selling many small glass tchotchkes. Luckily, she barrelled straight through to the door on the other side, and Mama managed to steer her out without Petra touching or breaking anything- whew! About the only thing that kept her under control was watching "Dora the Explorer" with Mama in the mornings. Dada stopped by the hotel room between meetings one morning, and Petra didn't even notice he was there, she was so intent on Dora. Sigh, displaced by a fictional character.

We arrived early in the afternoon, and went out immediately for "caka" (coffee) and a walk. We, of course, walked by the beach at Waikiki, though we had no intentions of going onto the beach. Petra, however, had other plans. She saw the water, said "pooo" and took off across the sand and waded right into the water in her street clothes! She went in right up to her neck! Fortunately Daddy was wearing shorts so he could go in with her and not get (too) soaked himself. She loved the water and the sand, so Petra and Daddy played in the ocean while Mama ran to the store to buy a towel. She also fell in love with the pool at the hotel, and especially the floats that divided the shallow end from the deep end. She loved them so much she had to give each one a "huh" (hug) every time we went to the pool. Petra was in the ocean or the pool almost every day we were in Hawaii.

At the pineapple plantation we rode the Pineapple Express train. Petra had a great time on the train- she was excited just to see the "choo" coming down the tracks. The tour was narrated and included hawaiian music, and Petra was dancing in her seat the whole trip. She had such a good time, she didn't want the ride to end. When everyone else was debarking she was saying "choo" and making the "more" sign with her hands. So cute! We also did a walk through the botanical garden, and she played with the umbrellas over the picnic tables. She also got to feed the swarms of giant Koi in the pond. Petra was fascinated by all the Koi she saw on the trip, and at breakfast one day she found a Koi pond where she could actually reach in and pet the fish. Oh the giggles! She also got to touch a hermit crab at the aquarium, and a sand crab at the beach. Of course, her fondness for fish made for many close calls, with us 'rents running to catch her before she could fall (or jump) in!

We'll probably think of more witty anecdotes after we recover from jet lag, but that's it for now. There are a bunch more pictures on Flickr for your viewing enjoyment. Mahalo!

Too Cool for School

What else can I say?