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.