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!