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!