Anatomically Correct

Petra was choking a bit on a grape last night. To make sure she could talk (and thus breathe) I asked her "Did it go down your esophagus or your trachea?".

She answered, a bit despondently, "My trachea"

She was right of course!

Barefootin'

Faithful readers may remember the Great Toe Incidents of last fall (mentioned here, and here). While the toe has been completely healed since before Christmas, to Petra it was still her "hurt toe", and she refused to look at it, would not go barefoot, and needed a bag on her foot so she wouldn't see it while in the tub, even though, after a while, she didn't remember which foot was supposed to be the afflicted one.

Fast forward to our recent parent-teacher conference in mid-March. One of the topics discussed was The Toe: one week, her creative movement teacher wanted all the kids to take their socks and shoes off to prevent slipping during class. Petra refused; her teachers tried to convince her to take her socks off, but she firmly and tearfully refused. We were concerned because we were leaving for Mexico soon; it's harder to enjoy the pool and the beach if you need socks and/or plastic bags on your feet! So, we made a plan with her teachers, and were ready to pull in the center director as backup (she had helped Petra during the Second Toe Incident, and every time she saw her, Petra would tell her that her toe "still hurt"). That night, Dada was getting Petra ready for her bath, and used a combination of distraction and bribery (flowery flip-flops!) to divert her when she would normally ask for a bag on her foot. Lo and behold, she went the whole bath with her feet uncovered, and later, we heard a sound we hadn't heard for months: the slap of Petra's bare feet on the floor. What a lovely sound!

She happily went barefoot as often as possible during our recent trip to Mexico (more on that soon, I promise! For now, you can see pictures on Flickr), and now all we have to do is to keep cameras, toy frying pans, and baseballs away from her toes. Piece of cake!

Blurbs

Petra stayed home with Dada and a fever on Monday (both of us with the fever). She watched "Cars" (well, part of it, and snoozed in my lap for the rest), and she really liked "Lightning the Queen." The minivans that won't ask for directions also made an impression. She told Mama "You would ask for directions, and I would ask for directions, and Dada would ask for directions, and Piper would meow for directions and the fish would glug glug for directions!"

Just to be sure she'll do well next Birthday, Petra was chatting about grandma and said "Grandma is the best!" (I won't say WHICH grandma though!).

I had a light bruise the other day from Petra kicking me in the face during the night. Sometimes she comes and climbs in with us, but often seems to sleep perpendicular to us. Alison gets the head butts, I get kicked in the face or kidneys.

Petra had a great time at the aquarium with her cousin Adia. Such a meltdown when it was time to leave (well, it WAS way past bedtime).

Petra is very excited because now she has her own "Little book." She's got her passport, and is ready for a trip to "Circus camp" in Ixtapa. We ALL need a vacation!

We have a new cat- "Cooper." He is a very sweet "Kitten" that is already bigger than Piper. He lets Petra pet him and plays with her (and climbs on her lap if she will sit still long enough). He is a very purry boy, and Petra is thrilled. Piper, not so much.

What's a Parent to Do?

I know, don't even start with the "You haven't updated the blog since...." I have a very socially active 3 year old, so I don't get a lot of time that isn't devoted to play dates, arts and crafts, bike rides or Backyardigans.

So, what's been going on?

Petra is now completely independent on the potty. She tells us "Leave me alone" if we try to keep her company. We don't complain.

Petra has a "Big girl bike" with pink streamers and training wheels. Now, if we only had bikes so we could keep up with her. We haven't had time to shop for them!
We visited the Getty Villa for art, music, and story time (arts and crafts including making a bead necklace and a Greek helmet).

Oh yeah, and there was this Christmas thing that she was all excited about for some reason. We continued our tradition of walking to the nursery and bringing a tree home in the wagon. Petra insisted that we get a small tree so she could decorate the whole thing (and that's pretty much what she did. Great job too!). The advent calendar kept her primed all month long ("Can I open a little door now?"), and she wanted it to be Christmas every day (heck, with Petra, it IS Christmas every day!). She scored big, of course, with a digital camera, iPod (w/aforementioned Backyardigans videos), and baby doll and stroller being big hits.


Somehow, Petra has managed not to get bored, even over the break when school was closed. We've had playdates galore with Jenna, Jessica, and Katie. She also had unscheduled run-ins with Eden, Emma, Abigail and more. Farmer's Market for the big tree and the pre-Christmas shopping scrum, Franklin Canyon for hiking and "fishing" (Petra wanted to catch "a whopper"), World City Chinese Puppet theatre, Japanese new year's with arts and crafts (Petra made a Daruma and an Origami crane decoration), Disneyland for the Christmas parade and fireworks, Friend's birthday parties, Natural History museum (where she made an undersea diorama, and was spooked by an 8 foot T-Rex that wandered into the room. The life-size puppet made her bury her head into me, and she kept it down until he left), Christmas lights festival (and closing IKEA afterwards!), Work Christmas parties (where, of course, she was adored).

We spent New Year's eve with Jenna & Family (and traditional Japanese new year's food. Yummy and weird at the same time! We celebrated live with New York, but the girls didn't get to bed until 10pm! They loved the party horns, and my ears still ring (and not just from the Champagne).

Petra (with some coaching) managed to lure a shy cat to her to receive a petting. She started out too eager, and the cat kept running away. But she showed great patience, and was able to sit still and stay quiet enough for the curious kitty to finally come and bump her. She was absolutely thrilled. There are only 3 other cats she's ever managed to touch- "The Ambassador" who will let ANYONE touch him, Zoe a sweet catloaf if ever there was one, and Rockstar, who said "Pet ME!" then scratched her. She liked this one much more, and named it "Kitty."

Sharp tongued

I get home from work and am changing, and Petra comes in and asks "When I'm taller, can I use the really sharp knives?" This, of course, implies now that she is using sharp knives, just not the REALLY sharp ones!

While preparing for Thanksgiving, Petra asked "Can I use the stove?" And the answer is "No!"

We're all rolling around on the bed, and Petra kneels between us, puts a hand on Mama and Dada, and says "Mine!" in a happy reassured tone.

Out of the mouths of babes

I picked Petra up at school the other day, and while there, a boy was laughing at me saying "You have no hair on top!" (no, no I don't). He even wanted to touch my head.

That evening I was relaying the story to Alison, and Petra said "You're my dada! Not the other kids. [squints an eye up] I'm keeping an eye on you!"

Petra found the tag from a recent bra purchase, and made it her "bookmark." She tucked it into the Mickey Mouse thank you card Grandma sent. It has pictures inside the tag, and she opens it up and reads "Boobs, Boobs, Underwear, Underwear..."

And out of the other end- Accidents every night when grandma was visiting last week. But none since she left. Petra "surprises" us by calling us into the bathroom and saying "Look, I went poop in the potty!" We are required to celebrate. And if it means no more diapers, Hurray!

Our viewers go wild!

Some of the feedback we got about Petra's robot costume:

That is too cute!

OMG!!! Soooooo cute!

She brings a smile to the face, that's for sure! I forget where you are
-- is it cold enough that she'll need tights to go trick-or-treating?

Did you make that? OMG so cute! She is such a pretty girl.

OK, that is a GREAT costume! Also, it proves beyond any doubt that robot
costumes aren't only for boys.

That's awesome, and she looks just thrilled about it!

That's a great costume!

That costume is AWESOME. And the girl in it is awfully cute.

That costume is so freakin' adorable!

That is awesome covered with awesome sauce.

That is freaking aDORable.

The boots are killing me! And her sweet smile too.

That is the smiliest robot I've ever seen.

Yes. And everyone knows that once machines have mastered human emotion
the human race is not long for this world.

That is AWESOME! The boots are fabulous!

That is exactly what a Halloween costume should be.