It's All About ME!

The Poobah is talking up a storm now. Not that it's all understandable, but she's slowly training us to interpret the nuances of her language.

"Weeee!" with a certain hand gesture means "I want to go swing!" A finger held up to the nose accompanied by something that sounds like "Mo, mo, mo" translates to "one more time" (interpreted in Remi's mind as something more like "again!" since one more time can actually be, like, a hundred more times). "Pee-ew!" with a hand wave in front of her nose may mean that she needs a diaper change, but may just as easily mean nothing.

But her latest communication achievement is "Me!" Simple, to the point.

I first heard her assert her me-ness when I took her to Fairyland last week. She caught sight of the ferris wheel and immediately started pointing at her puffed-out chest and declaring "Me! Me!" I didn't get it at first. Mostly because I seriously doubted that she wanted to ride the ferris wheel. But I was wrong.

The closer we got, the more determined her little "me's" became. And so we got in line, which wasn't moving fast enough for the Poobah's liking, so every couple minutes she'd re-assert "Me!" And it was finally her turn and I put her in the little toddler-size cage, which does not fit a Mama. She was okay for about 2 minutes, and then panic set in. And Me wanted out. And it didn't take any words or special interpretive abilities to figure out that screaming and putting her little fingers through the cage mesh meant "Get me out of here, NOW!"

So we did. And the tears subsided. And the moment we came in sight of the carousel her little chest puffed out, her little finger pointed, and her little voice declared "Me!"

Book Addicts Anonymous

Remi's addicted to reading. To the point where she's started bringing her books with her on outings the way other kids bring a blanket or a stuffed animal.

"Remi, do you want to go to a party and play with other kids?" A quick nod "yes" and then she runs to get a few books to take along. We stop at Trader Joe's on the way and the books have to come in with us. Remi has to carry them -- any attempts to help are met with tears and a determined effort to take them back. This lasts until we get to the blueberry display, at which point all books are forgotten in favor of her current favorite food.

She's started treating the books and the characters in them like 3-dimensional friends: she kisses the characters, encourages the animals to come out and play with her (hasn't happened yet, but she keeps trying), and often just gives the books themselves a good strong hug.

At Remi's insistence, the reading thing has taken on a life of it's own. We read at bedtime, of course, but now we also read first thing in the morning and on waking from a nap. Five or six books at a time, usually. At dinner time she often escapes the boredom of the table to pilfer through the small bookshelf I have in the dining room. Her current favorite choices are A Breath of Snow and Ashes (a time-travel romance novel series) and The Art of Racing in the Rain (which likely appeals to her because of the dog on the cover).

Now don't get me wrong: I'm not complaining. As far as addictions go, I'll take books over, say, kiddie crack Elmo. I myself used to walk home from school with my nose in a book. It's a wonder I never got lost.

Baby Kisses

The Baby Kiss is kind of a unique, open-mouthed experience. As in, "Remi, can I have a Baby Kiss?" and if she's in the mood to comply she leans in to carefully place her wide open mouth over yours. It's charming, really.

Making Resolutions

Okay, so, Remi's not big on the language thing yet. She's got "Mama" down, though it's got a pretty liberal application (Dylan, Drake, visiting grandmas, aunts, and even Chris has earned a "mama" or two). She's also got "uh-oh" (often preceded by a purposeful dropping of some sort), and the other night she managed "hot," though that hasn't been repeated since. There are a few animal sound in her repertoire, as well: ruff-ruff and a rather unusual meow.

For a small person with very limited language skills, though, she's sure got communication down.

There's the purposeful push to get a person out of a chair, whether it is to then sit there herself or lead said person elsewhere. There is taking the hand to lead... somewhere. There is patting a spot to show a person where it is acceptable to sit. There is moving one's hand to a proper position, pointing, "aaahhnnn"-ing, and, when all else fails, there is screaming.

So Remi's got some resolutions this year. Printed in crayon. With a little help from Drake.

1. Learn Some Words
2. Learn to use the Potty

Pretty simple. And already, since the time I started this post (a week ago, mind you), she's got another word: "Wow." Used in appropriate context. Multiple times. With appropriate reverence.

the sorting game

remi's really into sorting things these days. on a very basic level. like, she moves all her animals from one side of her to another, one at a time, then back to the original side. this can go on for quite some time (and believe me, i'm pretty thrilled about her ability to self-entertain!).

but i guess what i find really interesting is more about the exclusion. like the other night at grandma's house (we're staying with drake's mom right now), she dumped all her bath toys into the bathtub, and i added this toy that was sitting on the side of the tub. and she got very upset.

"aaahhhnnn! aaaahhhhnnnn!" pointing to the toy, until i figured out the problem and removed the offender from the crowd. the offender then had to be returned to the place it had come from before all was right with the world again.

and i can't quite figure out how the exclusionary system works. in this case, you might think "new and nonfamiliar vs. familiar." but later we were piling animals into her sled to go for a ride around the living room, familiar, nonfamiliar, new, old. and all was harmony until the ape got in. she picked out the ape and tossed him aside. i went to adding animals and tried the ape again.

"aaahhhnnnn! aaaaahhhhnnnnn!" and out he went again. why the ape? who knows. perhaps he'd been a bad ape. perhaps she just didn't like his looks. at any rate, today he's out of the doghouse and into the sled.

Remi and the Baby Dolls

wow. what kind of a pathetic mother am i. here remi is 15 months old, and not only did i post nothing about her birthday party (a pink pirate theme, by the way), but i've posted nothing at all for the start of her second year. jeesh.

but she is a font of fascinating development. currently she's way into dancing to toddler tunes and chasing the dog around with her baby stroller. she runs after him and just laughs and laughs. thank god the dog is good for something more than just cleaning up after toddler eating.

beyond being used as a torture device for the dog, she just loves dolls, which i find kind of interesting. she cuddles the dolls, feeds them, bathes them, and, on one occasion, even attempted breastfeeding. i guess, really, it's just all about imitation, and childcare is something she sees a lot of right now.

First Teeth

There have been a lot of firsts for Remi recently.

First it was the teeth. Then, one day, she slipped and hit her chin. Those teeth hit her tongue and voila! Remi discovered she had a tongue. For days she went around experimenting with her tongue. Before discovering her tongue she discovered her head, which she occasionally holds with both hands. Does she think it will fly off? Perhaps. It's hard to say.
She can go up stairs now. The first time that happened, I was working in the front yard, and off she crawls to the stairs. I redirected her a couple of times, and then I just let her go. That first day she climbed to the top of the steps three times before she pooped out. Now she'll climb the stairs any chance she gets: We're no longer allowed to carry her up to the front door -- she practically flies out my arms whenever we approach.

And she's discovered doors. That they open and close. Over and over. And that she can stand on one side of the french doors and look in at us. And make faces. And smash her face against the glass. And then she just giggles and giggles and giggles...