It's an Inside Joke...You Wouldn't Understand...

On Tuesday, I took what a former boss of mine would call a "Mental Health Day." I took the day off to spend time with Newmommy and Bud, and to take part in the activities I typically don't see (which included a trip to My Gym...no, not my gym, I'm not much of a workout guy, I mean My Gym.)

By the end of the day, I realized that Bud reserves certain words & phrases for me...as if they are our own little inside jokes. When I'm gone, Bud will repeat them, but then say "Daddy." Here's a few:

• "Yeeee-haaaa!" I think I said this once in passing, but you haven't lived until you've seen a seventeen month-old cowgirl.
  
• "Amazing!" When Bud started walking, I said, "Wow! That's Amaaaazing!" Now, whenever she does something she knows is right; she'll turn to me and say "Amazing!" I think that's a Mets catch-phrase, so we gotta get that in check before April. (Along with her mis-pronunciation of "Excuse Me", which sounds an awful lot like "Do Me." Who do you think you are, Bel Biv Devoe?)
• "Ball" Yes, I'm teaching Bud to throw a ball. It's never to early to learn the basics.
• "Chaoup" (a chomping sound). I pretended to eat her nose once, and she's been trying to get me back ever since.

She's also counting to ten now, and sort of spelling her name. She gets very excited when she gets to ten (as do we), but she won't count on cue. You just need to be there. As far as spelling her name, I think it's more our repetition than anything, but it's still cute to hear.

Oh, and there is one more thing she says to me often: "Daddy Home." It's cute, but then I realize that my being home is relatively unusual for her, considering I spend most of 5 days out of the week away from her. That's a bit depressing.

Can I Get Some Service Over Here?!?!?

One of the most fascinating things about parenting is watching your child suddenly make a connection: they realize a fact of life (no, not the kind with Tottie and Blair) and immediately change their behavior to account for it. We had one of those moments this morning.

Up until today, Bud's wake-up routine was pretty easy. There would be a good thirty-minute or so period where she would wake up; grunt and moan for bit followed by some quiet talking, followed by some louder talking. The talking was happy and content, so we let her wake up during that period...giving us time to do the same. I think those days are over.

My guess is that last night, Elmo came to Bud in a dream and said (in that annoying high-pitched voice...) "Hey, Bud, do you realize, you can call your parents in the morning and they will come and get you?? That way, we can get to playing much quicker!! Elmo loves you!!"

7:00 am: "Moooooooooooommmyyyy! Aaaaare you???? Daaaaaaaaaaaadddddyyyyy! Aaaaaare you??? P-lay, p-lay, p-lay."

Swiper: An Other?

Bud is a toddler.

I'm not sure what it means to "toddle," but I'm sure it involves the regular repetition of the words "No," "Play" and some form of "Playroom" (C'lay-ma-loom). As I've noted earlier, when Bud is done eating, she declares "All Done!" and then proceeds to sing the "Clean Up" song while throwing on the floor whatever food remains in her tray. She really does think she's helping...thanks, Bud, but..uh, no thanks. All this is an attempt to get back to the playroom as quickly as possible.

She also has entered the age where she's obsessed with Dora the Explorer. Just in case you've been living under a rock, Dora the Explorer is a show featuring a Spanish speaking little girl, Dora, and her monkey friend, Boots, who together go on adventures. They find their way with the help of a character creatively named "The Map," all the while trying to dodge a masked fox named Swiper who's always trying to Dora-jack them. This Swiper is a real asshole, in one particular episode, Dora is helping a ladybug bring a cookie home to feed her ten (!!) children, when Swiper grabs it and throws it into the forest. Like I said- a real asshole. It's bad enough that this ladybug has ten kids; and you know it's a really bad situation when she needs to go deep into the forest to get ONE cookie to feed all ten kids. (Let's not even get into the questions of the nutritional value of the cookie as sustenance for even one kid...we can also skip the question: where was the ladybug's husband this whole time??) But Swiper didn't even eat the cookie: he just chucked it into the forest like that kid in camp when I was five who took my lollypop and threw it onto a rotten banana. Someone ought to kick that Swiper right in the junk.

I learned today, however, that the voice of Swiper is also the voice of the Map. Coincidence? I don't know about you, but I think this has the makings of a "Lost" plot...the Map has been one of the Others the whole time, secretly gaining the trust of Dora and her friends. And now, that her guard is down...he can direct the team right into the hands of Swiper.

I'm still working out how Dora can get into the Jack-Sawyer-Juliette-Kate situation.

Is There An Echo In Here?

Bud is talking up a storm. She perfects her mastery of a word or phrase by repeating it over and over and over...

Here's an example: "Good Morning." I don't know where she picked it up, but she spent a good part of yesterday saying it. As we passed the front desk on our way to swimming, Bud says to the receptionist, "Good Morning." Then to everyone in the locker room..."Good Morning, Good Morning." Well into the afternoon. I don't really fault her for that, she doesn't wear a watch.

Example number two: Doctor. She went to the doctor today, and received a doctor playset over the weekend. She sounds like a scene out of "Spies Like Us." "Doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor."

Three: Talk. Newmommy and I are driving home from dinner at a friend's place last night, when Bud requests that we turn her CD off. We do, and she says "talk." "OK," we say, "what do you want to talk about?" We talk about Nana and Papa and Auntie and whomever else she raises in her "rollcall", Elmo, Ba-beet (Big Bird), etc. Then, we're quiet for five seconds. Suddenly, we hear...."talk!"

And, tonight, about a week late..."Touchdown!" "Touchdown!"

She rules.

I'm Not Perfect...No I'm Not...

Those are lyrics to the Laurie Berkner song, "I'm Not Perfect," a song that Bud, much to the dismay of Newgrandma, has taken to singing. (She believes that her granddaughter is perfect, which is, of course, true, if you disregard her throwing her French toast on the floor while singing "clean up, clean up...") OK, Bud's not perfect...but she's pretty good at sports pics, apparently, with a solid 3-0 record so far.

But you know who's really not perfect? The New England Patriots.

CONGRATULATIONS NEW YORK GIANTS!!!!

Let's Get Some Shoes

In honor of Bud's gradual mastery of walking, today we took her to get her first pair of shoes. As parents with their "first", we made a huge deal about this otherwise ordinary trip to the shoe store. Bud's feet measured a '6', and I have the photographs to prove it. Yes, the shoe salesman thought I was crazy for taking pictures. (Yeah, like I'm the first over-proud daddy to take his kid for shoes.)

After we bought the shoes (which, by the way, were double the price I was expecting...), we decided to try them out by walking around town. Bud was great on her first outdoor walk...she made it down to the end of the block. Bud walks like a drunken sailor on downers, wobbly and slow.

On the ride home, she kept playing with her shoes and saying "shoes....shoes..." It's a lot funnier... as is the title of this post...if you've seen this. I guess Bud's a fan. She seemed proud...like she knew that getting shoes is something reserved only for the illustrious "Big Girls."

Oh, and by the way...it worked last time...so I'll take the long-shot and try it again:

Bud's Superbowl pic:

New England Cheater-McCheatties vs. the Giants of Jersey

Upset- Giants by a field goal.

GO GIANTS!!!

Earmuffs!

"Having kids is great, you can teach them to hate the things you hate." - Homer Simpson

You can also teach them tricks. I've noticed that Bud is picking up so many words, mannerisms and facial expressions without any instruction. I figured, with some instruction, surely she can learn some cute...I hesitate to use the word..."tricks."

I decided to teach Bud "earmuffs" from the movie Old School. For a few days, I would say "earmuffs" and hold my own ears. Then, for a few more days, I would hold her ears while saying "earmuffs." Then, I took her hands to hold her own ears.

Last week she sort-of got it. I said "earmuffs," and she put one hand to one ear. Great, halfway there. This week, the response is both hands over her mouth. I'm not sure if that's a step forward or back, but I think I can have her doing this by the end of the month. Won't that be great at parties?

Oh, and she's full-on walking now. And when I say "full-on", I mean 15 to 20 steps, followed by a fall.