Big girls

Alice is such a joy these days. Sunny, mischievous, funny... She loves to start a joke, whether getting me to pretend to nibble her feet, play hide-and-seek, or make a show of horror at the stinkiness of her diaper. She remains independent in her daily play yet is also loving, snuggling in for cuddles and kisses, which she bestows freely herself. (Baby kisses are one of the best things in the world.) She loves arriving at daycare each morning, reaching eagerly for her seat at the table, pointing at other babies as she names them, then requesting Cheerios. She settles in and waves me a cheery farewell, sometimes blowing a kiss. Then in the afternoons she is all smiles again when we arrive to pick her up, running into my arms and turning to wave and announce a cheerful "Bye-bye!" to her teachers.


Another great moment is first thing in the morning, after she has nursed in our bed and is ready to start the day. She sits up and does one of three things: (1) signs and says eat, pointing to the kitchen to get us to the breakfast table, (2) announces dog, pointing to the kitchen to indicate we should let Bismarck out, or (3) or raises her arms and sways a little and hums, then points to the kitchen to indicate that we should go put on the Putomayo African Playground CD and all dance. Baby (and preschooler) dancing is in a close race with baby kisses for Best Thing in the World.


We don't want Alice to accuse us of not documenting her childhood as carefully as her older sister's, so when I happened the other day on a list I made of Edith's spoken vocabulary at age 15 1/2 months, I realized the timing was right to make a similar list for Alice. Though she has slightly fewer words than her sister did at this age, her calm, clear, confident communication makes them highly effective.

WORDS ALICE SAYS as of MARCH 22, 2010 (15 1/2 MONTHS)

1. daddy
2. Dee-Dee [Edith]
3. dog
4. baby
5. milk
6. eat
7. amen
8. more
9. hot
10. all done/all gone
11. go
12. no
13. up
14. bottle
15. spoon
16. cup
17. apple
18. cheese
19. cracker
20. yogurt
21. avocado
22. fish
23. teeth
24. head
25. hat
26. shoes
27. coat
28. off
29. on
30. book
31. bird
32. neigh
33. moo
34. duck
35. grrr
36. ball
37. tree
38. airplane
39. car
40. bus
41. bike
42. vroom
43. potty
44. keys
45. yuck
46. balloon
47. bubble
48. bath
49. out
50. mommy
51. Holly
52. Ella
53. Elmo
54. bye-bye
55. hi
56. hello
57. night-night
58. kiss

One of the interesting things for me was where the lists diverged. Tom noted, for example, that help was a key word for Edith at this age, whereas Alice doesn't know it. She doesn't tend to get frustrated, and she likes to try to do things for herself, so there hasn't been much need for it. On the other hand, as a younger child she has learned potty and Elmo far earlier. She even has tried to say princess, we think, though denial kept me from listing it.

She continues to be a peanut at 18 pounds + change, having hardly gained from her 12-month appointment due to a nasty flu bug a few weeks ago. Yet looking at these pictures of her playing in the yard this weekend, it's shocking to me to realize how un-baby-ish she is.

For her part, Edith is a wonderful companion at this age. She is geeking out on science at school in a way that is wonderful to listen to, while she still loves stories as much as ever. She takes as much delight in the arrival of spring as I do and this weekend shouted with excitement whenever she spotted daffodils blooming or pink blossoms coming out on the cherry trees. She remembers particular blooming trees from last year and is watching them eagerly to see when they will burst forth. I'm so glad she takes instinctive joy in nature.

She saw many of the new blossoms on family bike rides this weekend, a new pursuit that promises to be a highlight of our spring and summer. Santa souped up my bike and Tom's this past Christmas so that I could carry Alice on the back in a baby seat, while Edith could ride behind Tom on one of those extensions that allows a young child to pedal along behind mom or dad without being responsible for balance or steering. Considering the glacial pace at which she rides her own little two-wheeler, I was concerned that being on the extension bike might be too scary for her, but she loves it and is up for quite lengthy rides around town, it turns out. So we've enjoyed a couple of first outings and look forward to more to come.

She continues to shoot up and now wears an incredible size 6X as often as a 5. And even, on occasion, a 7/8! Since this means she has outstripped her main hand-me-down source sizewise, this past Saturday we went to procure her a summer wardrobe. She agreed to be woken early in order to attend a children's goods thrift sale with me, since I'm reluctant to buy her clothes at this point without her approval. She has decided that buttons are boyish, for example, and won't wear anything with buttons too prominently displayed.

Despite such particular opinions, she isn't generally interested enough in clothes to find a thrift sale that compelling, so I was proud of her ability to remain calm and helpful for an hour amidst the bustle. I had told her that if she refrained from whining and was patient, she could pick out one toy at the end. After I'd been at the table of clothes her size poring through the piles for about 15 minutes, she announced, "Mom, I'm not impatient to leave this place, but I'm a little impatient to maybe go see another part of the sale. What do you say?" It struck me as quite a mature disciplining of her own urges to frame it that way. She helped until the end and ultimately chose as her reward a 50-cent used Volkswagen Bug that reminded her of Susie the Little Blue Coupe in an old Disney cartoon she likes. She brought the Bug home to watch the Susie cartoon, christening her Uzy (cousin of Susie), and spent the afternoon decorating her with new stickers and introducing her to her new toy friends. All of which reassured me that the girl in the size 7/8 flowered sundress is still four years old, after all.