Market Rebound

Hannah told me tonight, "My has a newwwww house."

"Where is your new house?"

"It's in the forest. It's blue and puh-pole and ... pink! My paint it allllll by myself. My play with my doll house there. You can't drive there because we need a new car. We need a pink car!"

Rescuing Baby Orca

Stephanie and Katie have been travelling for a few days now, visiting Stephanie's grandmother in Indiana. Hannah's been (not coincidentally) ensuring that all her animals and dolls are paired up with their "mommies" or, at least, that the location of their mommies is well understood. One of her favorites is a rubber bath orca from the Fisher Price set, and we have not firmly clarified where his "mommy" lives.

Friday was just Hannah, me, and some beautiful southern California weather, so we seized the day and headed to Sea World. Hannah packed up Baby Orca, so, "he can see his mommy!" How exciting!

(I won't say anything about their asinine and inconsistent pricing scheme.)

She was a great sport in the car, and enjoyed the dolphin and orca shows greatly. The hit of the day, though, was the "teacup" ride in the Sesame Street area. and hugging every stuffed dolphin in the gift shop – wish I took that photo.

During the orca show, Hannah was most interested in the trainers, continuously asking about their activities as they entered and left the stage area. The orcas were neat, but she wanted to understand the activities of the trainers. Even after the show she asked where they went and what they did until the next show. Fortunately, Sea World San Diego's design allows guests to watch the training pools from galleries or catwalks, and we spent quite some time watching training and feedings.

We found some relatively healthy food mid-afternoon and a quiet, shady spot to sit. Far more than I expected in mid-Summer. Friday was a great day to visit the park. By the time we headed to the penguin and polar bear pavilions, Hannah was pooped, and so we turned for home. We split a chocolate milkshake and she slept all the way home.

Dragonslayer

"Das a sword. When I get bigger... I have a sword... to scare monsters away!"

Lying to Children

Untruth is highly underrated. This morning we were trying to get some tube socks onto Hannah to leave for Fathers' Day activities. After pulling on her right sock she insisted that the pink sock, "doesn't feel good! Take it off!" You know how this goes. This is the last clean pink sock. She has on a pink shirt. If the socks come off, Mommy is going to insist that the shirt change to match the socks. We're not playing that game today. So, time for a lie.

"Oh, I see the problem, Hannah. This is a left-handed sock. It goes on your left foot. That's why it feels bad." "Oh! Okay!" Hook, line, and sinker. Socks go on. We're out the door. All thanks to: lying to children.

I want to wear that dress!

Hannah loves dresses. This is the moment preceding a "twirl".

Falling Off The Wall

This morning at breakfast Hannah suddenly pointed at the piano bench and announced, very deliberately:

"Humpy dumpy sat on the wall.
Humpy dumpy had... a big fall!
Oh no!
All king's men... All king's horses... couldn't put humpy 'gather again."

We were stunned. She looked back and forth at us, then turned to Stephanie and said, "Sing it, mommy!"

"Whatcha doin' Dad?"

It was only a matter of time. Those who knew me during the Carter administration may remember "Whatcha doin', name?" It has returned with blonde curly hair.

Yup...she's 2!

Ok, so this is not so unusual, but it is fun and it is a daily reminder that Hannah is becoming ever more independent and capable! This morning she almost climbed over the gate at the base of the stairs - yikes!

Things Overheard

This morning Hannah was deep into her morning monologue, talking about and to her world. It struck me just how early we learn certain words and phrases, and how I would like to know how she talked. So, today we are cataloging her words and phrases.

Things Hannah said today:

"Watch Diego, please."
"Diaper time!"
"There's Nana's soda."
"Downstairs, Max... right now!"
"Look at me, mommy!"
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!"
"No."
"Here go: plate" (translation: "take this plate from me")
"Open please."
"That's telephone. Call Nana please."
"Here go: rassbewy. Eat it."
"Where's plate? Dishwasher! Get it."
"Help me, please. Up."
"Boom!"
"More have one: 'puter. It's mine. Please."
"Upsidedown 'gin."
"My turn."
"All better now!"
"No, want Red Dog."
"What happened my toe?"
"Help me find di-di, mommy. Di-di bear! My turn. Mommy, put di-di on bear please."
"Candy... my shirt?" "Yes, Hannah." "Take off!"
"There's Max!"
"No talking! Stop!"
"Oh no! Doggy... fall down!"
"It all better time!"
"It my lollipop."
"Where daddy's shoes? ... Right there!"
"Itchy now."
(Shown this picture) "Hannah! Hannah wash dishes."
"It's mine."
"Muffin time!"
"Lie down, doggie! Night-night."

[ I'll continue updating this throughout the day. ]

Happy Halloween, Happy Birthday, almost!

Hannah turns 2, ok, well, in just a few days. As it goes, we are always eager to have a party, and Halloween seemed a perfect opportunity to invite Hannah's buddies over for lots of sugar and mayhem! Hannah and the kids decorated pumpkins and sugar cookies, played with play dough, and generally had a good time. The favorite toy seemed to be Hannah's new rocking horse, which comes complete with sound effects and motions. The kids all had fun petting and riding the horse. Hannah was quite reluctant to share her new treasure, so a little distraction was in order, lest she exclaim, "My horsie!" We had lots of fun and glad for everyone who came and shared her birthday with us. Pictures to follow.