She keeps growing, both physically and in personality.

Happy Halloween!

You’re never left wondering what she thinks about anything. Just this morning, she put Mama through the ringer about putting on her diaper, then brother’s undies on top, but then wanting diaper off but I think keeping on the undies, and I walked into the situation at about the time Mama gave up on assisting in this project, to which she responded with a loud crying tantrum on the floor.

Soon after, at the breakfast table, she wanted (read: loudly demanded) peach yogurt. Mama says we don’t have it. But she wants it. But we don’t have it. Okay then plain yogurt. Okay. No not that one. Okay then this one. Okay. But she wants jam in it! Okay here’s some jam. Don’t mix it in! We are mixing it, it’s not okay to just eat the jam. She finishes it before Mama can even walk away. More yogurt! Okay but no more jam, we’re out of jam now. I want to get down!

Speaking of demanding, here’s how these conversations always start:

Her: I want yogurt!

Me: How do you ask nicely?

Her: Nicely!

Me: What does nicely sound like?

Her: Pleeeease.

She knows how to get what she wants, and only what she wants. Yesterday’s exchange with me:

Her: I want juice!

Me: Ok I’ll get you some juice – juice and a kiss, juice and a kiss!

Her: No! Just juice. No kiss. Yes juice. No kiss!

Update on preschool: as of several weeks ago, the transition seems to be complete. No more tears at drop off and seemingly pretty happy to be there. She eats her lunches, takes her naps, and absorbs everyone’s colds. Just like I felt with Nashi way back when, I’m glad she’s now getting a wider variety of influences and activities during her days. Her best days are when she comes home with paint all over her face, hair, and belly. If I pick her up at or right before late afternoon snack time, I better be prepared to wait.

She is an active beast at bedtime. In the good ol’ days, I’d give her a nice warm bottle of milk at bedtime and she’d usually fall asleep before finishing. Those days are over. We’ve also mostly eliminated the bottle, particularly at bedtime. In its stead, she stands up, plays with stuffed animals, sits on my head, tries to leave the bed, looks out the window, sings, jumps, talks, burrows through the blankets, and waits until she’s exhausted herself before considering lying still for long enough to fall asleep. Sometimes in her sleep she’ll start yelling something like “I want sausage!” Did I mention she’s a good eater?

On a super cute note, she calls her backpack a packpack. She still loves wearing Nashi’s clothes and her favorite shoes are her tall red rain boots. She insists on doing things by herself, especially walking up and down stairs.

The most unreasonable thing is when she’s in the car with Nashi: he will do his thing, making noises or singing or talking, and she’ll decide that behavior is unacceptable. If Nashi starts saying doop doop doop then Papaya yells “No! Don’t do doop doop doop!” Of course this makes Nashi do it more, so we get more “No! Noooo! No doop doop doop!” and she’ll start screaming and crying. I tell Nashi to please stop and he of course responds with a quiet “pap pap pap” to which we get a “NO! Nashi’s saying pap pap pap! NO PAP PAP PAP!!” and hysterics ensue.

It’s all a very zoo-like adventure and I have no doubt she’ll be the loudest member of our family.