A Pretty Face and a Ponytail Hanging Down

We finally have enough hair for a bit of STYLING. Oh YAY!


She even left it in for a couple of hours, according to her daycare teacher.

Table Manners

The other day, we gave Sam dinner, and Alison had finished her food and was down from her chair, toddling around. Sam started to eat, and she took a look at him, went over to her bib drawer, pulled out a bib, walked back over to him, and held it out to him with her little "da!" noise.

Needless to say, Sam didn't take her up on her offer.

This is why I don't have six children.

My running group (well, with the onset of winter and several second pregnancies, is lately the sit-around-and-eat-brownies group) has a monthly dinner where we all pile over to somebody's house and let the kids run wild. Last night was our turn to host. That's Alison's fanny in the foreground.


The kids loved playing with the Legos. They developed a new game that takes advantage of our home's unique architectural features...

Passing Inspection

Alison had her 18-month checkup yesterday-- she weighs 25.75 pounds (75%) and is 34" high (off the chart). After puking on the doctor (she DOES NOT like having people look in her ears), she received two vaccinations, from which she recovered quickly after the application of Band-Aids shaped like crayons and a dog sticker.

As a reward/errand to pick up dog food, we went to the pet store. Alison likes to look at the birds, the fish, the guinea pigs, the alligator (yes, they have one)...and the girls who run it are very nice people who take good care of Sam when he boards there. They invited Alison into the back room, where they foster a really big turtle! He popped out his head to say hello and delighted her by helping himself to his salad lunch while she watched. I think we're SO READY for the zoo in the spring.

Reading Is Fundamental

Boo and I beat the winter blues on Monday by hitting the Barnes and Noble after naptime. It was fun (at least until she started trying to dismantle the Beatrix Potter display). We picked up some new reads, which is more for Jeff and I and for her-- it's easier to keep up the important task of reading to your kid when the books aren't the same ones you've read a million times before. We picked up Make Way For Ducklings, The Giving Tree, and one about a dog called-- savor the irony-- Sam Is Never Scared. That's her new favorite.

She's REALLY starting to respond to her books, in a way that makes us suspect that she's actually understanding some of the story. In The Giving Tree, when the boy cuts down the tree's trunk to make his boat, she pointed to the picture of the stump and burst into tears.

Just now I read Ruby and Bubbles to her (I'm trying to read to her before naptime as a way to have some "quality time" with her after daycare while keeping her simmered down for naps) and when I reached the part where Ruby gives Bubbles his name, I read, "Bubbles! Yeah, Bubbles!" and Alison crowed "Bah-bah!" while pointing at the picture of him. Awesome.

No Means No!

Wonderful.

Oh, WONDERFUL.

Alison now understands how to refuse, abstain, disagree, differ in opinion, take a courageous stand, reject, etc. etc. etc.

She doesn't *say* "no." (Not yet, anyway.) But she shakes her head vigorously. And it's not in response to every question either, and when she does it she gives us an additional clue that she really understands what we're asking her and that she is replying definitively in the negative. Last night, we asked her if she was ready to get out of the tub when she stood up, and she shook her head and promptly sat back down. Ask her if she wants more juice, and she shakes her head and even reaches out to push away her cup if you're holding it. Ask her if she wants to try a bite of something marginally healthy, and she shakes her head and swats her hands near her mouth. You get the idea.

On one hand, this is a good thing, because it helps us figure out what exactly she needs (rather than having to go through the menu of possible needs every time her mood changes). You can just ask her. We've been able to do this for some time anyway, because she's been able to give us a signal to answer "yes" (want a nap? if yes, runs to the gate), but it helps to also know what she doesn't need.

On the other hand...well, it's a sign that soon she will figure out that she has free will. Again, a good thing.

When she's 22.

Boo Parts

I haven't posted for a bit because I've been waiting for Alison to bust out with something new since our Christmas visit. Well, now she has and she blew our minds with it.

She's still not saying many audible words-- babbling like crazy, but nothing recognizable. But she knows words, and we discovered on Saturday that she knows the parts of her body!

I made some comment while holding her about her knee, and she pointed to it. Intrigued, I then asked her where her foot was, and she pointed to that. I worked my way through her belly button, her head, her nose-- she knew hand and arm as well, but not as confidently as the others. We had no idea that she had learned this!

The funniest was when I asked her, "where is your eye?"

She hesitated with a troubled expression, then jammed her finger square into her eyeball. Ouch.

Pleased to Meet Ya, Can You Guess My Name?

Alison LOVES "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones. From the moment the little percussion bit at the beginning starts up, she does her little knee bounce dance, then when the rest of the instruments come in, she does her frenetic marching move. Eventually we're going to have to teach her to do the "whoo whoo" bits.

More phone fun: in her Little People playhouse, there's a ringing-telephone sound effect. Whenever she sets it off, Alison studiously puts her hand to her ear, tilts her head, and listens.

Happy New Year!

Hi all-- just posting to dust off the blog and get ready for a new year of stories and pics. I'll post things as they happen!

Thanks again for a terrific Christmas-- all the Little People playsets are a huge hit, especially the school bus and the Noah's Ark animals. It was nice to have time for Boo to bond with all the grands, aunts and uncle. : )

(But next year's holiday is in PA!)