Raising the mini-goddess

So here’s the news about the youngest whippersnapper in our lives. Katie is pretty much like she always is: A new word every day or two, happy, and energetic. She has developed an attachment to her blankie in the past couple of weeks. She’s never been a “lovey” kid. She just never had that special stuffed animal, toy, or other “transitional object” (as the books call them). But now her blankie is her best friend. The pink one with the satin on one side and the fuzzy stuff on the other side. We’re very lucky with her because, other than a few little dust-ups, we haven’t seen much of the terrible twos yet. She definitely is feisty and tries the boundaries but she seems to adapt pretty quickly when she figures out that the parents are wise to the latest trick she has for getting her way. She tries it for awhile – fussing, temper, whining, whatever – and gives up pretty quickly when it doesn’t work. One of the things I like best about our day is any time we get to talk. Yes, that’s right, I have conversations with a two year old. I often need my toddler decoder ring to figure out what she’s saying, but she has a lot to tell me and is always very intent about getting her message across. She’s also pretty patient as I figure out what she’s saying. My favorite phrases are: nack (snack), gink (drink), tank you mommy, wub you mommy, and booze cooz (Blue’s Clues). She says “tank you” without being prompted so I guess the 10,000 times we said, “And what do you say?” have finally paid off! Her daycare is pretty good with reinforcing the pleases and thank yous, too. Another favorite is one that took me awhile to figure out. It sounds like she’s saying, “kiss ass” but what she’s actually saying is, “close eyes.” She likes to have me pretend to be asleep, thus the “kiss ass” directive. She makes me lay down and turn over on my stomach (“tun ober mommy”). She covers me with her blankie and says, “kiss ass.” Then she pats/pounds my back saying, “night night mommy” over and over. Then, after a minute or two, it’s “my tun mommy!” And we reverse the process, although it’s not as cute since I can say my Rs and am not two. This night-night game is apparently a big hit at school as all her little friends take turns playing it with each other.

Of course, a big issue in our house right now is potty training. We’ve got the Pull-Ups, the potty chair, the whole deal. She goes in the potty occasionally (“I pee pee in the potty!!!” is a frequent announcement when I pick her up from daycare) and is getting better at going more consistently. Our hope is that she’s pretty well trained by the end of the summer but that may be a bit ambitious. Ethan taught us that what more experienced parents say is true: They do it on their own timelines and you can’t force it. But we certainly encourage it!

She’s always been a pretty easy baby. Even in the womb, she didn’t keep me awake at night moving around like other women report their babies do. She had a definite schedule of movement and it always concluded by about 10.30. She stayed pretty still throughout the night. I was awake anyway most of the time (I pee pee in the potty! Over and over again!) but not because of Katie moving. She was a challenge early on because of severe reflux. I had always heard of projectile vomiting but had never seen it until Katie. I’m talking the real thing – no kidding, Linda Blair-style emanations -- several times a day. It tends to be a bit difficult to get used to but the various cleaning companies – clothing, carpets, furniture – enjoyed it. But even when she had pain from her reflux, she’s always been pretty chipper and easy to please. I can definitely see diva potential, though, just like with all kids, and so we’re working on making sure any demanding or unnecessary fussing is not successful in getting her what she wants. Truth be told, I like her feistiness because I love women who are strong and independent, but Jerome is not so fond of the quality in a child. I agree that there's a time and a place for it, but my perspective is that those hairy-legged boys are going to come sniffing around one day and a young woman needs to be comfortable with saying (and meaning) no, or she’ll not be able to handle herself very well and find herself in some places she regrets. Compliance makes our lives as parents easier but overly-compliant children make me a little nervous. Leadership ability later on in life depends on being able to think for yourself and I want to foster that quality now, and not try to instill it later on. There’s a fine line between feisty and bratty, though, so we make sure we don’t let this go too far and that we keep the balance between speaking her mind and respecting us as parents. I think I’ve convinced J that raising a future goddess means tolerating a little feistiness here and there. :-)

I think my favorite thing Katie does is dancing. Ethan danced some when he was little but Katie pops up and shakes a tailfeather whenever music comes on. She shakes her bottom, hops around, and moves her arms with abandon, all with a very intent and happy look on her face. I took a lot of dance growing up so I hope she enjoys this later on. We applaud loudly and sometimes dance around with her (“Dance, mommy!”)

Needless to say, they both bring us a lot of joy and I feel very lucky.