...And Counting

I realized this morning I forgot a few words:

Peekaboo
Flower
Bike

And now I can't remember the rest. But there were more. And I swear today she said to me, "I want to go in the car."

Another funny change that has happened is she's developed a bit of (healthy) fear. This is especially noticeable with dogs. Her latest behavior when approached by a dog is to be totally thrilled - laughs and squeals - while at the same time burying her head in my shoulder or grabbing me around the legs and scrambling to be picked up. Yesterday at a friends' house their big dog chased her around the room. I soooo wish we had gotten it on video. She was completely intent on getting away from the dog and into the arms of whichever adult was closest, but she was not distressed in the least. Now she refuses to pet dogs, even when we are holding her. She has also stopped trying to pet Kitty (although she does screech at her to try to get the cat to move or jump out the window, which she always does).

"No" has now made a meaningful appearance. When she says "no" she means it - No! (don't take that away from me) No! (I do not want my diaper changed) No! (I do not want that food you are trying to force on me) No! (I do not want to get in my carseat) I can't wait until this phase passes.

On another note, Hana got her first pair of big girl shoes yesterday. In fact, we bought two pairs. I may return one. I am a sucker mom who has bought all the marketing hype that unless you want to damage your kid's feet for life, you have to buy good quality shoes. Each pair was over $40 each!!! And the average lifetime of shoes at this age is 3 months before they grow into the next size. Ridiculous. Guess an Ivy League college is out of the question now. We won't be able to afford it because we have to divert the money to support her shoe habit.

Vocabulary

I have been wanting to sit down and see if I can list all of Hana's words but haven't had the chance until now. Let's see...

Food:
Cheese
Milk
Water
Broccoli
Peas
Cracker
Apple
Numanum (this means banana)

Animals:
Kitty

Animal sounds:
Woof woof
Meow
Moo
Caw caw

Other:
Whee
E I E I O
Yes
No (accompanied by vigorous shake of the head)
Hi
Hello (when holding phone to ear)
Bye
Dada
Mama (only very occasionally, but more and more every week)
Car
Keys
Up
Hot
Shoes
Ball
Babo (this means belly button)
Diaper
Wash
Brush
Walk
Rock
Baby
Pee pee (when she sees someone go in the bathroom :)

Phrases:
I want to go
More...(fill in the blank, usually with "cheese")
All done
Up above (when we sing Twinkle Twinkle)

Wow, that's about 40 words, and I'm sure I've forgotten some. We've sure got a talker on our hands. It just blows my mind how quickly her language has developed. And of course she understands much more than this. (Does she do what we say though? Nope! I understand it will be a few years before the obedience neurons start firing.)

Social Butterfly

Hana is quite the budding social butterfly these days. Last week on the way to Tahoe, Pete had an errand to run on our way out of town, so Hana and I hung out at the Claremont Hotel for about 30 minutes. We plunked ourselves in the lobby, and Hana danced to the player piano and shouted "Hi!" to everyone passing through. She even threw her arms around a few complete strangers. Every occasion since then has been a repeat performance, and god forbid you should not respond if she says "hi" to you. Then she ratchets up the speed and volume "hi hi hi Hi Hi Hi HI HI HI!!!!!" until you make eye contact and respond.

She also went on her first "big girl" hike this weekend in Pescadero. It was our friend Doug's 40th birthday hike. She started out in the Ergo but didn't last very long. She pretty much walked the rest of the way - almost 2 miles out and back! It took awhile, as she kept getting sidetracked by something off the path or she wanted to retrace her steps, but she had a great time. Every time we got walking at a good clip, she would say "Walka walka walka." Speaking of which, new words are emerging every day, and she understands so much of what we say now that we really have to watch what comes out of our mouths!

The Sickie

Hana has another urinary tract infection! After a few days of on and off fever and just general crankiness and clinginess, the pediatrician advised us to take her to urgent care on Saturday. Sure enough, the test came back positive. So in addition to standard treatment, Hana will now go through some tests to see if there is anything specific that is predisposing her to these infections. Usually the tests come back negative, but it's worth checking because if there is something going on anatomically, it may be correctable.

Otherwise, Hana is still doing great. She keeps on talking up a storm and climbing everything in sight. The first hints of a temper tantrum-like phase are beginning to show. Sometimes, she just wants to do it herself and will swat my hand away. Which would be fine, except usually I have my hand there for a reason - like trying to keep her from walking off the edge of the table she has insisted on standing upon. And the whining!! Oy. A favorite activity has become whining to be picked up, then you pick her up and she whines and points to where she wants to go until you go there. And if you don't, then she howls. If she is standing on her own when she wants something that you won't let her have, she erupts in a frustrated cry and stamps her feet. It would really be quite cute if it wasn't so...irritating. :) As her communication skills improve, I think the whiny-ness will diminish because she will be able to articulate what she wants. So we are grateful that she seems to be very inclined towards learning to talk.