Baby or Kid?

Hana is experiencing some ambivalence about her impending birthday. She is very excited that she is going to "turn into a kid" in less than 2 months. At the same time, she is clinging to babyhood, as evidenced by the fact that she has begun to refer to herself in the third person as "The Baby," as in
"Pick The Baby up" and "The Baby wants some milk." In the car today, she made up her own Wheels on the Bus verse:

The Hana Baby says pick me up, pick me up, pick me up...

I have read about this ambivalence, and of course it's normal for kids to "regress" at times, but I never thought it would be quite so literal.

On another note, I am pleased to report that Hana did not inherit my terrible sense of direction. She now points and tells me which way to go when I am driving someplace, or instructs me to go up or down a hill, and she's always right. The other day while backseat driving she said, "Mommy, I'm helping you to go 'whee' [that's one of her words for driving] because I don't want you to get lost." She also knows the difference between red and green traffic lights and tells me when to stop and go.

Tomorrow we are going to try a morning of arts and crafts - pipe cleaners, sequins, homemade play doh, markers (washable), colored paper, glue, egg crates, etc. Check back here for pics of any masterpieces that Hana cooks up.

Easter Movies

Easter Trip to SoCal

Hana made the prettiest easter egg of all! (see last pic) She dipped it and rolled it around in 3 or 4 different colors and it came out with all different shades of blues and reds, perfectly blended.

Thank You Grandma!

No Nap Hana

Picture this - walking down Piedmont Avenue, me carrying screaming Hana, who has fistfuls of my hair and is clawing my face and trying to bite me, and I'm screaming back "Ow, Hana STOP IT!!!!" and trying to pull her hands out of my hair while carrying my purse and her new bicycle helmet. (I'm only carrying her because just seconds earlier she refused to hold me hand and bolted into the street.) All the other families with nice calm children are staring at us like we are lunatics.

We did make it back to the car, barely. We got home, she dashed out of the car, and fell and skinned both her knees. HOWLED bloody murder. We went upstairs, I gave her some milk, and she went straight to bed. Haven't heard a peep.

Lesson learned: No matter what, Hana MUST have a nap.

Language Explosion

Hana's development always seems to occur in these periodic bursts - and she's done it again. It's hard to characterize, but something has happened with her language development in the last couple of days. It's something about her ability to translate abstract concepts into sophisticated and grammatically correct sentences. This morning when I got her from her crib, I asked her if she wanted me to take her shirt off. She said, quite clearly, "Don't take my shirt off. I will be naked if you do that." School got cancelled today, and Pete told her it was cancelled because the teacher was sick. This evening she said to me, "I didn't have school today. Daddy told me the teacher was sick. That's too bad."

She's such an orator, maybe she'll be president! (You heard it here first.)

Funny Conversations

Me (combing her hair in the tub): I'll be gentle, I promise.
Hana: NO THANK YOU MOMMY! I'm going to take that away from you. (grabs comb)

Hana: I'm calling Penny. (her nanny share friend) (picks up disney phone)
Hana: Hello Penny? How you doing? I'm doing very well. Bye bye!

Me (while reading "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"): And here the grandpa is telling Henry and his sister the story.
Hana: Where's the book? (grandpa is not holding a book)
Me: Grandpa is telling the story from his head.
Hana: And from his finger. (in the picture, grandpa is pointing his finger)

Recent Pics

It's impossible to get her to stand still for a photo these days, so mostly it's the back or side of her head...

The Beauty of "No"

Hana has entered the "no" phase vibrantly and with great seriousness and purpose. A verbal "no" just simply won't do. Nor is the rebellion reserved only for situations in which there is truly reason to rebel (such as putting on a diaper - life in diapers can't be very much fun, so I understand the resistance there). The opposition is fierce, physical, and universal to pretty much anything I suggest.

I have developed multiple strategies for fostering Hana's newly discovered independence, while also keeping things generally within the boundaries of what constitutes respectable behavior for an almost 2-year-old. They don't always work, nor do I always apply them with consistency. What can I say? I'm not perfect, and it's exhausting! Sometimes, when I'm just plain *done*, I resort to shameless bribery with things I never thought I would offer as rewards for positive behaviors - TV (in the form of youtube) and ice cream. Beaker from the Muppets singing Ode to Joy (which she calls the "mi mi mi" video) and Gonzo leading a chorus of chickens (which she calls the "bok bok" video) are two all-time favorites.

Despite the daily power struggles, it is fascinating and rewarding to see Hana's personality continue to evolve and express itself. She throws herself wholeheartedly into the moment if something tickles her fancy, and then with the blink of an eye, she's on to the next thing. She is firmly committed to learning exactly how the world works, if for no other reason than she can then try to turn it upside down. I've been teaching her that "The street is only for cars. The sidewalk is for people." I know she understands this and she can explain it back to me in her own words. Now that she comprehends that this is how things work, it serves as a springboard for dashing off into the street in defiance of the rules. (Fortunately, the "street" is the cul de sac near my building, so it's not dangerous.) She knows that food stays on the plate and that she needs to sit or kneel while she eats, and therefore in her eyes this is grounds for running amok with food in mouth and ensuring that food is evenly distributed within a 2-foot radius around the plate. She is an experimenter, an entrepreneur, and a comedian all in one.

Then there is this other side of her that is oh so sweet. She is incredibly empathetic and concerned when someone else is sad or hurt. Even when she is in her "no" mood and I am therefore unable to get a hug and a kiss from her, if I say "Mommy is sad" she'll come running over and give me a big hug and sometimes ask "You OK Mommy?" or "Feel better Mommy?" She's utterly polite, with her bless yous, pleases, sorries, and thank yous, and on occasion "thank you very much."

On another note, Hana started "pre" pre-school today - a toddler program at a local preschool. Pete took her this afternoon and the report was she LOVED it. Had an absolute blast. She was so wound up and excited by it that she had trouble falling asleep tonight. Next step: researching actual preschools to start sometime in the next year.