Goings on

Here's a pic of the little one dressed up as a ladybug for her daycare Carnival party. Need I even bother saying how adorable she looked?

As I write this, Sofia is with Andrea's parents - Sunday mornings with her nonni have become tradition -- a win/win situation as Andrea and I manage to actually clean the house and have a leisurely breakfast alone. She's been very busy and, thankfully, is feeling much better (KNOCK. ON. WOOD....LOUDLY) and all of us being back in the normal swing of life makes things much easier on everyone. Who says it's only babies who need routine!?!

Some of Peanut's recent endeavors/news:

1. Talkin'!
She's not a huge talker yet...nah, scratch that, she would LIKE to be, but often she will say something that sounds like "anserrkffgdagggg" and Andrea and I will stare at each other, searching out one another's face for signs of recognition. Was it Italian? Was it English? Was it Swahili? She's got a decent vocab going, when we do manage to make the meaning out, though. Some new ones to add to her constants of Papa', Mamma (finally!), Up and Ciuccio (paci)...

Boots
Latte ("milk" in Italian -- not like a coffee "latte" - that would just be plain masochism!)
Questo ("this" in Italian)
This
Nanna ("sleep" in Italian baby talk --ohhh, the irony!)
Basta! ("Stop!" or "Enough!" in Italian...oh boy...!)

She's also started calling animals by their sounds. Dogs are "Bow!", Elephants are lifting-up-your-arm-like-a-trunk-and-yelling-"Eeeeyyyy", Horses are "eeehehehee" and Cats are "Bow!" (ok, so when in doubt, she uses "bow").

2. She understands more than we'd like her to
As I read in a parenting blog recently, one day your child will actually start to go to the door when you say "Go to the door" and you will think "Did he just understand me, or am I dreaming?" This now happens on a daily basis.

I hate to boast, but Sofia is a genius. Dangerously so. She knooooows what we're talking about, and she remembers things for incredibly long periods of time. And it's funny how the parental divide makes the difference in how people react to this fact: non-parents tell me how awesome it is, other parents shake their heads in a "ohhh you poor things!" pity-filled sort of way. Andrea and I, on the other hand, are sort of middle of the road between both camps.

3. Mi, Me, Mio, Mine...
Probably because the older kids at daycare are doing it, Sofia's started her "Miiiiiine!" stage. She doesn't do it with us, but when, for example, our neighbor brought her 18-month-old son over for a playdate, Sofia freaked the heck out at how he played with her toys. Hopefully this stage will pass soon - it's not very pretty.

4. Temper, temper!
Speaking of stages that aren't very pretty, I present you with: toddler tantrums! They are HORRIBLE. Truly frustrating. Like, they should take the title away from Mother Theresa because she never had her own kids and we don't know how she would have dealt with their temper tantrums, frustrating (did anyone just follow that sentence?).

Papa' and Mommy have different styles for dealing with these. Papa' is the kinder, more patient of Sofia's parents and so he tends to get down on her level and soothe her. "This actually works!" cries myself, surprised. It does not, however, enter into my own personal "Abilities Under Stress" category so, while I do try this solution once in a while (read: when I've just had a cup of coffee), often I say no and quickly explain why and then ignore her. Ok, that's a lie - usually it's more than once, as I desperately hope she will have a sudden maturity spurt and reply with a well-thought-out "You're right, Mommy, I don't really *need* to put the dirty soap in my mouth!"

Being as that hasn't happened yet, I generally revert to ignoring her.

5. Getting the joke
Sometimes I hear Sofia laughing from the other room, and when I go in, I realize that whatever it is that's making her laugh is in her own head. She's a funny one - one of my favorite things about Sofia is how she really does "get" the joke, always has. Comedic Peanut.


6. Sleep issues, con't
Of course, no post from me would be complete without sleep deprivation complaining (I'll admit it, when she finally does sleep, I'm not going to know what to talk about anymore). Still more problems. It seems to be Sleep 2 nights, Scream 1 night, Sleep 1 night, Scream 1 night, Sleep 3 nights, Scream 1 night. I guess I should just be thankful it's not Sleep 0 nights, Scream 9 nights. Doesn't matter, my body is (scarily) getting used to functioning on anxiety-sparked adrenaline.


So, on that note: Have a Restful Sunday!!