"It looks like I need some candy," Paela says.
"It seems so," responds her father.
"It looks like I need some graham crackers now," attends Paela.
"It seems so," responds her father.
"It looks like I need to go on the swings," informs Paela.
"It seems so," responds her father.
"It looks like..." is the latest way Paela tells us what she wants.
"Once upon a time, there were two...names. And names went for a walk. And walked and walked. And one name said...scary Swiper. And Dora...no swiping."
There was more...but that is all I caught of the story Paela told to Roo.
Wayne <singing to Aderyn>: Baby blue, you make my heart....
Paela: He's not blue. He's black.
Wayne: You don't think she has blue eyes?
Paela: No. Black hair. Black eyes.
Wayne: Baby black, you have the blackest hair....
Someone is learning the meaning of "never." Or, at least, trying to. Take today, for example:
W: Let's take a picture. Say cheese, Paela!
P: No, I not take cheese. I never take cheese.
--------
W: It's not really that cold outside.
P: It's never, ever cold. It's warm.
Oh, the adventures Paela's Little People go on. It is satisfying to her that Paela learns some of the things we try to teach her; sometimes her Little People are our first clue that she has learned something. For example, today I overheard her telling her Little People to "play quietly because Chicken is sleeping." Chicken is actually a stuffed duck, but Paela calls it Chicken.
Of course, knowing she "should" play quietly, and actually doing so are two different things. Just as often she informs me she would like to "be loud now." Much to Chicken's chagrin.
I got bugs in my nose.
Help! Dare's BEES on my dingers! [translation: dirt is tickling my fingers and I want my hands wiped clean, please. Yes, please.]
Us: How can we ask nicely? Her: Ni-ice!
Her: [throwing tantrum and crying] Us: You still haven't told me what you want, Paela. What do you want? You want another cracker? You want some water? You want to go outside? Her: [suddenly calms and looks at us] Okay! I be happy now!
Paela's been learning about turn taking. She knows, for example, that when we have a bowl of ice cream or yogurt that we will share with her if she would like. She has figured out that before she can get another turn, we usually take a turn ourselves. And since she likes to narrate pretty much everything she does, eating a bowl of ice cream generally goes like this:
"Mama's turn?" (I take a bite.)
"Paela's turn!" (Paela opens her mouth expectantly.)
"Mama's turn?" (She patiently waits while I take another bite.)
"Paela's turn!" (Paela opens her mouth and leans forward ever so slightly.)
Of course, I'm never quite so eager for these sharing sessions when it is her vegetables or her water cup she's offering to share (narrated with a "Mama's turn?", of course). But it's nice of her to offer.
We ask Paela to do or not do certain things on certain occasions. Call it "discipline", if you will.
For example, one day during dinner Paela was banging her fork repeatedly on the table. We asked her to stop banging her fork. She was asked several times, until I caught her arm on the way down to the table and grabbed her wrist to keep her from banging (again). I asked her to stop banging her fork (again). For a moment or two she stopped, but I sighed inwardly as her arm came down once more to bang that fork of hers. This time, however, it was not my hand that stopped her fork's progress. Paela reached across her plate with her other arm, and grabbed her own wrist before the fork made contact with the table, and sternly told her hand "no banging."
For the rest of the meal, her other arm kept the discipline in check.
