What's new at 3 years, 5 months, and 5 days?

Gosh it feels like an eternity since I've posted. When you get out of the habit of posting daily/weekly, the time seems to slip away without being documented.

What's new???

A New Preschool
Astrid is attending a new preschool across the street from my office. We have a running joke between us - Astrid will say "I see your office." and I'll say, "I see your school." It's very convenient, the staff are super nice and sweet, the kids are well behaved, they have smaller class sizes with music and dance class.

Every month there are special events and field trips. Last month they had a petting zoo come to the school. When I first heard about it I thought it would be limited to small pets, like a rabbit and guinea pig, etc. (Her old school brought in a rabbit and goldfish for pet day.) But the day of the event, I saw them setting up in the parking lot and it was a whole production with large pens, a canopy overhead, 2 ponies, pigs, chickens, and an assortment of farm animals. Then they had a juggler perform for the kids. How many 3 years olds talk about juggling everyday? I like that they're exposing her to new and different things.

This month they're going to a pumpkin patch with bales of hay, corn stalk mazes, tractor trailer rides, and each child gets to pick out and bring home their very own pumpkin. The same week they're also going to have a puppet show for the kids.

They also teach Spanish to the children on a daily basis. At first U. and I were not enthusiastic about it because we weren't sure Astrid could handle learning 3 languages simultaneously - English, German and Spanish. But she seems to be doing well and it's super cute to hear her counting things in Spanish. The other day she asked me, "Mom do you know what pájaro means in Spanish?" Living in Los Angeles, I've picked up on a lot of Spanish words, but pájaro is not one of them. So Astrid tells me, "It means bird!" My kid taught me something new. Occasionally I hear her say things in Chinese as well. A friend of mine whose daughter also goes to the preschool warned me about this. Her daughter came home and started speaking another language and when her mom asked her what she was saying, she said, "It's Chinese silly mommy!" "Silly me" she said, "My 2 year old speaks Chinese that she learned in school."

Tonight during our bedtime routine - Astrid wanted to count to 10 in German and Spanish with me. "Again...again mommy" she kept repeating over and over again. I get a kick out of seeing her excited about speaking other languages.

Bedtime
Speaking of bedtime - Astrid is back to sleeping in her bed every night. But at the crack of dawn she comes into our room and wants to sleep in mama and papa's bed. I normally don't mind unless she's tossing and turning and keeping me from a sound sleep.

It's pretty easy to put her to sleep. She knows the routine - I read her a book and then sing her songs until she falls asleep. A couple times I saw that she was falling asleep while I was reading, so I tried to sneak out after finishing the story and she heard me and shouted, "No mama! You have to sing me a song!"

Recently I introduced a John Lennon song "Beautiful Boy" to our medly of betime songs. I changed the lyrics some to:

The monster's gone
he's on the run
and your mommy's here

beautiful
beautiful
beautiful
beautiful girl

darling
darling
darling
darling Astrid

She just loves that song. It a beautiful modern day lullaby and beats nursery rhymes any day. She loves the part about the monster in the beginning. She's been known to say, "There's no monster here right? No monsters in our house." I recall an earlier conversation we had months ago when she asked me about monsters and I told her we didn't have any monsters in our house - so she says this now as a sort of mantra to reassure herself. And then of course she loves the fact that the song is about her and her name is in the song.

When she sings it back to me seeing her little mouth form the words "darling" is just so precious. It's one of those kodak moments you capture in your mind and try to hold onto it forever. When she's older I hope to tell her about how I used to sing her that song and how much she loved me singing it to her and loved singing it herself.

When she was a baby, even after a long day of the baby crying and fussing and just exhaustion on my part, I always made a point of singing her to sleep. I wanted to her to have that lovely memory of her mother (me) singing to her everyday, and also for her to carry that song with her into her dreams as she drifts off to sleep.

I've also heard grown adults express how they can't sing, or they're scared to sing in front of people, and I didn't want her to ever have that phobia or self consciousness about singing. I loved singing in the choir growing up and I wanted to instill that self confidence her as well.

Her school is practicing for their winter recital and she is just loving all the music and songs and piano and singing that she gets to do.

Art
Astrid is staring to color within the lines now and drawing things freehand. One of the older kids may have pointed out something to her because now she says, "I not going to scribble scribble mommy. I going to draw nice."

They do lots of coloring, and art projects at school. I also have this drawing thing for her in the car with stamps and a stencil. She asks me to draw things for her like a house, flower, butterfly, dog, cat, rainbow, etc. And she has lots of coloring books and crayons and markers at home. She loves it when I color a picture. She will ooh and ahhh at it and point it out to everyone, "My mommy color this." Before she would color (or as Astrid says "scribble scribble" all over it) but now she leaves it alone and will refer back to it again and again.

Reminds me of one of my first coloring books as a kid - a Minnie Mouse coloring book - and my dad took the time to color with me one day. He colored this page with Minnie mouse sitting in front of a mirror with light bulbs all around it, with bottles and jars of makeup on the table in front of her. I was so fond of that page. I thought it was so beautiful and I would always look at it amazed at how everything matched and was colored so perfectly, hoping that one day I could color that well.

I bring Astrid's artwork to my office and hang it on my wall. It's a nice reminder of her during the day, and when she visits me in my office (occasionally she'll come to my office so I can finish up some work - and she begs me to take her to my office more often) she gets excited when she sees her artwork displayed in my office. "Hey that's mine. I did that. Why you put that up there mommy?" Astrid will ask me. "Because you made it and it's beautiful," I'll say. The smile she gets on her face is priceless.

Vacation
We're gearing up for another trip to Europe. It'll be Astrid's 3rd time, since she was just in Germany. I can't wait to have some quality family time with just the 3 of us to get away and relax and have some fun together.

Things she does at 3 years, 1 month, 2 weeks and 3 days old

Astrid counts to 20 on her own. When prompted she'll count to her mid 30's.
One day at the YMCA a teenager heard Astrid counting and commented, "She skipped 16."
I responded, "Yeah, she's 3."
To which she said, "Oh. Well than that's really good."

She sings the "do re me" song from The Sound of Music (jumbling up the lyrics like a 3 year old - but I'm fascinated that she memorized the song so quickly):
Doe a deer a female deer
Ray a drop of golden sun
Me a name I call myself
Fa a long long way to run
Sew a needle pulling thread
La a note to follow sew
Tea a drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to Doe Doe Doe Doe

She loves to sing.

There's a song that one of her teachers at school taught her that goes,
"We say goodbye to our friends. Sayonara!"
She just butchers Sayonara to death - but it's so cute.

She demands watching an episode of Cailou (U. describes it as a dumb cartoon with a kid in it which is really lame.) or Dragon Tales before going to bed at night.

She knows the days of the week - and can say them on her own (with just a couple mistakes)
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
This comes straight from preschool. However, I reinforce it when I tell her that she has gymnastics class and music class on Tuesdays and dance class on Saturday. And everyday I remind her what day it is.

Everything is "yesterday" - but she's getting better with understanding the concept of time.
"My birthday yesterday right?"
"I go to Gymnastics class yesterday."
"We go to nesteraunt (restaurant) yesterday."

Yesterday she asked me, "Mama we go yesterday or last night?"

She's screaming in her room when U. puts her to bed tonight and I hear her yell, "No! Mama puts me to bed!" (Yes, still very much super attached to me. She wants me to brush her teeth, change her clothes, etc. It can only be done by me and not by papa.)

She snapped "No!" at me and afterwards we had a discussion about how she can't say that to mama. (It wasn't just a "no" I don't want to do that which I wouldn't have minded. But this was a bad behavior shouting of "No!" that was unacceptable.) I made her apologize to me and then gave her a hug. Another time she was right about to shout "No!" when she stopped after the "n" sound catching herself and instead said, "I no say NO to mama. I don't do that." and gave me a big smile.

I have no problems with her saying "No" to peer pressure though. Friends of ours have a 6 year old and he was trying to get her to do stuff and she would just say "no" and walk away. I love that she's independent like that at 3.

If you would have told me I'd be talking like this with a straight face one day, I would have thought you were nuts:
Today's conversation in the restroom at Whole Foods:
Astrid: Mama go pee pee too?
Me: Yes, mama has to go pee pee too.
Astrid: No poo poo? Just pee pee?
Me: That's right. Just pee pee.
Astrid: You go pee pee already?
Me: Yes, I'm going pee pee. I'm almost done.
(This from the woman who when I first talked to Astrid's Pediatrician about potty training I used the word "urinate".)

When I pick Astrid up from preschool now she'll tell both afternoon teachers good-bye:
"Bye Miss Angie!"
"Bye Miss Marguerite!"
And say good-bye to her friends:
"Bye everybody!"
And sometimes hugs her friends before leaving. Very sweet to watch.

She's been singing "Brother John" a lot lately and one morning she stood at the front of our bed and told us to hush and showed us how she was ringing the bells "ding ding dong". I had a eureka moment - that must the song she's singing and performing at her Spring Program at school, which is why her costume will be overalls and a plaid shirt underneath - they're going as farmers!

The next morning on the drive to school on Monday, (after an evening with the babysitter on Sunday so I could go watch a movie), Astrid told me:
Astrid: "Mama? I miss you yesterday."
Me: "You missed me?"
Astrid: "Yeah. So much! I miss mama so much! I cry for mama."
Happy to see her expressing her feelings. Tugged a bit on my heart strings, but not a lot of guilt, because it was great to see a movie shot in China, about a true life story (and our babysitter is great - Astrid told me how she danced with her and read books to her).

Astrid can now hold up 3 fingers to show three. (holding up the ring finger is a feat for a 3 year old).

We have this puzzle map of the 50 states of the United States. It's not easy, especially since the pieces are free floating which makes some of the smaller cluster states especially challenging. Astrid used to always plead for help to finish the puzzle. (U. and I can't even count the number of times we've put that puzzle together.) One day I looked up and she had completed it all on her own without any assistance.

Astrid's current fav sayings

"Ewww...stinky....icky!"

"Oh my gosh!"

"There's a monster in dare (there)!"

"It's so beautiful!"

The things she says at 2 years and 8 months

Wanted to jot down some of the things Astrid is saying now (as it's constantly changing).

• "I want to see Papa's peter!" (peter = computer)
• "I have to go peep." (peep = short for pee pee)
• "What ya doin'?" (She always asks this of the other person she's speaking to on the phone.)
• "Icky mouth." (Said when I wet a tissue to wipe her face. Also "icky" in general when she gets kisses.)
• "Sorry, sorry, sorry" (She's quick to apologize about some things and stubborn like a bull about others.)
• "Let me kiss it." (We were in Target recently when Astrid ran the cart over my foot. She offered to kiss it, to make it better. Really sweet, but sorta embarrassing when you're standing in a store and your kid is down on the floor, repeatedly kissing your big toe.)
• "I have to call Lindsay now." (She tells me that she has to make a phone call to her friend. She's so phone crazy now, that I cringe at the thought of her future teenage phone obsession.)
• "I'm talking to Grandma." (Pretending to talk to Grandma on her cell phone.)
• "Mama where are you? There you are!" (She wants to know where I am at all times. Even when I'm in the shower and her dad is watching her she cries because she wants to be with me. Recently she laid down on the bathroom rug in front of the tub/shower, in the fetal position and waited for me.)
• "There it is! I got it!" (Whenever she finds something she's been looking for. All proud of herself.)
• "I can't find it. You found it?" (As you can see, we're constantly looking for things she misplaced like pieces of a puzzle, her blanket, toys, etc.)
• "Lemme do it. I'll do it. Lemme do it." (Said in rapid succession. She wants to be independent and put on her shoes, socks and clothes by herself.)
• "Look at me! Look at me!" (I first heard this said by a German kid..."Guck mal! Guck mal!" and now my own kid is saying it too in English. Something about this age when they want attention. It's super cute when she shouts this out when she's riding her tricycle.)
• "Sure." (I love it when I ask her to do something and she responds with "Sure" and promptly does it. It makes her sound so grown up and when we hear "Sure" we know there's no impending battle on our hands.)
• "I can't do it!" (The word "can't" has unfortunately entered her vocabulary. I keep reassuring her that she can, or that she only needs a little help.)
• "I need to go work." (We gave her the option of cooking or cleaning and she chose cooking.)
• "I need to go school." (She can't wait to go to school so she can play with the other kids and make more friends.)
• "Mama go work. Astrid go school." (We've been having a constant dialogue lately about me going back to work and Astrid going to school. I'm glad that she's showing that she understands what's going to happen once I start working again.)
• "No, it's mine." (I dislike hearing her say this, but it's the age. She gets very protective about another kid taking whatever she's playing with or eating. But in other circumstances she can be very generous with her belongings - especially with her friends and in a play group - so it just depends. In preschool she'll be forced to share so it'll be interesting to see how this stage will develop.)
• "Let's talk a little bit." (Every night at bedtime we talk about our day and what we did. She loves talking and she has the floor on this and 100% of my attention. If I let her she would talk all night. All I have to say to get her running towards her bedroom is, "Astrid don't you want to lay down and talk a little bit?")
• "Papa, can you hear me? I need to go pee pee." (Astrid shouts this every morning from her crib as soon as she wakes up. It's U.'s alarm clock to get Astrid, and her diaper has been consistently dry every morning.)
• "I want something else." (Not a picky eater, or picky in general, but she voices what she needs more and more, which is what I've been striving for. I keep telling her to use her words and not whine, so she can tell me what she wants.)
• "Hmmmm....let me think." (Cute to see that she consciously "thinks". She will stop and roll her eyes up and really "think" about it.)
• "I wanna see pictures Mom." (Still loves looking at photos of herself and her friends on my laptop.)
• "First?" (She understands sequence now and confirms with me if we are going to do something "first" before we do the next thing. For example: I need to wash the dishes first before I can play with her. Or she needs to eat her lunch first before she can have the animal crackers. Or we will go here first before we go there. Makes life a lot easier now that she understands this so she doesn't cry when she doesn't get instant gratification.)
• "Thanks!" (She started dropping "thank you", preferring to say "thanks" instead. Sounds so grown up.)
• "Put the robe on Mommy! I freezing!" (A request she makes every time she gets out of the bathtub. Sometimes it's accompanied by a very dramatic shiver like she's suffering from hypothermia and not in a warm house, after a warm bath. As soon as her robe is on, she's a perfectly happy kid again.)

Things she says at 2 1/2 years old

kay-cakes (pancakes - U. makes homemade German pancakes with jam which Astrid loves.)

I wake up already. (It's funny when she she says it hours after she's woken up; as if it took her that long to fully wake up. Not so funny when she says it to mean she doesn't want to go to sleep.)

Astrid's house. (I remind her that it's "our" house, to which she responds - "Our house? Mama, Papa, Astrid?" But then minutes later she's back to announcing that it's "Astrid's house.")

Neighbors sleeping? In crib? (One night I was explaining to her that it was dark outside which meant it was sleep time, and she asked me if the neighbors were sleeping too. Our next door neighbor is 95 years old, so it's not a stretch to think that she's probably in bed by 7:30 or 8:00 every night. So I said, "Yes, the neighbors are sleeping." Then Astrid asked me if they were sleeping in their crib. I had to chuckle picturing our adult neighbors curled up in the fetal position in cribs like the Cheech & Chong movie. But I knew what she meant so I said, "Yes, they're sleeping in their beds.")

Mama's gym clothes (She likes to point out when I'm wearing my workout outfit.)

This one okay. (We allow Astrid to watch Sesame Street in the morning, but occasionally it'll be too early for Sesame Street, or on the weekends it's in Spanish and we have to search around for another kid appropriate show. She'll let us know when there's one she wants to watch by announcing "This one okay!" Rude awakening when we say "No, this one's not okay".)

Mama tired? Astrid tired too! (Usually followed by a yawn. It does no good to say it, but I say it anyway - "You should sleep longer and then you wouldn't be tired.")

So cute. (She uses it to describe baby animals, dolls, and babies in general. Today she kissed a baby boy's foot and said "So cute!")

Too spicy (Either posed as a question before she tries something new, or a statement in which case she'll spit it out and refuse to eat it. Tonight however she had curry for the first time, which I diluted to make it less spicy for her. After tasting it she announced "Not too spicy. Yummy.")

I close my eyes little bit. (Sometimes said when we're driving back from my parents' place and she wants me to know that she's going to close her eyes and get a cat nap in.)

I wanna see Mama. (After she wakes up in the morning, she comes to my room and watches Sesame Street while lying with me in bed. That way I can get a few winks in. She doesn't mind me closing my eyes, but she wants me facing her so she can see my face. If I get uncomfortable lying on my right side for too long and turn over she'll tap me on my back and say "I wanna see Mama!" so that I'll turn back around. Although the other day after lying with my back towards her for awhile, I turned back over thinking that she'd want to see my face and she said, "It's okay mom. Turn over and close eyes. Go sleep.")

Where Astrid glasses? (Astrid sees me wearing glasses and wants to know where hers are. I remind her that she has sunglasses, but she knows they're not the same as the ones I wear inside the house. When I get out of bed in the morning the first thing I do is reach for my glasses on my nightstand - but being fascinated with my glasses - she'll run over and get them for me - and she's always trying to snake them off the bathroom counter to play with. I have to make sure they're always out of reach. I don't understand the fascination with them, and also with my contact lens case, but I just hope she never has to wear glasses.)

Honey! (When calling for U. Obviously it's because she's heard me calling U. honey, but it's still hilarious.)

I'm okay now. (Said after any fall. I love this about her - that she'll pick herself up, dust herself off, and move on. Sometimes I still have to make sure she's really okay because she's so quick to announce that she's okay. Also said after she's been cleaned up, after a scare, and when she has everything she needs.)

Counting to 20

Astrid and I have been practicing counting to 20 both in English and German. She's almost got the English part down, but still mixes up some of the teens. I can't help but smile when she says
"fiveteen". Too cute.

Astrid is 2.5 years old today

If you ask Astrid how old she is, she will tell you "Two and a half!"

We've been saying she's 2 and a half for awhile now, which wasn't accurate. (Most people think she's already 3 going on 4 because she's so tall.) She turns 2.5 years old today.

Language Development
Her vocabulary continues to grow at a breakneck speed, and she's speaking in full sentences.

• "Where did Grandpa go?"


• "What else you have Mama?" (When she's tired of eating grapes.)


• "Mama bring Astrid's swim suit?"


• "We go Grandma and Grandpa's house today?"


• "We go swimming today Mama?"


• "We go feed the ducks Mama?"


• "Let's go Mama! Come on!"


• "Astrid do puzzle. I got it Mama!"


• "Astrid eat rice, noodles, eggs, chicken."


• "I draw this one Mommy."


• "Astrid hand dirty. Mama wash it please!"


• "Where doll go Mama? Astrid take it somewhere?"


• "Astrid go coffee and bread with Papa."

She loves to sing and dance.

She can sing the entire lyrics of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and her "ABC's". She also sings along to songs that we sing to her, or that she hears on the radio/CD.

She loves music & dancing and I'm hoping to enroll her in ballet class this coming January. Watching her do the twist is so adorable.

Understanding Sequence
It helps now that we can explain to Astrid the sequence of what we're doing -
First we'll do this and next this, and then that. That way she understands we have to get some errands done before we go to the park, or eat lunch for example.

Every night at bedtime we talk about what we did that day, and what we're going to do tomorrow (in order). It's cute how she'll wake up the next morning (remembering) and announce what we're doing today.

Social Development
Astrid is starting to play with other children now. It's fascinating to see her interact with small children (being gentle and helping them), children her own age (holding hands, laughing and jumping together, taking turns), and older children (she looks up to them and tries to do what they do).

She continues to love gymnastics class, and also the babysitting center at the YMCA where she can play with other kids. In another 6 months she will be joining the older kids (3-6 year olds) in the higher level gymnastics class. Already she watches them in the gymnasium and tries to copy their moves, sometimes playing with the older kids after class.

She loves babies and has started to ask me for a baby brother or baby sister. I think this may be the result of watching a Sesame Street episode on the same topic.

She's also in that "mine" stage where everything is "mine". I see this with other kids her age, and see it as my responsibility to teach her to share, which she does easily (sometimes just needing a reminder).

She loves talking on the phone:
Astrid is phone crazy. It's almost impossible for me to make a phone call with her shouting in the background and begging to talk to the whoever I'm talking to. It makes sense when it's a family member like her dad or grandma, but even if it's a contractor or painter - she wants to talk to them. She'll shout, "I want to talk to man!" I got a great tip from another mom - when her kid was Astrid's age she'd have a bag of goodies that she'd get out only when she needed to talk on the phone and her kids would be so engrossed in playing with the stuff in the bag that they'd be distracted from focusing on the phone. I'm going to try that.

Independence
Astrid wants to be independent and to do things for herself. This includes dressing and undressing, putting on and taking off her shoes, and even using toilet paper or baby wipes.

The dressing part is tricky, because she'll have problems getting something on (over her head or in the wrong pant leg), and it takes longer than it would for me to dress her. But she'll resist me doing it for her, so I'll just say, "Okay okay...mommy's just helping you." That's the key word around here - "helping" vs. "doing" it for her. Sometimes I just have to let her struggle until she asks me for help.

The shoe thing is great. She'll put on her shoes while I'm getting ready, and take them off and put her shoes away while handing me her socks.

The wiping part I'm not so fond of. Toilet paper stuck to all parts of her is tricky to clean up. Since she's fond on using the wipes (even on her dolls), I try to reinforce wiping from front to back (when she's already clean), and then I'll do it once more.

She also wants to pick out what she's going to wear, right down to her underwear, and colored hair rubber bands. It usually works out okay because she has good taste and matches well, but other times she doesn't understand that she can't wear her short sleeved shirt when it's cold outside, and a tantrum will ensue.

Mommy's Helper
She loves helping me, so whenever I need her to bring me something or throw something away, she's more than happy to do it.

She also puts away her toys & books after playing with them (often without even being asked).

Other times she helps me remember things. I know it sounds crazy, but with all that's involved in getting ready to leave the house while getting a 2.5 year old toddler ready and busy, and out of everything - and so many distractions - it's hard to keep some stuff in the old noggin. Like once Astrid was chattering away and asking me to do this and that and I stopped in the kitchen and said, "I completely forgot what I was going to get." Astrid thought about it and said, "Cheese Mommy." That's right I was going to the fridge to get her string cheese. Other times I'll ask Astrid to remind me about something and make sure we don't leave the house without it.

Pretend Play
Astrid does more imaginary play now, including housework (I got her a child sized broom and dust pan), having long conversations on her phones (she has her toy cell phone and 2 of our old cell phones), and playing with her dolls and stuffed animals.

Becoming more aware of others & her own feelings and thoughts
Astrid points out things about others now - like "Wheelchair Mama. Man sit in wheelchair." Or she'll point out another Mommy, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa. She also knows the difference between boy and girl. She's going to get me into trouble one day though - because a few times she's pointed to a masculine looking woman and asked, "Man?"

She also tells me when she's sad, scared, excited, and concerned. Lately she's also expressed appreciation and gratitude, by thanking me for something that I did or bought for her some time ago. "Thank you Mommy for buy this book." Another example is when she remembered that I replaced her doll's hair ties awhile back when they broke and a month later she said, "Mama do baby hair? Thank you Mommy."

When she knows she's hurt me (i.e., bonked me in the head on accident) she apologizes, "Sorry Mom." U. and I also make it a point for her to apologize to us when she's done something egregious (i.e., hitting, or throwing objects). We talk about it and after the apology we hug. Sometimes it takes awhile for her to apologize. She can be very stubborn and strong willed. Whenever this happens I'm fond of saying she's U.'s daughter, but I'm sure I contributed more than my fair share in that department. Hitting doesn't happen often, but when it does out of say a tantrum or not getting something she wants, we nip it in the bud right away.

Physical Development
Astrid's hand coordination and fine motor skills are developing so fast. For example, a year ago it was difficult for her to hold her crayons, but now she's coloring and drawing everyday (even trying to write letters) and loves it. We have lots of coloring books (that are also great for when we're at a restaurant), and I buy large poster paper that she draws on. She also puts together wooden kid puzzles. This Christmas her gifts will includes lots of puzzles, a beading kit where she can string together beads to make bracelets and necklaces, and Chinese checkers (she'll love moving the colored pegs to different slots).

She likes to try out different ways to move her body. For example, she does Yoga poses that we taught her including Downward Dog while she lifts either leg up in the air. She also loves to jump on the trampoline, and lately I've seen her try out new moves like spinning in the air before she lands.

She's also slimming down (starting to lose the baby fat) and elongating. People that haven't seen her in a few months always exclaim that they can't believe how tall she's gotten. Her muscles are getting so much stronger and she's a good jumper and kicker. I mentioned in a previous post how she can walk and walk and walk (and does not want to sit in the stroller).

My mom made a comment that she forgets that Astrid's only 2, because of how much she understands, how tall she is, and how long she can walk without having to rest.

Time continues to fly by and I'm trying my best to document everything as best I can, while enjoying all those moments with her. I remind myself that even the most frustrating moments will be stories we will laugh together about when she's older.

What sound does the animal make?

This is the conversation Astrid and I had today during the car ride home from gymnastics class:


Astrid: "Mama? What sound rabbit make?"

Me: "Astrid we talked about this remember? Rabbits don't make a sound. But they twitch their noses."

Astrid: "Oh. What sound horses make?"

Me: "Horses make the sound neigh."

Astrid: "What sound doggies make?"

Me: "Doggies make the sound woof woof."

Astrid: "What sound pig make?"

Me: "Pigs make the sound oink oink."

Astrid: "What sound cow make?"

Me: "Cows make the sound moo."

Astrid: "What sound Mama make?"

Me: "Mama makes the sound 'hi Astrid'."

Astrid: "Hahaha. Mama say 'hi Astrid'. Haha."

(That's toddler speak for, "Hahaha, good one mom!")

She's pretty good at identifying and imitating animal sounds. But then there are those animals (i.e., rabbit) that don't make a trademark sound - which is disappointing to the kid - so she then asks me if they eat and when I say they do - she makes the sound of eating - and says, "Rabbit eating" or she says "Rabbit move nose" and shows me how they move their nose.

She must be my daughter because she's "fine"

Lately Astrid has tickled me by saying that she's "fine".

Me: "Astrid do you need to potty?"
Astrid: "No, I'm fine."

Me: "Astrid, is your diaper wet?"
Astrid: "No, I'm fine."

Me: "Astrid, are you thirsty?"
Astrid: "No, I'm fine."

Me: "Astrid, do you need help?"
Astrid: "No, I'm fine."

Sometimes it's, "No, I'm fine Mommy."

I have to laugh because that's my line. I have a strong independent streak in me and whenever asked I always say I’m "fine." Now I'm seeing my daughter has the same.

The things she says at 2

I used to keep 3x5 cards around the house so that I could jot down a new word Astrid said right at that moment. After about 100 words it was more difficult to record and keep track of so many new words. Also, when I was working I just never got around to posting about it. Since staying home with Astrid since May, her language has grown exponentially. Everyday, every hour she says something new.

She amazes me when she asks me if we're going to "gymnastics class" (with perfect pronunciation) and points out an overhead "airplane" or "helicopter" (her current fascination), or a passing "choo choo train" or things that I don't even remember telling her what they were called, like when she pointed and said, "Mommy...fountain!"

And her single words have turned into multiple word sentences and expressions. For instance:

1. "Eat."
2. "Hungry."
3. "I hungry."
4. "I'm hungry."
5. "Mommy, we eat soon? Yeah?"

When she started saying "I" it was a milestone.
"I tired."

Now she's using the contraction "I'm".
"Mommy, I'm tired."

Before I forget, I wanted to jot down some things Astrid is saying at age 2 that tickle me:

"Whew. Hot day!" (Very appropriate for our heatwave in LA.)

"member?" (remember?)

"Oh heavy!" (She says this not only when it's "heavy" but also when it's difficult like walking uphill, when she can't move something or put something together and needs my help.)

"Bye..see you morrow." (tomorrow)

"Nissan" (Said with a lot of urgency when she's pointing to something she can't reach and wants me to get it for her - Thiiiiiiis one.)

"Bance." (Dance.) "Mommy bance with Astrid."

"Mommy sing to you." (Mommy, sing to me. - I think this comes from me asking "Do you want Mommy to sing to you?")

I Spy
She loves telling me about everything that she sees. This goes for magazines and books as well. Flipping through the pages she will point out everything that she can name.

She asks to see my Windows photo gallery - "Mommy see pictures." She likes to see photos and point out herself, me, papa, grandma, grandpa, our dog, and my parents' dog - oh and of course then there's the beach which she LOVES.

Expressing herself
One of the great things about her language development is that she can express what she wants rather than just crying out of frustration. So she can tell me when she wants a different blanket, or she's thirsty, or what she'd like to eat or wear. I remind her occasionally to "use your words."

Memory
She can also tell me what we did that day, and that she remembers certain things. Like the fact that we left her favorite blanket at Grandpa and Grandma's house (and she's okay with it.) Or that she was playing in the sand and got her hands dirty and the sand was hard to get off. Or that she pet her favorite neighborhood cat, "Jerry" and he was so nice. And when we get ready to walk the dog she reminds me that our dog is going to go poop.

Questions - repeat - Questions
Another thing to note is that a lot of statements are made in the form of questions. Like when we're going to the beach, she will ask "Mommy? Beach? Astrid, Mommy beach?" Over and over again. It's like she needs reassurance that we're actually going to the beach, as if being dressed in her swim suit, sitting in the car with our beach gear, driving to the beach is not enough assurance. If you say, "Yes" it's not enough - she needs to hear "Yes, Astrid we're going to the beach." Her dad was in the car with us to appreciate just how many times she will repeat the same question over and over again and after many reassurances he finally said, "Astrid, you have to stop. You sound like a crazy person."

Her favorite word she likes to repeat is Mommy
Before I had a kid, I never understood how a mom standing at the check out line could ignore her kid who was jumping up and down shouting "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" Now that I have a 2 year old, I get it. After acknowledging your kid for the umpteenth time, you realize you have to hit that "ignore" button sometimes in order to get the task at hand done - or else it'll just prolong the pain. Meaning the "Mommy" repeat sequence is sometimes synonymous with whining.

There are things that I can do to avoid the whining and subsequent tantrums like having her help me load the groceries on the conveyor belt, or sitting her on the counter when I pay so she can see and push the green button to okay the credit card transaction - but sometimes nothing works and there's a line of people behind us waiting - and that's when the last resort "ignore" button has to be used to get the hell outta there.

And furthermore, sometimes they just like to shout "Mommy" for no reason other than to get your attention. Many a time Astrid will shout "Mommy" only to smile at me or to say, "Ummm" when asked what she needs.

I can only hope she gets old enough to understand that Mommy's nerves can only stand so many shouts of "Mommy". I can only hope. Or maybe Papa's crazy comment will resonate more with her when she can understand what crazy is.

Astrid's 1st joke

It's all about possessive case now. It's no longer just a shoe, or a shirt, or a spoon; now it's: "Mama's shoe","Papa's shirt", and "Astrid's spoon".

Today I was getting ready to change Astrid into a new pull-up diaper and the following joke ensued:

Astrid: "Mama's diaper?"

Me (Mama): "Mama's diaper? Do you see Mama wearing a diaper?"

*Peels of laughter*

Astrid: "Papa's diaper?"

Me (Mama): "Papa's diaper? You're so silly!"

*Giggles*

Astrid: "Grandma's diaper?"

*Even more laughter*

Ah - toddler humor. She knows she's being funny and she loves making me laugh.

Peekaboo Playland Toddler Waterpark

On Fridays, Peekaboo Playland has an outdoor toddler waterpark; $10 for adults (kids are free). Astrid had so much fun and it was a great way to spend a hot summer day.Astrid exclaimed, "Cold water!"

When we got there in the morning the water was cold, but it got warmer as the day got hotter.

I like that there are canopies for some shade.She loved going down the slide into the pool.Fun!She had to have all the little floaties. The pool is deep enough for swimming, but still toddler size so that Astrid could get in and out on her own.She loves this Little Tykes playhouse with its play kitchen sink.The other little girl is the owner's daughter. Astrid tried to get a conversation started with her by saying, "Washing dishes." Alluding to the fact that it's what you do at the kitchen sink.Showing Mommy the shark.

There's also a yellow submarine toy in there that we have at home as a bath toy. Astrid was holding and tapping it on top of the water in the bathtub one day repeating over and over again, "smarine". It took me awhile but I realized she was referring to the "Yellow Submarine" and she wanted me to sing her the Beatles song that her Papa always sings to her in the bath. So that was my cue, "We all live in a yellow submarine...a yellow submarine...a yellow submarine."Playing here while she waits for her turn on the swing.Astrid was the only kid wearing a bathing suit. All the other kids just had their swim diapers on. One dad commented that Astrid had a wet suit on. Not quite - no latex - but it does have built in SPF protection. I'd much rather be on the safe side and cover her up, then let her be exposed to the sun's harmful rays.

Astrid tried speaking to a couple of the kids. Unfortunately the kids she tried speaking to didn't have the same language skills to reciprocate. There was a little boy sitting on the slide who Astrid was trying to strike up a conversation with. First she commented on the water, "Water cold?" She wasn't discouraged when she didn't get any response, but just kept trying. When she saw that he wasn't going down the slide she asked, "Help? Hand? Hand?" to see if he needed assistance and offered to hold his hand if he needed it. She also introduced herself, "Astrid" she said a few times, as she pointed to herself. Then she continued to tell him, "Grapes. Mouth." as she opened her mouth and pointed inside it to illustrate what she was eating. It was really great to see her trying to communicate with other kids and not being shy about it.We got there in the morning when there was a lot of shade, but by the time afternoon rolled around, it was time to put on a hat.Checking out the chairs on top of the water spray mat.These Friday outdoor water events are a treat! It's definitely worth the $10.

Astrid can count to 10 in English & German

We count all the time together, but I was still shocked when I first heard & saw Astrid counting on her own. She was playing with her doll, holding onto the back of the bouncy chair, counting each bounce. The first time she counted from 1 to 4 on her own, and then her counting got progressively better with more practice. Now she's able to count to ten in both English and German.

It was so exciting to see she not only understood numbers in German, but she could recite 1 t0 10 in German on her own.

When we're playing on the swing we count as well in both languages, but she finds it much more fun to count in German. With English it's like "Alright I'll do it again mom", but with German she shows a lot of enthusiasm and shouts, "Again! Again!" I'm happy to see her so excited about learning German.

Papa's coffee

Astrid can't read yet (she's only 2), but she recognized the Starbucks logo on a stand alone cup in a photo and remarked, "Papa's coffee." And we try so hard to shield her from brands. *sigh* Must be all those Saturday morning trips with Uwe to Starbucks.

Astrid knows her Papa loves her

Me: Do you want to get a book for the car ride?
Astrid: Book. Yeah.
Me: Do you want to bring your "Daddy Loves Me" book?
Astrid: Huh?
Me: Your new book, "Daddy Loves Me."
Astrid: Huh?
Me: Daddy Loves Me. (saying it slowly)
Astrid: Yeah. Papa loves me.