Comforting Little Sister
Miranda's been out of sorts lately, and tonight when we went out to pick up pizza for dinner, the baby cried pretty much constantly. Zoë didn't say much at first, but eventually, she became concerned and tried to comfort her baby sister.
Imagine a two-year-old saying to a crying baby, "Don't cry, Miranda. I love you. Miranda's a good girl," (except not as clearly; Zoë speech is improving greatly, but her pronunciation is still unclear much of the time).
If there's one thing you can definitely say about Zoë, it's that she's a very loving little girl. Good girl, Zoë.
Flowers and Love Yous
Today, Zoë went out with Nanna to run some errands. When they came back, Zoë brought me a flower she'd picked outside (a yellow daisy). It was the first flower she's ever brought me. I put it in a cup of water and showed it to her, and she promptly tried to drink the water.
Then, tonight while she was doing the night-night ritual of saying goodnight to everyone and getting kisses and cuddles, she got to Miranda and gave a nice cuddle and said, "Love you." Very sweet, and it confirms for me that Zoë absolutely understands that Miranda is a little person, and a member of our family.
Toon Portrait
I've had a cartoon portrait done of Zoë. The artist, Lady Littlefox, has done work for me before. She's brilliant. I highly recommend her if you want a cute cartoon picture of your own little one.
Shrek
The things that Zoë chooses to say and not say appears to be completely arbitrary (at least to me). A couple nights ago, after she had her teeth brushed she came out of the bathroom in her Daddy's arms and announced, "All clean!"
Lately, she's been reciting some of the lines (and noises, like laughs, grunts, and coughs) from Shrek, which she's seen a zillion times or so.
Spoiler: I'm about to mention a specific scene which is well into the film, so if you don't want to know any details of the movie, errr... well, don't read any futher, I guess.
In the scene where Donkey is talking to Fiona, who has turned into an ogress, Fiona repeatedly uses the word "beast" to refer to herself. Just now, Zoë was watching this scene and she turned to me and informed me that the "girl is a beast". Well, really it was more like "grrr iya beet" but the context was very clear. The girl in the film has turned into a beast. I'm really surprised by this one!
So she can say that the girl is a beast, but she won't tell me she wants a drink (but rather, insists on tugging on my sleeve or bringing me a cup). Arbitrary, as I said. I'm absolutely sure she can speak and that she comprehends a great deal. She just won't speak most of the time. I feel less mean about making her say what she wants now (you know, "you have to say it or I won't give it to you"). If the girl can be a beast, then the toddler can ask for a drink.
No pyjamas, no bed, right?
Zoë's dad is usually the person who puts her to bed. She'll let me brush her teeth, but Daddy's the goodnight parent. Well, as it happens, tonight Daddy's not here, as he's playing in an orchestra. Naturally, this means I had to put Zoë to be, myself.
She was NOT happy about this. When she realized I was going to put her into her pyjamas, she got very upset and started to fight me. I'd get one foot in, she'd get it out, etc. Finally, I picked her up and gave her a hug and had a little laugh because I have to admire her reasoning. No pyjamas, no bedtime...
Didn't work, though. I managed to get her into her jammies anyway, and into bed. She protested a bit (she usually does), but seems to have settled down now. I still think she's pretty clever though. If you don't put my pyjamas on me, you can't put me to bed, right?
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