sleep vignettes and other adorable things.

if i don't write these down, i'll never remember, and i want to remember, and this is the easiest place to do it.

this weekend, maggie spent an inordinate amount of time winding down for bed. she just laid in her pack and play (we were away) and chattered. i swear she said every word that she knew, but especially the ones that she had mastered that day. "auntie, auntie, auntie, auntie" was like a mantra chant.  she got a bit upset when she heard her daddy leave the room (she hadn't realized i had come in), and cried. i gave her hugs and laid her back down a couple of times.  then i listened to her chatter some more.  she seemed to chill out, and then i heard her say "YUM! yum." and then all was silence.

those were her final words. she's a nut.

--

about a month ago, she started getting better with her sleep with some encouragement from us.  one night, as we began another process of getting her to be more independent with her put-down process, i just sat and watched her.  she was in her crib, not upset at all, playing with her blue bear.  she folded her arms with him, then hugged and kissed him, then put him down on the bed and patted next to him. suddenly it occurred to me that she was doing our bedtime routine with blue bear--prayers, hugs, kisses, loves, and into bed. 

amazing little kid she is.

--

she knows the word "taco," and she says it like "tato." her dad thinks that's the most adorable thing she says. i have been pretty enchanted by "pup!" which she likes to say all of the time as well.

she mastered the word "banana" today. during lunch, she just kept saying it (she had previously only said "ba") and saying it and saying it until she had it down.  now, when she sees it in a book, it's "banana."   before that, her only other two syllable words were those with the "ee" sound at the end: "daddy" and "teddy."

--

she's started babbling sentences.  today, it was like i was living in a country for which i had not studied the language well enough. every few words would be one i would recognize, and it was obvious that the sentences had meaning, but i haven't the foggiest idea what they meant.  as bill cosby says, "i just listen for my name."

--

today, she fell asleep by herself on the floor of the living room. she found the pile of freshly washed blankets and decided she was done. so she put herself to sleep.

MILES from where we were, let me tell you.

--

she's starting to cry when she thinks she's in trouble, especially with her daddy. it's sort of heartbreaking and adorable at the same time.  i think she might get that from me--i very much don't like to be in trouble.