Entries from December 2010 ↓

Ezri – “Mama, Ezri see belly button! belly button!”

Me – “Where is the belly button?”

Yep, you got it, Ezri.
Thanks, Mary Cassatt.

Don’t worry, art-lovers, it’s a print that’s hung at easily reachable toddler level at the DuPage Children’s Museum, not a painting in a gallery.

Thinking inside the box.

Ezri has started to use her powers of deduction.
One day last week Eric was going to do some work down in the basement.
Ezri and I returned home from the sitter with me hoping that Ezri would think Eric had gone to the office as usual.
Thus, he could work uninterrupted.
Upon entering the house Ezri stated, “Dada home.” She looked around and said, “Where dada?”
I said, “I think Dada is working.”
Ezri said “Dada home. Dada car.”
She had seen the car he drives in the driveway.
After a toddler lap of the first floor, she pointed to the basement door and said, “Maybe downstairs.”
We went downstairs to say hi and I realized it’s only going get harder to trick this one.

“Mama wash bottle.” Pause. “Good job, Mama.” She was watching me do the dishes. I love it when she lets me know I’m doing a good job in exactly the cadence of my voice saying, “Good job, Ezri.”

“Ezri put booger mama’s arm.” This while I was reading her a story. At least she let me know what I needed to wash off. We talked about tissues and handkerchiefs as the appropriate place to put boogers.

“Happy Hanukkah Honk! Honk!” This was said on the drive over to the Hanukkah party.

“Dada. Light up. Light up.” Excitement over Hanukkah candles.

“Mama, vacuum.” This while pointing at cat fur on our rug. Yes, I am sure it is time to vacuum, but my housekeeping is now being critiqued by a toddler who likes to spread yogurt on the table in interesting patterns.

If you read a protocol droid a story. . .

he will then need to be rocked in a cradle and sung twinkle, twinkle little star (droid’s favorite song)

While in the cradle he will do something – perhaps a leaky motivator, that will require Ezri to change the sheets and put the droid in the bath.
Ezri says, “C3P0 bath. Naked Hedgie.” Nothing like bathing with a naked hedgehog to comfort a leaky droid.

After the bath, the droid will probably want a bottle and a snuggle.

And if you give a droid a bottle, he’ll probably want another story!

Ezri’s pretend play is getting more detailed and more fun.
After naptime we probably will need to get the droid a snack.
Perhaps, Ezri will whip up some bagels with her new bowl and spatula set.

Ezri enjoys stomping in the snow in her new snow boots.

Here’s Ezri hanging out in the cuddle corner of her room.

Baby Dance by Ann Taylor
This is sung to the classic tune of Daddy’s Gonna Buy You a Mockingbird. The illustrations show a dad comforting and playing with his baby daughter by rocking and twirling her. Ezri made me read/sing it again 5 times. She asked for a sixth, but I made her pick another story. This was recommended by a coworker librarian – gotta say she knew what she was talking about! It would make a great baby shower gift.

For her next story she selected
Hairy Maclary
She told me, “Ezri read.” And took it over to her bed, sat on the edge, opened the book to the first page and said , “Hairy Mackary Donson Dairy.” The book is about Hairy Maclary from Donaldson Dairy, but she was so close and seeing her “reading” was excellent. We then spent a lot of time with her pointing to the dogs in the story and asking “who’s that?” The dogs all have funny rhyming descriptions and names like “Hercules Morse big as a horse.” She especially enjoys making the fiercesome cat noise when the toughest tom in town, Scarface Claw, scares all the dogs away.

For Hanukkah Ezri received
Heads by Matthew Van Fleet
I highly recommend this one as a present for folks aged 18 months up to 3 years. It is a very sturdy pop-up book. Not just lifting the flaps, but pulling thick board book tabs to make the animals move. Cleverly, many of the moving parts are underneath plastic film and so less likely to be torn. The book talks about the parts of the head – hair, ears, mouths, eyes, tongues. It shows different animals with varying kinds of these bodyparts. Ezri loves it. She turns the pages saying, “ahh ahh” and looking for the page on which the elephant sneezes all over a probiscus monkey. When she finds the page, she pulls the tab and the trunk lowers and sprays green mucus on the monkey. Then Ezri says, “CHOO!” A great new book from the guy who brought us the joy of Alien Opposites.

Ezri celebrating Hanukkah last night.

I asked her to say Happy Hanukkah and she sang, “Happy Hanukkah, Irina.”
Irina is a friend whose birthday party we attended and we prepared by practicing singing Happy Birthday, Irina.
Irina’s party was back in October, but it seems to have stuck with Ezri.
Ezri wishes her a Happy Hanukkah too.