Caitlyn appears to have grasped the concept of holding hands when crossing streets or parking lots… she likes to hold her own hands, leaving me hunched over at all awkward angles to grip her elbow. Even if I’m carrying her, she’ll hold her own hands, fingers interlaced, and lecture me about the importance of holding hands. All together now: “Awwwwww….”
Caitlyn is exploring doing things herself. The other day, this happened during a game of Flop. (To play Flop, first be sure you have lots of throw pillows piled just at the end of your mattress on the floor. Stand near the head of your bed and say, “Mama push me,” then wait for your parent to gently push you forward into the pile of pillows. Shriek with laughter.) After picking herself up, pushing the pillows back together, she’d come to the head of her bed and instead of asking to be pushed, she’d say, “Caitlyn push me.” Then she’d …
While this year marked Caitlyn’s second Fourth of July, this was the first year we actually attempted to notice the holiday. We spent yesterday afternoon by Lake Washington, where Caitlyn occasionally put her toes in the water when she could be pried away from the sand. She jumped in the sand, she ran in the sand, she fell down in the sand, she shoveled the sand, she carried the sand. She also asked whatever family member was handy, “I need more water, PEAS!” I’m feeling particularly pleased with myself for being aggressive about the sunscreen, even remembering to reapply it …
We have 2+ quarts of homegrown peas in the freezer. I think maybe I’ll get another quart from the plants before they call it quits. Time to start thinking of what goes in the pea-space in the garden… Caitlyn really likes the ABC song, although she has her own version of it. “Little Tiny ABCs” goes something like: “A B C D E F G, um, uh, um, Next time won’t you sing at me.” If Ian or I sing it with her, she dips in and out of it, dropping out around M N O P and coming back …
I can’t decide if it’s funny or sad. I mean, it’s seriously cool that King County Metro, Seattle City Light, and Seattle Parks and Recreation have started renting goats to clean up overgrown hillsides. It almost makes me wish we had some overgrown space around here so the goats would come to visit – Caitlyn would love it. But, it’s not like goats are a new technology. They’ve been eating aggressive plants, and winning, for, well, for as long as there have been goats. It’s us silly humans that gave up on goats in favor of machinery and chemicals. Never …
As one of the neighbor kids said, “Caitlyn talks a lot.” “liddy” (for little) “apricoter” (for helicopter) “wa-koff” (for washcloth) “cee-ning” (for ceiling) “bono-ateet” (for bon appetit) “mines” (logical, since “yours” ends in an “s”) She’s also discovered the first person pronoun, although she’s not terribly consistent with it. “I’m ready to be awake,” is just as common as “Caitlyn get a book.” And we have begun trying to differentiate between “want” and “need”: “Need more Mama cereal.” “You don’t need it, you want it.” “I want more Mama cereal.” “How do you ask?” “More Mama cereal, peas.”