Happy Dreams

This is Handy Manny sleeping snuggly in LB's little doll house. This house was a good buy: 25 cents at a neighbor's yard sale. And since I didn't have a quarter on me, another customer gave me one, so actually it was free! LB loves opening all the doors, windows, and roofs and putting things inside. It was definitely a good "buy."

And dear LB decided to wake up at 5:45 AM this morning, an hour before she usually starts calling us. Because of the early start, I was certain she would go straight down for a long nap at noon, and I was also counting on it because I had to finish up some lesson planning and grading before class. But--as I'm sure some parents out there can relate to--LB had no intention of doing what was expected. When I put her down in her crib at nap time, she seemed to have a sudden burst of energy. She got up on all fours, started crawling around the crib, and announced "I pup!" which means she is now pretending to be a dog and we should treat her accordingly. She then began to bark loudly. I told her pups still have to take naps and left the room to start working.

But it was hard to concentrate with her chattering away for the next forty-five minutes. While mostly she was babbling in her Lilybeth language, at one point, I heard her singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." After she finished one round of the song, she started in on it again, this time more loudly and accompanied with some vigorous bouncing.

Later, she decided to do some vocal calisthenics and practiced saying "Mama" in every manner possible. First, there was a quiet, sweet little "Mama," followed by a long "Maaaamaaa." Next would come a deep, guttural "MAMA," and then a tiny, girl-whisper, "mama." This practice went on for a minute or two, and of course I was cracking up.

But eventually the performances ended, and she went to sleep. I was sure that after the appearance of Chatty Cathy, she'd be out for a good one, but no, she was up within an hour, right as I was starting to do my hair. That meant that The Wiggles needed to make an appearance to distract Baby while Maaaamaaaa finished getting dressed.

Look! Her eyes don't even have to leave the TV when she reaches for a snack!