Penny Penny Quite Contrary . . .

Penny is now 21 months, and she has become quite a contrary little soul. She spends a huge portion of each day yelling, "Don't" and "No" and "No don't" and "Hey!!! Don't!" at all of us. I've heard her say these phrases as someone simply passes nearby -- as if giving them a gentle warning; I've heard her say them to her doll; and I've heard her saying them when she is all alone -- apparently just practicing. She also gives us a "no" following most anything we say. Me: "Abe, could you come empty the dishwasher?" Penny: "NO! Dishwasher." Me: "Penny, do you see the pretty flowers?" Penny: "NO!!! Pretty flowers."

The good thing is, at this age, it is actually and oddly rather endearing. Even when she shouts, "Bad girl!" at one of us (a phrase she learned from Goldie by stealing Goldie's toys, breaking Goldie's toys, or throwing Goldie's toys at Goldie's head) I can't help but smile.

I can't help it, I've said it before, but this toddler/just learning to really talk stage is by far my very favorite. it is just such fun to see them trying to be a real little independent person and about 3/4ths of what they do seems very cute and funny (the other 1/4th of the time they are doing things like throwing all the food off their high-chair and then putting their dirty bowl on their head).

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Penny does have her sweet spells between her "don'ts." She has the cutest ever shy response. If someone is talking to her or if she is walking by someone she might be nervous of she either closes her eyes to a tiny half squint, covers her eyes altogether, puts her hands up to the side of her eyes like blinders, or simply tucks her chin in and stares straight down at the floor completely motionless. She even put on her blinders each time she walked past a duck at the duck pond Mike took her to the other day. She isn't yet interested in TV, but she will go and sit herself in Abe's lap when the kids are watching a show -- just to be a part of things for a minute. She will occasionally lie in my arms or next to me and let me tickle her arms and feet while I sing a little lullaby. When I finish she will quietly insist, "again," over and over. She often goes about singing little lullabies loudly to herself. A favorite starts high and loud with "Lullaby! Lullaby!" then gets a little lower as she sings a lot of mumbling nonsense and then ends on a low and quiet, "Jesse." Here was some beautiful singing she was doing in her crib after waking from a nap the other day. I had to film the monitor and not her or she would have stopped to shout, "No! Don't!!!"

And now, I must get down a few more things I love that she is doing at this stage.

She runs everywhere she goes. It is never walk to get a toy, it is run. She even has a little game she plays all alone where she runs back and forth between the front door and family room shouting, "Go! Go! Go away! Go!"

She translates things she hears into her own language. For example, Abe was watching a cartoon and someone said, "We are sitting ducks!" Penny, from the other room said, "Quack quack. Sitting quack." She also simply narrates much of what is happening around us, "Baby coughing." "Door shut." Etc.

She seems to think that the source of all sorrow in the world comes from "bonked heads." The other day I was getting her out of her crib when she heard Goldie begin to cry about something downstairs. She looked at me and said with great animation and wide eyes, "Goldie bonk head!" Another time, Abe went to his room and shut the door to wail about something gone wrong. Penny spent a few fruitless moments trying to get in before she sadly said, "Abey sad. Bonk head."

She is actually not a bad little helper. She will go about finding little left behind wrappers to throw away or help clean up her blocks. She is so good at it that she even managed to throw away several Christmas presents that didn't look "presenty" enough for her.

She loves shoes and cell phones. We can be at a family party with a million kids around and if anyone's cell phone or shoe goes missing we all know where to look -- wherever Penny is. She has even taken to hiding herself in the pantry closet when she gets ahold of Mike's work cell.

I am already excited to see what little Jesse will be saying and doing during this stage. I know many people get baby hungry, but I think I only get toddler hungry.