A Bit of This and That

Since it has been some time since most of you have seen me, I thought I would update you with my recent goings-on. Aside from going to school each morning, we really have not been doing anything too exciting from a toddler perspective. A few weekends ago I went with M&D to a going away party for one of Mommy’s friends/colleagues on the Newcomers Board. She had been living here in Mexico for something like 4 years, and is now returning to Palo Alto. So we went to a despedida for her family, where we ate tacos & tamales, got to see a lot of Mommy’s friends, meet a huge and fun German Shepard dog (even though she was locked upstairs for most f the party, and even though I did wonder aloud, “Is she going to eat me?” I did enjoy meeting her), and meet a few pre-teen girls whom I tried to follow around but who were not very interested in entertaining me.

Actually, now that I think about it, the day after Melissa’s despedida, we did go to a birthday party at my pal Isabel’s house. It was her sister Lucia’s first birthday and they celebrated in a uniquely Mexican-American way. There was pizza and cupcakes for the kids, lots of cool toys (Isabel has an exceptional collection of toys and fun activities at her house, I must say) and a piñata. I am a bit embarrassed at having to admit that I absolutely hate piñatas. I know, I know – how can I possibly live here and not like the idea of candy falling out of a large object, followed by a free-for-all collection spree? How can I possibly call myself a toddler? Truth is, it is the hitting of the object (in this case, Winnie the Pooh) that I hate, making my eyes well up with tears and ask in a shaky voice, “Why are they hitting Winnie? He’s gonna get hurt.” This fear of the piñata is a relatively new phenomenon – back in October I went to 4 parties with piñatas and loved them – so I think we are going to steer clear of them for the time being.

Really there is not much else to report, so here are some of my likes & dislikes these days (which are sure to change by the time I come home next month).

Favorites:

--Color: blue. Or pink. Or green. Or light yellow. Anything that I deem “pretty” in a particular moment

--Food: pretzels; M&M’s (who do you think started that habit?) Cake of any kind (so I take after my Mommy); Broccoli; Peaches

--Song: Alphabet song, Wheels on the Bus

--TV show: One, Two, Three, Count with Me (Sesame Street)

--Phrases: “This is for yooouuu, Mommy” (when handing over a flower or a piece of garbage); “Where we gonna go? What we gonna do?”; “I’m not a baby anymore;” (except when refusing to brush my teeth when I am known to say, “I’m a baby more.” )

--Toys: anything princess; beads for making necklaces; feathers; pots & pans and real uncooked pasta for

cooking; water; bubbles, tricycle; colorful pens; toilet paper.

--Hobbies: climbing things; picking up trash; making beaded necklaces; coloring or drawing; running into

corners and pretending to hide; picking out fresh flowers; playing dress-up.

--Clothes: tank tops, flowing skirts, flowery dresses; colorful t-shirts.

Dislikes:

--Eating most things

--Going to bed

--Brushing my teeth

--Dirty hands and clothes

-- The dark

--The Lion King movie (something about the first 5 seconds scares me so badly that I scream and cry in terror)

--Being ignored

--Wearing anything with long sleeves.