2004-02-26 - 11:39 a.m.
Too much going on to really update much. Very busy at work.
However, I feel that I must do some bragging about the Professor.
She is now 15 months old, and really developing a personality. She’s gotten pickier about her food, but still enjoys the spicy stuff on occasion. (She stuffed herself on my jambalaya last week. I was so happy.) She has definite likes and dislikes, and is figuring out that a little smile and wave gets her a lot of attention in public. She has this whole walking thing figured out, and is working on stairs. She’s got Up, and is starting to figure out Down. We just keep things as stimulating as possible, play lots of music, and interact a lot.
She is turning into a serious bibliophile. The nightly routine involves at least three different books, read multiple times. She will also pick up books and bring them to us for reading at various times during the day. Occasionally, she’ll plump herself down with a book and turn the pages just like Mommy and Daddy. I find this to be very encouraging.
Somehow, she’s picked up two words of Japanese: “nani”, which means “What” and “mimi” which means “ears”. I don’t think it’s intentional, but what the heck.
She likes to share food. If she’s got some peanut butter crackers or bits of chicken nugget, you’d better be ready to have some too. If it’s just her and me, I’ll often give her bits of my dinner so she can feed me. She’ll occasionally take a bite herself, but mostly she likes cramming things into my mouth. I feel this bodes well for sharing other things, like toys.
She seems to be a natural-born streetfighter. If she slips, she tucks her head into her chest to keep from whacking it on the floor. If she falls forward, she takes it on her forearms rather than her hands. She’s got a killer headbutt, both forward and backward. The other day, when I was putting her into her heavy coat (which she hates), she started stomping repeatedly on my foot. And I’m pretty sure I saw her do a forward roll a couple nights ago. She’s gonna be the baddest kid in kindergarten, you just watch.
So let’s sum up. She’s a ham, who learns physical skills quickly and has a certain capacity for the old ultraviolence. She loves books and feeding people. I predict that she’s going to be the next Cynthia Rothrock and make her fortune as a chambara film star. When she retires she’ll run a combination bookstore and coffee shop on the South Side catering to bikers and semi-pro wrestlers, and will handle security herself. (“Hey, don’t spill coffee on the books!” *Whap* "Down, Mongo!" *Whap* Sit! Heel!)
