Mama Mama Mama mamamamamama......

I loved it when you first learned to say Mama, and loved it even more when you used it and meant me. Oh my gosh, it was wonderful. You knew I was special and you had a name for me. That's a very exciting moment.

Now, you use that word incessently. All The Time. And if I don't respond right away, it just gets louder and louder. Usually you want to point something out to me, and because you still don't have that many words I have to look at what you're pointing at or signing. Whew, it can be exhausting.

You really like the video "Once Upon a Potty", especially the song at the end. You watch it over and over, and it's the only thing besides the "Your Personal Penguin" video that I've seen you sit still for. You take your potty chair over to the TV, and the matching "Once Upon a Potty" book and watch. You will watch it 3 or 4 times in a row and not get tired of it. I have the "Now I'm Going To the Potty" song stuck in my head and it will not leave. I'm not sure it will help when it comes time to potty train you, but it can't hurt.

In fact, you're in watching the video now which is giving me time to write this entry.

You have started to appeal decisions you don't like to the other parent. Which isn't very effective when we're both there for the whole discussion. If I say "No, no more crackers before dinner" you will look at Daddy and ask him. If Daddy says "No toys while you're eating", you'll look at me and "ask" me (point and say "Mommy" until I look up and give an answer). That seems to be an inborn skill, because I can't think where you would have picked it up.

Other than the videos, you still don't like playing on your own much. Last night your Dad and I tried to get you to play with your toys while we finished our dinner, and you couldn't do it. You would stand in the middle of your toys and bawl. You would go sit in your time-out spot and look at us and sniffle. But you don't like sitting in your high-chair while we finish eating, either. Sigh. I guess it gives us something to work on.

You're sleeping in your bed all night for the last few weeks, which is a blessing! Whew! It makes everything else easier. Daddy puts you to bed with a bottle, tooth-brushing and a story and stays in the room until you go to sleep.

And, last Friday, you didn't wake up when we came home from a movie and Lauren Burgess was baby-sitting you. It was a first and we were thrilled. Seriously thrilled. Cartwheel thrilled.

Our Kitty Died

Last Saturday our cat, Tesla, died. It was tremendously sudden; we had no idea there was a problem until he started yowling and couldn't use his back feet. We took him to Dove Lewis Animal Hospital and they said he had a stroke and he would simply have more of them and the best thing to do was to have him put to sleep. We cried and sat with him while they gave him the drug.

We burried him in the back yard in the south west corner, where he loved to sit and survey his territory (the green space) when we had a post there. This week we ate fish all week in his honor.