At some point around month 4 or 5, Grace began to really hate having her diaper changed. No matter what we did and no matter how full and/or uncomfortable it had become, she would scream, cry and flop like a fish whenever we laid her down on the changing table. Sometimes we could distract her with a toy or a shoe or a peek-a-boo game but she would inevitably realize what was going on and give us the angry salmon routine.
As I went to pick her up after her nap the other day, without really thinking about it, I asked her “should we change your diaper?”. “Ya,” she said with a nod. To this point, I really thought the Ya’s and No’s came mostly at random and not as an exact response to my questions. Sometimes they matched up but most of the time, it just seemed like she was practicing a word that she knew I recognized. Surely she wouldn’t be thinking through the question I asked, thinking “Hmmm, my diaper is a bit wet and uncomfortable. A change would be quite welcome. Have at it, sir!” and then paring that down to a succinct and easier to pronounce “Ya”. But sure enough, she not only tolerated being put on the changing table, but laughed and played a little game.
Even naptime seems to go a little more smoothly now if I ask in advance. “Do you want a bottle and go night-night?”, I ask. “Ya,” says Grace, while probably thinking how nice it would be if I didn’t talk down to her with this “go night-night” garbage. “A- it’s a ‘nap’, Dad and B- it is not even nighttime, though I really do think I could use one about now. So…Ya! Let’s make it happen!”
Mealtime is rarely complete until Grace has shared her bounty with Lincoln,, Bla Bla or, in this case Baby. Baby clearly enjoys waffle as you can tell when Grace says “mmm” for her.
There is little Grace loves as much as a balloon. I think this one took her out of the car seat and high above the trees to a place that babies rule the world and cows jump over moons.
We know for sure that Lincoln didn’t teach Grace this new trick, even though they both spent the night at Grammie and Papa’s house. She probably wasn’t even going after anything, she just noticed that her finger and her nostril seemed like perfect complements.
I always thought that Grace would hold the record for fastest naming of a baby but that record may have just been shattered. Jenn was still on the ultrasound table after we found out that Grace would be having a sister, when she threw out the name “Hazel”. I loved it and we locked it in without a battle. We didn’t know it until later, but it turns out that my mom had an aunt Hazel making us 2 for 2 on accidentally picking family names. Hazel can be thankful that we didn’t randomly connect her with Mom’s other aunt…Bertha. Her middle name has not yet been decided but that will give us some thing to battle over for the next 6 months.
The luminescent quality of the piece belies a certain toddler angst that lurks tantalizingly beneath the surface. A remarkable first effort from a talent who has announced herself “brightly” to the world.
Yokota Art Review,
August 12, 2009
OK, She’s a friend of mine and already a fan of Grace, but still…rave!
Our very good friends Sara and Joerg welcomed their adorable daughter, Vivienne Marie to the world today. After a short, but significant, stint of bedrest, they were hankering to meet little Kürbis (the German word for “pumpkin” and a better nickname than “bowling ball”). They have both been such loving Godparents to Grace, it is not hard to imagine what amazing parents they will be. The best part is that Grace isn’t losing her Godparents, she’s gaining a sister and we are not losing babysitters, we are gaining…well…another baby.
![photo[4]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3548/3850558277_b280541b65.jpg)
