Could It Beeeeee...SATAN?!?

Yeah, I'm not kidding. What's gotten into this kid lately?!?

Out of nowhere, there's this scream. Then this cry. Then an all-out temper tantrum. Like, on the floor. And there is no one else to enjoy this extreme privilege save for one: Me. It's like, in the mornings when we're getting dressed, she suddenly remembers she's supposed to check item number one off of her "to do" list: 1. Frustrate mama by releasing spontaneous tears and ear-piercing shriek. Check!

[fast forward two whole days]

As Dinah Washington can attest, What a Difference a Day Makes (24 liiiitle hoursss). Go on, girl! I started this post two days ago only to write the first paragraph and childishly edit an interpretive photo and just now chuckled to myself after I reread it. As quickly as the temper tantrums began (and as I was simultaneously dooming myself to be the parent of the much-dreaded "difficult child" discussed only in side-bars in "What to Expect, The Toddler Years" as though the "rarity" of this occurance does not warrant it's very own page) they stopped. Now, I hate to attribute adult reasoning to a person with very non-adult tendencies, but I'd like to think that The Notorious A.L.I. felt bad that she was treating me so poorly and is now in makeup mode.

[fast forward another two whole days]

Conclusion: The attribution of adult reasoning should best be left to, well, adults, and so I'm ashamed to admit that it's me who was being the baby two days ago and two days before that. Whining about how horrible my child is treating me when, after all, she's entitled to throw temper tantrums while she's not even close to being out of the woods of toddlerdom. And look how quickly she'd recovered from her mood swings to morph back into her usual, happy self! How easily we as parents get frustrated during some of our darkest hours! I think I was throwing my own temper tantrums. Terrible Threes, anyone? (Third decade...)

I am ever so sorry for pouting and please know you're forgiven, my love. :)


On a more optimistic note: I have finally gotten around to paying my initiation fee gaining me membership into the far-from-exclusive club of My Child is the Smartest Kid in the Whole Wide World (And You Best Not Let On Like You Disagree). Alessandra may not be working out quadratic equations exactly yet, but just listen to all of the genius she's been exhibiting:

Amazing Feats of the Intellect of an Almost 20-Month Old

1. Numbers

I know I mentioned that she could do this in an earlier post, but now I think she's finally starting to apply the numbers one through five rather than just repeating them from memory. She counts her fingers and toes and items in books. One day we'll get up to twelve and you best believe I'll be singing the old Pointer Sisters classic above. Trippy!!!

2. Letters


Remember how I was telling you earlier about her love of books? They truly are her favorite "toy"and simultaneously are an excellent tool for facilitating some good old quality downtime together with her that she otherwise might not allow. A standard reading session is likely initiated by the corner of a book hitting Ricardo or I square in the temple (the board ones are especially brutal). This book-launching means "Read it to me NOW, or ELSE!" Little one climbs into our laps as we animatedly read the excitement that can only be contained between the covers of a children's book. (Beep, beep! Sheep in a Jeep on a hill that's steep...) When the book is finished, the only chance we have to escape is immediately dashed when we hear "ga-ga-GEN", to which we reply "You want me to read it again???" For some odd reason she always says "No, nuh-uh" while shaking her head. Then we say, "okay, I won't read it again", and then she says "Yes PEEEZE!!!" And so we go for 4 to 5 times before we finally realize that our pasta is boiling over and the chicken is drying out on the grill (or American Idol comes on, which at least then SHE wants to stop too.) This repetition of her favorite stories has enabled her to read to herself when neither Ricardo or I are immediately available to do so. Pretty much the cutest thing I've ever heard. ("SNAaaaP! Oooh noooooooo....Wheh is seeee????" And even "tha EN")

Also boast-worthy is her recognition of some upper case letters these last couple of weeks. One of her favorite songs since infancy has been the "Alphabet Song", so it's been pretty easy to associate the song with images of the letters. Couple that with her new Magnadoodle where we write out letters together, and a few educational shows at daycare and we're convinced she's on the road to literacy! She seems to know "A", "B", "L", "N", "O", "P" and "R" she's pointed to these letters and spoken them aloud more often correctly than not. Enough for us to be utterly impressed, proud, and a bit pleasantly creeped out, to tell the truth.

3. Hygiene

Also new and exciting in our house...Brushing our teeth! Now, don't get me wrong, we've always practiced some type of rudimentary dental hygiene, but have not necessarily been as thorough as we needed to be. When the washcloth and water and manual infant toothbrush was becoming more trouble than what it was worth (see first paragraph of this post), I thought we'd try for a walk down Electric Avenue. Worked like a charm:

Thanks Little Mermaid Electric Toothbrush! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have ever been able to get all four quadrants of Alessandra's teeth TWICE A DAY, and she wouldn't insist that she finish up on her own! Just look at those pearly whites!



3. Animal Sound Application

We tried out the Como Park Zoo last weekend for a change of scenery (we usually go to the Minnesota Zoo). Different animals equals practicing different animal sounds. It's like second language immersion! She just knew immediately to roar like a lion when she saw the lion! How else would she know to do this unless her IQ was 957?!? (Okay, I realize this is a very simple task, and that an IQ score of 957 doesn't exist, but remember, you don't dare say a word to me to imply otherwise. This is my blog, you hear me???? MY BLOG!!!!!)

Also from our Como Park visit are these photos, which really have no meaning besides the fact that I just like them because this one looks like it was...

...Taken by paparazzi. Ricardo even told me that I made my "Posh Spice Face" in it!


...Filmed for the movie Reservoir Dogs. Cue The Little Green Bag, please. We have a cool walking scene to do here!


In other (tardy) news, Liza Pie and I threw Angie's baby shower two weekends ago! It's VERY hard to believe that her little girl will be joining our playgroup of two in a mere three weeks, give or take.

First-ever picture of the Triforce Junior Squad together (Angie's at the point where she can't keep her belly out of any shot...)

I love this picture of Angie because it perfectly captures the overwhelmed look on every new mother's face as they are opening a bunch of crap from experienced moms who are crowing "You will absolutely NEED this! Meanwhile, the Glamour magazine behind her is symbolic of her old life (and all of ours) when we all had the time and money to go out every weekend and go shopping and get our hair and makeup done and look FIERCE! *sigh*

So that's it for this week!

Before I go, I would like to tack on a quick explanation for those of you who have been following us (and we sure do appreciate it). I sometimes can get a little bit wordy and detail-oriented in these posts and in the grand scheme of most narratives, it can often be a bit too much information. But you see, in addition to keeping our faraway family, friends and loved ones updated, I am also creating memories for us and for Alessandra. Anybody who knows me well enough knows that for no particular reason I have the memory of an 112-year-old pot smoking ant, so unless I record these little details, I'll never remember. This blog is our "Baby Book". I eventually do plan to slurp all of these posts into a physical book with actual covers, but for now, I just need to make sure I get it all down. I've referred back so many times already, to answer a pregnancy question, or to see what Ali was up to a year ago. Someday I'll want to use it as a comparison for our next child, God's willing.

That being said, thanks for enduring my epic posts, and for laughing and crying with us!