Little Perfectionist

Amanda is apparently getting tired of being the closest to the ground of everyone in the house, and has learned to prop herself up on one knee.  Sometimes she bounces as if she’s about to stand up on both feet.  Dave thinks it means she’ll be walking sooner.  She’s also proved the old theory that no matter how elaborate a toy collection is available, nothing is as fascinating to a baby as a cardboard box, a paper plate, a pinch of carpet fuzz, or the grubby sneakers someone just kicked off at the door. 

 

As her abilities grow, Eva is showing how particular she really is.  When she goes down for her nap, she gets really upset if we try to cover her up.  She wants to arrange her blanket just the way she wants it.  At the table, she wants her chair an exact distance from her plate. If we try to push her closer (to avoid food in her lap), she protests.  When Dave disappears into the garage to tinker, Eva watches him through the cat door.  Sometimes she sticks her head through (a big no-no), and if she hears one of his power tools rev up, she starts yelling with concern, “Careful, Daddy! Careful!”

 

Her favorite phrase right now is “See ya yater!”, and she’ll say it to strangers we pass by, or just to me when she’s going into another room to play.  It’s clear she understands more than she can express, because she imitates us in her play in ways that are really funny.  She’ll bring a book to Amanda and start “reading” to her when she hears her wake and start crying in her crib.  Amanda actually enjoys the attention, and will watch with interest as Eva turns the pages and ad-libs her way through her favorite stories.  Whenever she sees me feeding Amanda, she declares “my turn!” and tries to subtly nudge me out of my chair.

 

That battle of wills is getting stronger, too.  Once when I told her to sit down and eat dinner, she yelled “no!” defiantly in my face, and I put her in time-out. “You don’t tell Mommy no,” I said. “You obey Mommy.”  A couple minutes later I let her up and told her, “say “sorry, Mommy””.   She complied, and ate her dinner.  Later, I saw her take her stuffed bear and put him in “time-out”.  “No tell Mommy ‘no!’”, she chided.  Then she picked him up and said, “I sorry, Mommy.  Eva obey!”