Cuteness Update

I can't believe it's been over 3 months since our last Miriam update! Of course we've forgotten a lot of the hilarious/cute things she's done that we wanted to tell you all about (parental amnesia), but fortunately in a couple moments of foresight we jotted a few things down.

***************
A MUSIC CRITIC OF TENDER YEARS

Miriam has very discriminating musical tastes. One day when I was scanning through various radio stations, every time I paused at a pop station she would frown and say decidedly "No like dat moosic!" She seems to prefer Classical, especially "pano moosic". However, when I came to one with a steady beat, she smiled and started bopping her head. Only two and she's already a teeny bopper!

I'm still not sure what she thinks of my playing the piano at home -- she likes to sit nearby and read books while I'm playing, but every time I come to the end of a song, she cries, "Yay! Mommy all done pano!" Can't tell if that's supposed to be a subtle hint or not...

Miriam has a very good ear for music. I don't know if it's a sign of her superior intelligence or if it's just typical of all kids this age (I know which option her grandparents would choose!) but she catches on to songs and memorizes them very quickly. She's got pretty much all the songs from Sound of Music down pat. Her favorites are Do Re Mi and So Long, Farewell. Do Re Mi: for a while she would sing, "Re, a deer, I call myself" over and over, but now she can sing the whole song from the movie, including the "Do mi mi, mi so so" part. (She knows it even better than Dad!) So Long, Farewell: for a while she would BEG us to sing "in the hole, in the hole" and was very upset when we wouldn't comply. We had NO idea what she could possibly mean. Finally it dawned on me that she was quoting "in the hall" as in, "There's a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall." NOW she says, "Mommy, sing 'In the clock in the hall and the bells in the steeple too'? Please do dat for me?" (How can I resist?) :) Another popular request is, "Mommy, sing 'I like to stay and taste my first paint'?" (She's inherited her father's gift for making up words to songs that she doesn't really know.) ;)

She must be proud of the fact that she's a determined carnivore (sorry all you vegetarians out there!) -- another of her fav songs to sing at the top of her lungs is, "I've got a friend in meat!" (I wonder if the fact that she sings this the most after watching the Toy Story movies means anything?)

**************
A TWO YEAR OLD'S GRASP OF LANGUAGE

I know there's a tons of things we wanted to add here, but I could only remember a couple -- It's hilarious watching little kids buidling a language from the ground up. They seem to cycle through favorite words or phrases. For a while Miriam's was "do X NOW" as in, "Daddy, sit up NOW!" She gives her opinions very decidedly for so young a person. (10 points to whoever can place that quote!) Another "now" phrase has been "I'm busy wight now," used especially whenever we ask her to do something she doesn't want to do, like pick up her toys. I can't really be annoyed when she does this, because I know that she learned it from me!

**************
da-na-la-da-na-la-da-na-la-da-na-la-da-na-la-da-na-la-da-na-la-da-na-la-
POTTY TRAINING UPDATE!!!!
(those of you with no children may want to skip this part)

Yes, we've started! We had thought about waiting until after #3 was born, but we figured we'd at least like to lay the groundwork beforehand even though she'll probably regress for a while. For the longest time she was resistant to the idea (as in, whenever I asked her if she's like to sit on the pot, she'd scream "NO! SIT! POTTY!!!"). So I didn't push it. However she LOVES reading books about toddlers being potty trained. One especially helpful one mentioned the attraction of Big Girl Pants. So I grabbed that idea and played it up as much as I could. However, Mom learned
Lesson #1) Kids do not respond to promises of abstract future rewards well.
Typical exchange: Mom: "Wouldn't you like to wear big girl pants someday?"
Miriam: "Yeah!"
Mom: "Okay, then let's sit on the potty for a little bit."
Miriam: "NO! SIT! POTTY!!!!!"
So the other day when we were bored we went out and bought some Big Girl Pants. Miriam had lots of fun helping to pick them out -- of course she chose some purple ones. And of course when we got home she wanted to try them all on, so we had NEW exchange:
Miriam: "I wanna wear big girl pants!"
Mom: "Okay, then we need to sit on the potty for a little bit first."
Miriam: "Okay!" [begins stripping off clothes]
Mom [thinking]: "Well, that was painless!"
Mom learned lesson #2: Never underestimate the power of BRIBERY.
I do have to confess that chocolate has also been used as an incentive. (When the choclate runs out I've got a bag of little cheapy party favor toys. Remember how much you used to love those?)

Anyway, we are happy to report that after one initial major accident (which she didn't like the feeling of AT ALL) we've pretty much had a string of successes. We weren't sure how things would go at first -- we didn't know if she could interpret the signals in time or maintain enough control. (I've been especially leery since we have all wall-to-wall carpeting!) But I guess she was ready!
And even though I'm getting a little tired of spending most of my days sitting on the bathroom floor, I am looking forward to not changing a toddler's dirty diapers any more!

So... now we get to start it all over again with #3 in a couple months!

da-na-la-da-na-la-da-na-la-da-na-la-da-na-la-da-na-la-da-na-la-da-na-la-
*************

(FYI: we're counting the current in utero family member as #3. When somebody asks me how many children I have, I like to respond, "Three: one on earth, one in heaven, and one in the oven!") :)