¿Ño?

Yes, I do owe you photos and stories from the birthday extravaganza. No, this post is not going to have any of them. Here is the thing. If I keep waiting to post anything until I get enough time to get everything together for that birthday post...well, let's just say you will miss a lot and I will go crazy. We don't want any of that, am I right? 

So, because things are literally changing around here every day, I am going to jump in this nap time glory moment to give you a Peanut-ism we are thoroughly enjoying.

 

Peanut loves the phone. 

We do not have a land line, but she watches us talk on our cell phones several times a day. For a while, every time the phone rang, she would quickly put her hand up to her ear and look around until we answered the phone. Saying "briiiiiing, briiiiiing!" did not mean anything to her, but if she caught even the tail end of a faint electronic possibly-it-could-be-a-ring-tone sound -- well buddy, that hand was on her ear in a flash. It was pretty hilarious, and we thought it was awfully stinkin' cute...until it got even cuter.

 The other day we realized that the Nutter had a new word. Every time she would put her hand to her ear (with one of our phones or without) she would say, "¿Ño, Ño?" In Colombia, when people answer the phone they say "¿Alo?"  It sounds a lot like "Hello" really, but for some reason Peanut comes out with something that sounds like a cross between "No" (like huh-uh, I don't think so) and "Anyong" (or 안넹 which is a Korean greeting, used as we might use hello). We knew she was smart, but heeeeyyyyy...

At any rate, now she not only says "¿Ño?" when the phone rings, but also says it when the phone isn't ringing (confusing...) if she wants the phone. Got it? 

The best is to watch her play with our neighbor, her abuelo Alex, who will even call her on one of our phones just to watch her gawk in horror as the cell phone in her hand actually rings and has a voice come out. Remember, she is (already and yet) only one year old. She likes the phone, but she doesn't really get the phone. Usually when she realizes that something is actually happening with the thing in her hand, she passes it off like a hot potato. Well, either that, or she starts punching buttons like mad - basically making the caller on the other end of the line go deaf, but whatever.

Another day I will tell you about all the new functions Peanut has taught me on my phone. Well, as soon as I figure out how to unblock the keypad.

 And don't worry; one day I will get that birthday post up.  Just don't hold your breath.

¡¡FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS!!

Happy Day Baby Light-Light

1 - Wish

There is always more than one wish.

There is always the deep prayer for health and safety and joy mixed with generosity and kindness, grace and wisdom.

There is always the highest hope for profound love and enlivening passion.

There is always the desire for unflinching courage that never needs to be tested, for confident silliness and stubborn faith.

But my one wish for you on this day - the last day of your very fist year - is that your magnetic charm which calls so many people to you may always bring people together but never bring them only to you. That your infectious smile and endearing eyes be gifts that inspire and uplift, an offering out rather than a reeling in. May you enjoy the attention you garner but never need it; love and appreciate the ways people care for you and multiply it for all those around you.

You have been a wish fulfilled in this year dear one, but don't fear, I will keep wishing with you.

2 - New Skills

Though she may say four words, Peanut understands many more, and it is incredibly cool to see her catch on to something new.

For a while we have tried to guide the Nutter as she was getting down off of the sofa, the bed, the ceiling (oh wait, no, that was me...), and our phrase is always "colita primero" or "bottom first." For whatever reason, while we were in Bogotá, it seemed the message finally sunk in. I don't know if it was because we slept in a bed that was very low to the ground so that the whole getting down from the bed process did not seem quite so daunting, or if it was just time. Whatever the case, "colita primero" is now where it is at. As noted in the photo, she will start to slide her colita over to the edge of the bed when she is still dead center. It is a helpful give away at the moment when we are still getting used to the fact that our daughter has a mind of her own and even though we just put her up on the bed, down may look a lot better.

And, though we don't have a photo of it, the second phrase she has learned is "a la boca" - to your mouth! Magically this is one we only have to pull out when there is actual food in front of her. Other times things pop right into her mouth without having to ask or remind even once... Peanut is still not master of the spoon, so it is kind of funny to yell "a la boca"  when she has a spoon in her hand because it goes very quickly to her face...just not always to her mouth. The ants, let me tell you, are equally pleased.

3 - Toys

 

We all know that little kids play with things that we might normally not see as toys. Keys are a favorite, and spatula + pot = happiness for most. Peanut is no exception to that rule, and with just a few "actual toys" on hand, we have seen many things become toys that we did not originally foresee. As you have seen from previous photos, sometimes the home printer/fax machine gets on the play list, but mostly there are things that just never seemed that interesting to us until Peanut got a hold of them...

  

1. Collapsible laundry basket.

Full disclosure - the tag above noting that "this is not a toy" comes specifically from this laundry basket. Thing is, Peanut can't read yet...suckers.

2. Egg separator.

To be honest, this seems closer to a toy than a really usable item to me anyway. It came with the set of measuring cups we bought, and the picture on the front of it is the only reason I even knew what it was. I tried to use it a couple of times as Peanut was just starting to eat eggs since she was supposed to only have the yolks for a while, but every time the whole durn egg would just slip through and I would wind up eating it myself...again. 

Thus, it became the perfect compliment to bath time. After all, if you have a cup that holds water and one that doesn't, surely that has to spark some thought as to why that is, and that is one heck of a lot more than that egg separator was doing for me before.

3. Rosary.

 Yeah, so technically this might be a big no-no. I am going to have to rely on my Catholic buddies out there to tell me whether we need to keep this on the super down-low or what. 

The thing is, we would not even have a rosary if it were not for some nuns in the airport. You see, Peanut is what you call "magnetic." Perhaps it is the blinding white skin; could be the wispy blonde/red/huh? hair; possibly related to the scrunchy faced smile she throws out at those she passes - whatever the case, people come talk to her. As we waited in line to go from Barranquilla to Bogotá two weeks ago there was a bevy of nuns (are they a bevy? they seem like a bevy...) all there to send off a compatriot on our flight. Two young nuns began to "chat" with Peanut and asked if they could put this rosary around her neck. "Sure!" I said, but when we got up to go and I tried to return it to them they said it was for her to keep. So we took a photo of Peanut with her nuns to send to them when we got back, and we just hope the other photo isn't somehow problematically blasphemous.