0 to 2.5 years in 3.4 seconds

As we crawl toward that all-exciting one year mark with Miss Earlygirl, a strange thing is happening. She's turning into a two-year old. Most of the time she's a happy-go-lucky kid, but when she sees something she wants but can't have, she's livid. She reaches out her arm toward the desired object, and when it is not delivered into her sweaty palm, she growls and whines.

This all comes on the heels of her increasing comfort with and enjoyment of her first word. (Did I mention she says "cup" about five million times a day? Very charming, if a bit repetitive.) "Cup" can mean either "I'd like some water in a cup please" or "oh look, there is a cup in the room." When no cup is around, the meaning is more obvious, but when we are in the kitchen things get a little more foggy for me. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time offering her a cup of water, only to have her shake her head at me. ("Mom the village idiot apparently has not grasped that I was merely informing her that there is a cup in the general vicinity. Fools, fools these parents of mine!")

So yes, the point of this whole cup digression? The point is, Ada can now tell us what she wants, so long as what she wants comes in a cup. Anything else she desires must be identified by extending her arm toward it and grunting meaningfully. The problem is not that I don't know what she is pointing at; it is usually pretty clear that she'd like the television remote, my glasses, the hot mug of coffee I'm constantly moving away from her grasp. No, the problem is that sometimes I won't give her one of the aforementioned items, or some other item that could hurt her, that she'd destroy in seconds or that I just might want to keep her from because I am a mean, mean mommy. My refusal to give in to her every demand is frustrating Ada. "You clearly understand me, because you give me the cup when I ask for it," she's thinking, "so what is the problem here?"

The problem (other than that I am a mean, mean mommy) is that Ada's desires have outpaced her ability to express them and to understand why they might not always be fulfilled. Talking about it at dinner, Chris and I agreed that it was probably time to work on some more signs with Ada. Right now she understands "change" (as in diaper) and will do "more" (as in "isn't it time you fed me now?"). We've been working on "thank you" and "gentle", but those are going to take some time. We have some others in regular rotation (bath, book) but this may be the time to go back to "milk" and a few others. Unfortunately for the toddler-in-training, we aren't focusing in on "gimme" or, as Chris suggested, a sign that allows her to express her frustration with her uncooperative parents.