First Times: Meeting Santa & first movie

Yesterday, we brought Carolina to meet Santa. Actually, we went to Macy's to look at the window display and then decided just to see if we could see Santa from the end of the line. Once we got there it was like Santa disneyland, and you can't see anything.

We got on line, and Carolina was fine and happy to be on line as there was initially a train and then "inside" the train, then a winter wonderland with a talking tree and singing frosties and penguins. Then off to meet Santa.

She was happy enough to sit next to Santa but didn't want to hold his hand or sit on his lap. This was WAY better than I had imagined and I'm glad we took her.

I guess those three times at Disney, having to wait on line for a ride, was really good training for this line at Macy's, which was only about 20-30 minutes long. (I won't go into details about how a very long line went so quickly on this blog, but if you ask I'll let you know.)

Then today, we took Carolina to her first movie at the movie theater to see The Muppets. It is playing at the local cinema about 7 blocks away, and an afternoon showing was at 3pm -- great timing since that's just after her nap. Since kids tickets are only $5, it was worth it to go there (in case of too much fidgeting or a lack of interest) and be close to home than to a larger theater where tickets for each of us would be $12 and a subway ride fare.

About halfway through she looked at me (sitting on my lap) and pointed to the theater door and said "Home!" I asked her what home, and she told me "Cah-leena home!" I realized she wanted to go home and was getting either bored or a little scared. Any time there was a slightly dramatic scene, she was a bit nervous that something bad was happening. I told her that Miss Piggy would be on screen again shortly, currently her favorite Muppet, and that got her to stay a bit longer. I had to keep cajoling her and she ended up staying through the whole thing.

All in all a LOT better than I anticipated, but I won't be taking her to the theater any time soon. Maybe after her 3rd birthday...

It was a lot of fidgeting to put up with, and I was prepared to leave at any point if we needed to, but she's very chatty and if the theater was more packed it would have been uncomfortable. She was the ONLY child in the theater, which was weird. And Ismael and I were the only adults laughing out loud. There were some pretty funny parts, so I was surprised at how quiet it was. And then I noticed a few couples making out, so looks like local theaters with cheap tickets are still the same as when I was in school.

Getting out of the crib herself continues

This morning I was greeted by the sound of "Mamaaaah! Mamaaaah!" from behind a closed door. It was 6.30am and not so early I couldn't deal with it but a little too early for Sunday morning when another 1/2 hour would have been perfect.

So I make my way over to her door, open it slowly (having learned my lesson from yesterday) and she pulls the door toward her and patters out to the dark living room. Just standing there looking a little sad, I bend down and ask her what's the matter, and also explain everyone is sleeping. Everyone at this point being just papa.

She tells me she wants to lay down in my bed. So off we go. She puts her head down on my pillow and closes her eyes. She's like that for about 10 minutes, then starts to get a little fidgety and I open my eyes and find myself looking directly into her open eyes with about 2" between us.

I close my eyes quickly in hopes she might do the same. I then peek one eye open and she's there still staring at me. Quickly close mine again. Wait a minute or so, peek one eye open and she's closed hers again. Phew. I then feel a little finger very, very gently touch my nose. Ah, well, sleep time is over. I see if ignoring her will get her to close her eyes again, knowing full well that it won't. Nope.

She then tells me that it's time for lunch (which is what all meals are currently called), and we go to the potty before getting some cereal.

I try to fight it so as not to wake up Ismael but start dry heaving pretty strongly while in the bathroom, which is adjacent to our bedroom. (At 15 weeks I'd thought we were pretty much passed this but not always.) With Carolina looking on a little worried, and now standing directly next to me at the sink, it finally passes. We go on to the kitchen, followed very sleepily (modorro!) by papa.

I was going to wait until she's closer to 3 to get her a bed, but it might be time after we get back from Mexico to not only get her a bed but also a digital clock so I can teach her that until the number all the way on the left says "7" she has to stay in her room. She's still too short to open her door on her own, but I'm sure that soon enough that'll change, too.

I know my husband will be pleased as he's wanted to get her a bed of her own for many months now. I still think she's not QUITE ready but we're very nearly there. I'll start shopping.

Thanksgiving fancy outfit

With her fancy coat

Without fancy coat

Talking, talking... clever!

Thanksgiving was a very relaxed affair. Carolina helped us call a few family members who don't live by and say "Happy Tanks-giveeng!"

We had to practice that one a few times during the days before Thanksgiving as "Happy Halloween" was her preferred greeting.

During Thanksgiving dinner, Carolina discovered two things:
She prefers ham to turkey, and she LOVES gravy.

So, when she'd run out of ham, she'd say "Mas ham pleeeze!" and when we gave her back her plate with new ham, she'd look at it first and then say, "Mas greevy?"

I had brought her new Christmas outfit (there are two) with the blue dress and white, faux fur coat. When she woke up from her nap, before we ate, we got her dressed in the fancy outfit. Decked out in fancy tights and new, fancy shoes. She was delighted.

Earlier that day, she came into my parents' new bathroom after I took a shower and asked me "What dat name?" (which is her way of saying "What's that called?"; an improvement from "Wha dat?") while pointing to the squeegee in their tub area. I explained it was a squeegee and that you use it to take water off the walls and windows. (The new bathroom has a glass door and wall instead of a shower curtain like we have at home.) The next morning after we got home, Carolina found a plastic piece from a clothing tag (the kind that is straight and then has a perpendicular piece at the end). She came up to me with the piece and says, "move the water away." I had to look at this thing in her hand closely before I realized that she thought it looked like a mini squeegee, and that we had talked about that the day before. Very clever.

One more story: This morning I went into Carolina's room to get her up and she was not only awake (as she normally is), she was quietly standing behind the door. Scared the bejesus out of me. So I quickly composed myself, kneeled down and said, "How did you get out of bed?" She explained in her own way that she got out of the crib, on to the big bed next to it, and climbed down the other side, walked around her crib and then came to look at the elephants on her wall. I then asked, "So you went to look at the elephants and the lion?" She then explained yes, and it was so she could do a "biiiiig poop" while standing up. (Standing up pooping is her preferred method these days. Just ask Aunt Jee.)

We then talked about how going poop in the potty or the big potty is more comfortable and easy since the big potty has water and you hear the poop go "PLOP" and in the little potty you hear a little "plop". So that she should call for mommy or papa when she needs to poop in the morning if we didn't come in yet. She thought that was all hilarious. We'll try using underwear and actually using the potty more than once a day after we get back from Mexico. I think it'll be easier since she'll be another month or two older and we will have time at home (with it snowing or raining or being too cold to go out) to really take the time to get comfortable with the potty. And if she's not ready then, we'll try again before she goes to nursery school in March.

Papa find it!

This has been said with great pleasure in our home recently, "Papa find it!"

It's not a command or a request, it's more of a celebratory exclamation. Here's how it came about:

Roughly a month or so ago, Carolina couldn't find something (probably one of the pieces of her etch-a-sketch set or one of her Minnie dolls) and we started looking. We looked under the couch, bookshelves, beds, in the seat cushions, etc. We couldn't find it, and by "we" I mean "Mommy". So to cut short her anxiety and asking about it, I just said, "Maybe Papa can find it when he gets home." She was happy with that.

During her bath, Ismael came home. I told him we were looking for whatever it was, and he found it inside of a minute or so. He showed Carolina and she was delighted, "Papa find it!"

Something similar happened a few days or a week later. And Papa found it again.

Since then, whenever anything is lost (or she can't find it immediately after looking absolutely nowhere or calling out for the inanimate object "Where are you?"), Carolina tells me "Papa find it."

It became a joke and then there was something missing last week or the week before and after much looking *I* found it. I was pretty proud as it was small and in an unusual place, found after 2 days of looking. I presented it to Carolina by saying, "Look! Carolina I found it. Mommy found it." And she looked at me and said gleefully, "Papa find it!"

I let it go. The important thing was that it was found and she was happy. Then a day or so later, this happened again where I found the thing. She tells me again that Papa find it. I decided to test this.

"No, Carolina, Mommy found it."
"Papa find it!"
"Carolina, Papa is at work. Mommy just found it for you. Mommy find it."
"No! Papa find it!"

Ok, ok. Papa find it. Of course, Papa is exceptionally proud to be the one she thinks of and credits when anything is missing and needs to be found. He's also the one we go to when something is tangled up. He's VERY good at both finding things and fixing tangled things.

So, okay, it's a little disappointing not to get credit -- but she adores her father. If he needs to find it so she's happy, I can live with that.

PS Started reading 1Q84 by Murakami. It's enormous and I hope to be done with it before the second baby comes in May as I KNOW I'll not get to read anything for about a year after he (or she) arrives :)