Pacifier Debate

Clara Grace bounded to meet her daddy as he came home from work on the afternoon of Friday, September the twenty-ninth. After greeting him with a hug she asked, “Fire, please,” which meant she would like a pacifier. Once her daddy had retrieved her precious pacification device, she decided to press her luck with a further request. “Two fires?” ventured the hopeful little girl. “How many mouths do you have?” her daddy asked rhetorically. “One, two,” Clara Grace replied slyly. “One mouth, one fire,” her daddy answered without wavering. Clara Grace stood thoughtfully for a moment and then made her final plea, “Two hands, two fires.” With their one-year-old daughter’s current level of reasoning and verbal repartee, her mommy and daddy have high hopes for a prosperous future in law.

Playtime Etiquette

Clara Grace and her mommy enjoyed a play date with Nicholas, one of Clara Grace’s best friends on the morning of Thursday, September the twenty-eighth. The two toddlers giggled almost uncontrollably as they raced each other to the top of the two slides in Clara Grace’s back yard then sped shooting down. Then came a very proud moment for Clara Grace’s mommy as Nicholas decided to switch slides. The little girl stepped back allowing Nicholas to pass, looked at her mommy and announced, “Share, share slide.”

Phonics

Clara Grace proudly pushed the letter “B” on the refrigerator to hear the sound it made on the morning of Tuesday, September the nineteenth. “B-b-b,” she told her mommy enthusiastically. “You’re right,” her mommy encouraged, “’B’ says ‘b’ like b-b-b-baby or b-b-b-ball.” Clara Grace considered this for a moment then surprised her mommy by saying, “B-b-b-book!”

What Happened in Shoe?

Clara Grace’s Daddy got her dressed on the morning of Saturday, September the sixteenth. As her daddy hurried through the finishing touches of shoes and socks, Clara Grace exclaimed suddenly, “Ah! What happened in shoe?” Her daddy reexamined the situation only to find a crumpled sock stuffed all the way in the shoe’s toe. When the little girl heard her mommy repeating this story and the laughter it received, she commented “Funny joke,” and often repeated, “What happened in shoe, ha ha ha!” as her feet were shod.

The Last Inhibition

Clara Grace’s daddy removed his little girl’s wet pajamas and snapped a new diaper in place on the morning of Saturday, September the sixteenth. Clara Grace exclaimed, “Ouch! Hurt foot! Foot hurts! After kicking her big toe on the wooden rail of the diaper table. Miserably, she glanced up at her daddy and requested, “Kiss it?” Her daddy, who would normally do anything to wipe away his daughter’s pain, was more than slightly reluctant on this particular occasion owing to the fact that Clara Grace had completely soaked her pajamas and sheets the past night. In the spirit of compromise, her daddy offered, “I’ll kiss your cheek,” but Clara Grace wiggled her tiny toes and replied, “No, kiss foot.” Upon seeing his options were none, her daddy gingerly kissed the very tip of the little girl’s big toe. “Hug it?” Clara Grace persisted and of course, her daddy eventually succumbed to this request as well.

Consider the Consequences

Clara Grace’s daddy balanced her high up on the afternoon of Friday, September the fifteenth. She eyed the enormous and inactive ceiling fan and pleaded, “Up, up fan.” To her surprise, she stretched out her hand and actually moved the giant blade. As the fan slowly rotated away from her, she waved and called, “Bye bye fan.” Predictably though, the next blade in line followed and gently tapped the back of her head. “Bonk the head,” she announced in surprise.

Calling Us Names

Clara Grace’s mommy and daddy woke her early from her nap on the afternoon of Wednesday, September the fourteenth for her mommy’s doctor’s appointment. Their daughter popped up from the mattress as they tiptoed into the room and greeted them, “Jeff, Marcy!” Needless to say, this was quite a shock to the parents who weren’t even aware that their little girl knew their names. “Hopefully if she regresses when her baby brother is born, she’ll go back to calling us mommy and daddy,” her daddy mused.

Danger Baby Robinson

Clara Grace played with her daddy in the department store on the evening of Saturday, September the eleventh. “Crawl under here,” he urged his little girl pointing out one of the doughnut shaped clothes racks under which he had spent many happy hours while his own mommy shopped. Clara Grace wasn’t interested though, so her daddy attempted one more tack. “Be careful,” he warned and glanced ominously once more at the hanging garments, “be very careful!”

Immediately, Clara Grace looked back at the rack with renewed interest. She pushed through the clothes glancing over her shoulder every few seconds and grinning at her daddy. One can only wonder what activities this daredevil attitude will lead to in the future.

Mailbaby

Clara Grace bounded from the sunroom on Friday, September the tenth. She found her mommy washing dishes in the kitchen and proclaimed in a state of near hysteria, “Truck is here knocking on door!” As it turned out, the delivery of her daddy’s new steamer was the highlight of the little girl’s day.

That'll Learn Ya

Clara Grace eyed the coffee cup in her mommy’s hand with particular envy on the afternoon of Thursday, September the eighth. Mustering all her toddler charm, she laid her head on her mommy’s lap and asked sweetly, “Mommy coffee, try it? Try it please?” “I suppose we can give her a sip,” her mommy said tentatively to Clara Grace’s daddy. “Once she tries it, she’ll probably stop asking for it all the time, right?” Unfortunately, no sooner had the little girl’s lips come away from the mug, than she said in a throaty voice, “Like it! Nummy, nummy! Good coffee!”

Dog Observations

Clara Grace’s mommy and daddy took her to an outdoor concert on Friday, September the second. Their daughter proudly called out “banjo!” and “fiddle!” each time these instruments took a solo break.

After a while, her daddy decided to take her on a tour of all the dogs that had come to listen to the music. Each of the canine’s owners was proud to let the little girl pet their furry friend. First, Clara Grace met a tiny and playful Jack Russell and commented, “It’s a doggie, fast dog!” Next she met a quiet but friendly red spaniel. Much to her surprise, she got a big kiss from its large, wet tongue and said, “Wet dog! Need a towel." One of the last she met was a wiry terrier whose fastidious owner had even remembered to bring its water dish. “Water,” Clara Grace observed after taking a sip from her own cup, “doggie’s water, bye bye doggie.”