Monaloca

Last weekend we headed to Tahoe with my sister and her family to take the four kids on their first trip to play in the snow. They all liked it, Kai so much that he told us he wished it snowed in Berkeley. (My response: “I used to say the same thing about SJ when I was growing up. Then I did live in the snow. It’s better to visit.”)

Melina liked it so much that she’s wanted to wear her snow boots every day since we’ve been home. I let her get away with it the last two days. After all, shoes are shoes and she looks kinda hip in her own toddler way. She did not like wearing her gloves, though, even when her hands were near popsicles as she sledded down a hill in the middle of a snow flurry.

We had snow highlights both full days of the trip. On the drive up the little ones were so excited none of them napped. We stopped at a state park near Donner for a traipse through deep powder – and for Melina, a ride in the sled that her brother pulled. The next day, we knew a slush storm was on its way so headed out fairly early and followed signs to “sled hill” from the main road in Kings Beach.

Wet snow was falling by the time we arrived so we ended up with the whole hill to ourselves. The three older kids flew down on saucers (Lucas and Noah with an adult), and Melina had a blast sliding over and over again in a baby/toddler sled we’d borrowed from her friend Lily. As Auntie Stacie put it, she never said a word, not a single “wheeee!!!” but just sat their smiling until the sled stopped, then said “mo… mo…” which in the end says it all.

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Kids have their own way of speaking, and our 5 1/2- and 1 1/2-year-olds are no exception. Hear what they’re saying (and in Kai’s case, thinking) these days.

KAI

“multiply task” = multi-task, as in “Look! I’m multiply-tasking!” as he carries two things at once.

“tremintary school” = elementary school. We mentioned that he was in grade school now, but Kai insisted that “No, not grade school, tremintary school.”

“devious” = decent, as in “I got a few devious pictures” with the kids’ camera he got for Christmas.

“I’m voting for both teams” to answer to the question, “Which team are you rooting for in the Super Bowl?”

Last weekend Grandma Nancy gave Kai $5 to buy a gift for himself. He looked through an entire toy store, passed on sticker books, balls, even a toy robot, and decided instead to buy his very own rustic baguette at the bakery. Lucky for us, he was happy to share.

MELINA

“daju” = water. It sounds so distant from the real word but must be how she hears it right now.

“shidat” = kikat = kitty cat. This one’s odd, considering cat (or “ka”) was her first clear word, nearly a full year ago.

“dodu” = Totoro. And if you say “Dodu” back to her instead of Totoro she says an emphatic, “No…” (didn’t you hear what I said?) “Dodu!”

“bro bro” or “bo bo” = brother, or Kai. This one is all our doing, since we’ve been referring to Kai as bro bro since Meli was born.

“Mina” = Melina.

She now asks for Jessie, her favorite care provider, by name.

“tankin” = thank you. At long last, she’s learned the other side of “Pleee!”

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Melina and I had lunch with the ladies (aka my longtime buddies) in SF the other day, and none of them could believe how big she’s gotten. “She’s all grown up!” seems a common refrain these days. And while she’s not all grown up, she’s fast becoming a “big” toddler, full of personality and will.

My favorite trick of late is when Meli tries to tell knock knock jokes. Out of the blue she’ll say “knot knot,” wait for someone to say, “who’s there?” and then babble something incomprehensible. Without a doubt she’s learned this ritual from her brother, and eventually she’ll get out a full joke.

Kai has also taught her the art of putting on a bed show. He’s been doing these for several years now: He dims the lights, puts “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on his CD player, and dances like a mad man on his bed. Last summer Meli moved from audience member to participant, usually just bouncing while seated on the bed and surrounded by stuffed animals. Now not only does she stand up and dance herself, but specifically asks to do “show.” She’s also picked up on many of her brother’s moves, including a little dance-run, checking the DVD player at least once every 30 seconds, and pausing for a drink of water from the bottle on the bedside shelf.

Mid-month, Melina started to speak small sentences. My favorites so far are “Mama sit down,” “I eat,” and “I dunno,” with raised hands and a facial expression to match. “More apple please” is definitely Meli’s favorite! She’s started calling herself “Mina” (sometimes “Mima”), just like her friends at school do. And she’s begun to tell us when she needs to or has poopoo – though with varying degrees of truth. The toddler potty itself is still a novelty, and a convenient seat.

Our girl has a good throwing arm. She throws overhand with both arms and can get a ball (or small toy – eek!) clear across a room with little effort. And she now climbs pretty much anything that looks climbable. She climbs into the jogging stroller in our entry way when she decides it’s time for a walk. She climbs monkey bars in the tot lot at the park. Slow, steady, determined. She pulls chairs or step-stool-like toys over to drawers so she can climb up and look inside. And she just learned to climb up the bar stools at our counter, which gives her free access to a whole range of things she couldn’t reach before. Time to re-think our baby- (er, toddler-) proofing!

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