Monaloca

Melina hates having anyone mess with her hair. (This is why she has bangs.) But I put my own hair in pigtails over the weekend, and this prompted her to want the same. Obviously I could use a little practice making them straight on my little girl, though she didn’t mind. Kai decided it would be fun to add some color to Meli’s new ‘do – and to his own hair. Crazy kids!

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Graduations. Things are officially on the move at the Rapoza household. Last Friday Kai celebrated his last day of kindergarten and Melina her last day of baby/toddler daycare. Bright and early Saturday morning we packed ourselves and loads of snacks into the car for a six-hour trek down to South Pasadena to visit with Auntie Cyndie and Uncle Rich, and later that evening drove another hour to Rancho Cucamonga to celebrate cousin Kyle’s high school graduation.

So Cal. We stayed down south for three nights and also got to catch up with Grandma Rapoza, visiting from Hawaii and celebrating her 80th birthday. We were even able to work in a visit with my cousins Joel and Dianna and their three kids. My favorite Kai moment of the trip: As we left their house Kai asked, “You’ll remember where they live, right?” Sure, why? “I want to have another playdate with them.” He’d conveniently forgotten the six-hour car ride the previous day.

Potty Time! Big Melina moment on the trip: She used the big potty at Auntie Cyndie’s house! She’d asked to use the one at Joel’s earlier in the day, then asked again right after bath. This time it actually worked. She was thrilled and Kai, watching along with Joey and me, couldn’t stop clapping and screaming with pride for his little sis. She’s now asked consistently to use the potty every evening, and has been largely successful. I’m not holding my breath yet, but what a great milestone in the making!

New Job. Things didn’t stop with our return to Berkeley. Joey started a new job mid-week, and so far loves it. (Ok, who doesn’t love a first week? Hoping it sticks!) Melina also officially started at Kai’s old preschool. On her first day I’d planned to pick her up right before nap, but her teacher said to call at lunchtime to see how she was doing. I did, and she was fine, so I let her stay through her nap. (According to Miss L she talked herself to sleep saying “Mama come soon, Mama come soon…” Oooooh my baby! I did come soon after!)

New School. When I picked her up mid-afternoon the teachers couldn’t believe how well she did, and Miss C had a funny story to tell: Apparently a little boy grabbed a toy from her hand while she was playing. Melina didn’t scream or cry or bop the little kid on the head. She firmly grabbed the toy back, gave him an ever-so-slight nudge on the shoulder along with a look of death, like “don’t you DARE do that again, this was MINE!” and then walked away. Miss C’s commentary? “That’s my kinda girl!”

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A week after her second birthday, what’s our little girl up to?

Over the past month, Melina has burst into song. She sings herself to sleep most nights (and sometimes tries to pull in Kai but this is the only time he completely ignores her), and often sings as she plays, bathes, or rides in the car. Her favorites refrains include: “baa baa black sheep,” (she gets through the whole song on her own) “ee-i-ee-i-o,” “happy… to you,” “little bunny foo foo,” “ashes, ashes, all fall DOWN!,” “itty bitty spider,” and “twinkle twinkle star.”

After I weaned Melina, I would recite “Goodnight Moon” as I put her down to sleep each night. Now she’s asking for something different: “Maisy Bus!” I sing several verses of “The Wheels on the Bus…” ending with “The mama on the bus says good night Melina.” Kai’s also learned to join in, so the Jelly Bean gets a whole chorus. For a while Joey had no idea we did this, and now knows why Meli threw a fit on the rare occasions Daddy put her to bed. He’d simply put her down with a quick “Good night” – but has now changed his ways.

Melina’s favorite toys are anything she can put into and pull out of containers and move around the house, in a purse, bag, wagon, or mini-stroller. She also loves pocket-sized items, especially Burt’s Bees apricot oil in a little plastic bottle and a small pink penguin she got from the doc’s office. Her favorite birthday “present” from Grandma and Grandpa is a little bear full of honey to use on her yogurt. She carries “honey bear” all over the house, and puts him to sleep in the little plastic baggie he arrived in. Needless to say, we haven’t broken the honey seal just yet.

Melina still loves animals (stuffed and real) and putting on shows, with or without Kai. About a month ago she had fun naming her animals in front of the video camera. She also loves puzzles, stringing beads, opening and closing drawers a hundred times over, and trying to figure things out. She’s obsessed with buckles, on her booster seat, car seat, and stroller, plus my backpack and any others she can find. She’s really good at buckling them but doesn’t have the strength (yet) to open one.

I’ve been picking Melina up from daycare on my bike once a week and she usually loves it. Every so often she’ll get antsy and ask for “hat off,” but if I help her look for dogs or cats on the street she gets distracted right away. If she sees one and I ask her what color it is, she now says “white!” instead of “blue.” It’s like she has a single favorite color word each month. I wonder when she’ll start catching on for real. Maybe in preschool?

That’s our next big transition: Melina starts at Kai’s old preschool later this month! I’ve been taking her for weekly visits since mid-May and she’s already a fan of Miss Lisa, the slide, and the great new garden the kids helped plant. But I think her favorite things are the tot-sized sinks throughout the school. A whole world of water within her easy grasp!

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The night before her birthday party Melina said to me, “Mama, happy to you Mina.” Yes! And then, “Baa baa black sheep.” Sure! She likes to sing the song but I wasn’t sure what she was getting at until she suddenly ran to the kitchen and called me over to show off the bag full of celery we’d bought for party guests to feed the goats, cows, and sheep. She had remembered how we’d celebrate and was ecstatic just thinking about it. Her smile made my day.

We officially celebrated Melina’s second birthday with a joint “June 1-2-3” party at Tilden’s Little Farm. Her play group buddies Dalia (June 2) and Joey (June 3) also have early June birthdays, and between our three families we filled an entire corner of the picnic area with almost 70 guests. Everyone had a grand time, despite the winter-like weather on the last day of May.

Besides her weekly play group, some of Melina’s guests included her cousins Lucas and Noah, her yoga babe buddies Suli, Raycer, and Julien, plus Grandma and Grandpa Weiss, and a number of family friends. Kai made Melina a birthday crown (which she refused to wear) and had been so excited on behalf of his little sis that he “accidentally” woke her up at 6am. At the party Melina enjoyed munching on watermelon but was most excited to see the animals. According to Daddy at one point she fed a sheep half a celery stick then decided to finish the other half herself.

The fun continued today, her actual birthday. When I wished Melina a big happy birthday as I pulled her out of her crib, she smiled and told me “baa baa black sheep… feed goat.” Besides the song, birthdays must now signify animals to her. Luckily, we’d already planned a birthday trip to the Oakland Zoo with Grandma and Grandpa Weiss. Since Daddy has vacation before starting a new job, he was able to join us, too.

We polished off the big day with a trip to the park for our weekly play group, then to Jupiter for pizza with Daddy and play group friends Joey, Lily, and Tavi and their families. Melina opened a few presents yesterday and today but still has a stack of them on the dining room table. Kai will be excited to watch her open them when he’s with us again tomorrow night. So far his favorite (because at this age the toys are really all for both of them) is a big easel from Grandma and Grandpa. But Melina’s is a tiny board book with Maisy’s favorite farm animals.

Happy birthday, Jelly Bean!

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