A Fistful of Chopsticks

(No Margarets were injured in the production of this blog post).

Last night, because Leo has been working very, very hard and I am a nice, kind, self-sacrificing wife who appreciates that he has a love affair with vile-tasting, cilantro-filled soup, we went out to Vietnamese food.

It was a bit late when we got there, what with errands taking longer than they meant to, and Margaret refusing to have a nap until 2, which threw my whole scheme for the afternoon completely out of whack.  Margaret, who in general behaves superlatively well in restaurants, was reaching the end of her rope.  So we let her play with the chopsticks.

They appeared to be more than she bargained for, but she got them under control, and started the thrilling game of passing them to Leo and then demanding them back.

Whatever makes her happy, I guess.

More Ducks, And Some Aggressive Fish

Margaret and I have a deal; she puts up with me walking around the Botanical Garden pushing her in a stroller and occasionally saying “Look, Margaret, there is some flora!” and I let her out at the bridge to feed the ducks and fish.

It seems to work.

She likes feeding the ducks, and is making great strides in the throwing department.  The ducks live in the same pond as some koi, and they all come and try to get the food.

For those of you who don’t live in St. Louis, here is a picture of the seething mass of fishy duckiness that lives under the bridge.

It’s a wonder that the fish don’t eat the ducks, but I suppose they don’t have teeth.

Margaret gaped at them.

But she recovered, and tossed her handfuls of duck kibble into the gaping maws of the fishes and the ducks, and enjoyed herself.

And then, once the duck feed has been exhausted,* she looked for new entertainments.

*And that’s how you can tell Margaret’s a toddler – even the duck feed gets exhausted around her.

Margaret Answers That Question

In his most famous soliloquy, Hamlet muses on the problems of mortality.  He asks us “who would fardels bear . . .”

And the answer, of course, is Margaret, because while Hamlet characterizes toting around bundles of things as work, and suggests that no one would do it if they weren’t afraid of death, Margaret cheerfully gathers up bundles of sticks and runs around the backyard giving them to people.

Notice her left hand.

So clearly what Hamlet needed was a morning spent with Margaret to cheer him up.

In The Waiting Room

Yesterday, Margaret had her 15-month checkup (you know, the one where we shoot her full of autism!), and she developed a very important skill: reading while she waits in the waiting room.

And then she developed another important life skill: wearing a book as a hat.

The pediatrician’s office had this awesome chair that was just her height, and she had a ball climbing in and out of it.  Of course, she has yet to figure out how to approach the chair, turn around, and sit, so she climbs into the chair frontwards and turns around while standing on the chair, which is a little nerve-racking when one is her mother.

While we were waiting, I also taught her to fist-bump.

And her stats – she’s 28 lbs and 32 inches, which puts her in the 95th and 90th percentiles.

Proportionality, here we come!

Tickle, Tickle

I have video proving that Margaret is able to say “tickle.”  It also proves that I can say it, but I imagine that people will be less surprised and less excited about that fact.

Unfortunately, I haven’t caught her on video saying tickle with the tickling motion, because I’ve only tried the once and this is the best I’ve got.  But trust me that most of the time, she tickles herself.  And last night she tickled Leo.  But not me, because as I am telling her very firmly, I am not ticklish, not even a little bit, and so she shouldn’t waste her time.  Not at all.*

She also appears to be able to say “shoes,” and she seems to be getting a handle on “Daddy.”  And she’s been able to say a phrase that means “There it/he/she/I/you/we is/am/are” for a few months.  Oh, and she says “hello” when she’s pretending to talk into the phone/sandwich/blueberry/block/teddy bear.  Tickle is by far the least useful word on this list.

*A little overemphatic?  Perhaps.  But so far, effective.

Margaret the Builder

Margaret is constructing towers.  The stacking of blocks has become a fairly frequent occupation, and she’s getting really good at it.

She never underestimates the importance of a firm foundation.

She’s very precise in her movements, which helps with the stacking.

She knows when to stop.

And she knows when to move on to a different type of block, and a different tower, because a fourth alphabet block would be too much.

She frequently attempts the fourth block, and I’d say that she manages it about a quarter of the time.  She is very clever.

Knowledge Is Power

You remember how I used to make jokes about Margaret getting up in the middle of the night to come and read the parenting/development books I had lying around so that she could figure out what she was supposed to do next?

You remember when that was a joke?

Well, not anymore.

She found the book.

She picked it up and examined it.

She was taken aback by something she found.

So she checked with me.

And I suggested she look in the index for more information.

I’m a little worried about what tomorrow will bring.