Sassy Penny

Penny has been so funny lately.  Her personality is emerging with a BANG.  As an infant she was so mellow, calm, and sweet.  As a toddler she is turning into a fiery little creature. Still so sweet and pleasant, but has these explosive moments that make me ask, "Where did that come from?!".  I love this age.  Every stage has been my "favorite" but I truly think that this stage is the real deal.

She is a little mimic. I called John-Charles "babe" yesterday and she turned to him and said, "baby-daddy." With every word I say, I hear her little, liltish voice try to mimic it. It is heart melting.

She is definitely learning how to work her parents as well.  She has always been really great at going to bed.  In December, a light switch went off and she decided she really didn't like going to sleep anymore.  This means no more 7 pm bedtime and only a 30-45 minute nap/day.  We're lucky if we can get her to sleep solidly through the night.  Lately, she wakes up around 10ish and will say she is "hungry." Even if I offer her a granola bar, she will still say "hungry, Mommy. Highchair, please." Suddenly we realized that she wasn't really hungry and was using this as an excuse to get out of bed. We are suckers though. Last night, she woke up right on schedule at 10:30 pm. I think she must be having nightmares that wake her up because she wakes up crying hysterically.  When we go in to console her she usually wants to come to our bed and be with us for a bit.  Well, last night was no different and so we did just that.  We laid her down with us, and all of the sudden she sits up and says to John-Charles, "Daddy, me hungry."  John-Charles and I have wised up to this, like I said before, and so of course he said, "No, Penny. It's time for bed. We will sing a song  and go back to bed."  She keeps persisting, "Me Hungry, Me Hungry, Me hungry."  We keep telling her "No. Bed time." She finally turns again to John-Charles and tilts her little head and gives the sweetest smile, "Daddy. Me hungry. Pweeze." :)  We just burst into laughter, and then she started laughing too (she loves to laugh with us even if she doesn't understand what we are laughing about.) We couldn't help but laugh because it has finally happened.  She is workin' the parental system like a mastermind.

She is usually on hyperdrive and getting into everything from the time she wakes up until she goes to sleep. For this pregnant Mama, it can sometimes be a tad bit overwhelming and tiring. But, I really do love it. She is such a vibrant little girl and I just love watching her come into her own. It makes me happy, truly it does.