Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Banana

So this is the word this kid learns before 'Papa'. Were not sure if this means all food to her, but she definately loves bananas. If you put the thing in front of her, she will devour a bite the size of her head. It will then mush about for 5 minutes until she can choke it down. It's funny in a way but alarming in another. She is papa's chowhound. Still, she can say 'mama', so where the heck is 'papa'?

So I had a true parenting moment yesterday. While feeding her melon, a fruit fly landed on her hand. I swiped it away with a light slap and immediately realized my mistake. The look on her face soured like I shoved a lemon in her mouth. The tears fell faster than I could count, and she began to shake. I tried to talk to her and cuddle her, but she wanted nothing to do with me. She wouldn't even look at me for 10 minutes.

Crap.

I wanted to just tell her 'I was trying to do you a favor' but how do you communicate that to a baby????

Crap. Crap. Crap.

It took a while but things did return to normal and I might have held her longer than normal. She does this thing where if I act surprised, she runs into me and falls on my chest. I put my arms around her and shake her. I made sure to do this a few extra times tonight.

How the heck am I going to actually discipline her with this kind of reaction? Maybe this was my first trial by fire and I will get stronger. I just hope I send the right message next time.

Tonight was the first walk with P in the dark for some time. I think it was the first time she noticed (really noticed) the moon. Considering she goes to bed at 7 every night, she doesn't see it much right now. That will change quickly.

Summer is leaving us and as always, I will miss the long days.

Bring on Hawaii.