Curly Straight

I am sharing an orange with Julia, as I wait for her broccoli to heat in the microwave.

I set the broccoli in front of her.

Julia: More orange.

Mama: You want more orange?

Julia: Yes.

She gets more orange.

Surprise, surprise, she's wearing an Elmo shirt.

Julia, reaching for napkin: Wash Elmo.

Mama: You want to wash Elmo?

Julia, wiping off Elmo with the napkin: Yes.

Every time Julia sees a picture of a baby in the house, she says "Baby TJ."

Today, she was looking at one in a pink polka dot frame that says Thank Heaven for Little Girls.

Julia: Baby TJ

Mama: No, Julia, that's you. That's Baby Julia.

Julia, with a big smile on her face: Baby Yaya.

Julia is holding her sippy cup horizontally and singing Baby Milk, Baaaabbyyy Miilllkkk while rocking it back and forth, oh so gently.

Julia, pointing at the cup of milk she's drinking through a straw: Mommy's in the milk.

Mama: Mommy's in the milk?

Julia: hahahahahahah!

Julia: Daddy's in the milk.

Mama: Daddy's in the milk?

Julia: hahahahahahah!

Julia: TJ in the milk.

Mama: Who else is in the milk?

Julia: Yaya in the milk!

Mama: Julia, you want some milk? You still have your milk right there.

Julia: That's old milk. I want chocolate milk.

Every now and then a sippie cup will be left out overnight on the table, or a cup of milk will make it's way under the car seat or the couch. When we find it, we say "don't drink that, it's old milk."

TJ found out once the hard way.

I gave Julia some juice in a Pooh Bear juice container this morning. We went out for some fresh air for about 30 minutes. I told her to drink the juice. She wasn't having it.

"That's old juice!" she tells me. "NO OLD JUICE!!!!"

Usually a kiss takes care of a boo boo for Julia.

She shows you what hurts, or tells you, you kiss it, it's done with and over.

I was upstairs for a minute and the kids were downstairs watching Madagascar and I hear boom!

I ran down as fast as I could and see that her highchair tray had fallen off of the chair.

She was on the ground crying. Scooping her up, and ready to heal her with a kiss, I ask "Julia, what hurts? Your head? Your hand?".

She looks at me with the saddest, teariest eyes and says "my lollipop."

Julia was so mad today when there were no more "baby" oranges for her breakfast. (mandarin oranges)

When I peeled a regular fresh, orange for her, she told me "No big oranges! I want more baby oranges!"

When John put Julia to bed tonight, she pointed at her eye and said "eye" then pointed to her other eye and said "another eye."

Then she pointed to her eye and said "baby eye" and then pointed to her other eye and said "two baby eyes."

Repeated with her ears.

"Two baby ears."

Julia calls herself Baby Yaya.

Tonight she looks at me with a big smile and says Mama Yaya.

Julia carries a stool over next to me and sits down.

Julia: Hi.

Mama: Hi.

Mama: Wanna give a kiss?

Julia kisses the stool.

Mama: That's not quite what I meant.

When Julia reads a book with us now, she tells us.

She doesn't do the "da da da?" (what is that?) anymore.

She says "lookit! Elmo." Or a farm. Or a baby monster. Or a pumpkin. Or playing! Or Big Bird is in the house.

Or whatever else is going on in the book.

Mama: Julia, what color is Big Bird?

Julia, with conviction: Red.

Mama: No, try again.

Julia: Blue.

Mama: No. Yellow.

Mama: What color is my sweatshirt?

Julia, with conviction: Red.

Mama: No. Pink.

Mama: What color is Grover?

Julia, with conviction: Red.

Mama: No, blue.

Julia, looking at her place mat with Sesame characters: Where Grover is?

Mama: Right there. What color is he?

Julia: Blue AND red.

Mama: That's right.

Mama: What color is Elmo?

Julia: Red.

Mama: Yes. That's right.

Julia is not sleeping in her crib, yelling "I want to go to Chuck E Cheese."

Mama: Julia, put on this skirt.

Julia puts it on. Multi-colored, flowered, super cute.

Julia: I am a princess.

Mama: You are a princess?

Julia: Yes and you are the king.

Every now and then Julia will say "Where's TJ?"

And I say "At school."

And she says "I want to call him."

And I say "You can't because he doesn't have a phone."

And she says "He doesn't have a phone?"

And I say "No."

Then she says "Where's Daddy?"

And I say "At work."

And she says "At work?"

And I say "Yes."

Then she says "Where's TJ?"

John has a sprained back, poor thing.

Today at breakfast:

Julia: Daddy, you happy?

Daddy: Yes, I'm happy.

Julia: You have a boo boo?

Daddy: I do, but it's getting better.

Julia: It's all better?

Daddy: Getting there.

Julia wants everyone to be happy. She doesn't like boo boos or crying. Or my singing, for that matter.

Every now and then, Julia just says "are you happy?"

I find it quite endearing.

Julia: I want to play hide and seek

Mama: OK.

Julia: Here I go.

Mama: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Ready or not here I come...

Julia: heeeheee

Mama: Where could she be?

Julia yells: In the rocking chair! (or in the bathroom, or by the couch or wherever she may be.)

Julia tells me to put down her window in the car.

She sticks her arm out and says: I'm a bird. I can fly. Chirp chirp.

I have nicknames for everyone I love.

We call Julia Squee, which I have somehow turned into Squeeolio.

When I call her that, she says "Not Squeeolio."

And I say "Not Squeeolio? Then what should I call you?"

And she says "Squeeoli"

She makes me laugh numerous times per day.

We are lucky to have such a sweet little Squee. Oh, sorry, Squeeoli.

Mama, banging leg on table: Ouch.

Julia: What ouch?

Mama: I banged my leg.

Julia: You banged your leg? You ok?

Mama: Yes, I'm ok.

Julia makes kissing noises.

I show her where it hurts.

She kisses it.

Julia: You happy now?

Mama: Yes, Julia, I'm happy. You make me so happy.

Mama at 7:20 a.m.: C'mon, Squeeolio, Mommy needs coffee.

Julia: And I need chocolate milk.