Tantrum
Well, Miranda had her first real tantrum today. She was tired and we were at the grocery store after we picked up Zoë from pre-school, and Miranda wanted me to hold her. I couldn't do that, unfortunately, because I had the shopping and Zoë to manage. Miranda had a fit.
When we got outside, I gave her a cuddle and some kisses and she settled down, but when I started to put her in her car seat, she went absolutely ballistic. She screamed like she was being tortured, and arched her back and kicked to try to keep me from putting the belts on her, and then she cried and/or screamed the whole way home (thankfully, it's not very far).
Poor Zoë tried to comfort Miranda (Miranda would have none of that, thank you) and then Zoë made some complaining noises of her own and said, "Ow.. owww..." in reference to the noise her sister was making.
When we got home, I put some lunch in the oven for Zoë and myself and offered Miranda some finger food (nope, none of that!), before finally just taking her onto my lap and rocking her to sleep.
Now, after a nap, she's in much better spirits, of course. Note to self: avoid taking Miranda anywhere when she's tired if at all possible.
Toddler
Well, I knew it had to happen. My sweet little baby has turned into a big, strong, bossy toddler. She's still very sweet-tempered and generally quite easy-going, but she's got a definite will of her own, ideas on The Way She Wants Things to Be, and she's remarkably stubborn. She's also wickedly cute and wonderfully affectionate.
Yup. She's definitely her daddy's child.
Walky walk, talky talk
Miranda's walking all over the place now. She takes several steps, sometimes up to ten or eleven in a row, before she loses her balance. It's pretty cute to watch her, because she's still so wobbly.
She's also talking more and more. Well, she's not really saying too many new words, but she's responding to more and more. So far the words she actually says are limited to: Dad (or Daddy), Miranda, Zoe, Mama, and cat. All proper names, pretty much (as far as she's concerned, the cat's name is Cat). Oh, except for "toast", which she said she wanted when she saw me eating some.
However, it's clear she understands many more words than she can say. She knows: milk, bikkie, eat, drink, clean pants, bath, baby (meaning herself), cutie (meaning herself being cute), look, clever (as in, she's being clever), and a few others.
Tonight I tried an experiment with her. She was on my lap and I said to her, "Where's Daddy?" and she turned and looked at him. Then I said, "Where's Zoë?" and she looked around until she saw her sister. Then her dad asked, "Where's Mama?" and she collapsed onto my shoulder and gave me a cuddle.
Walking and Talking
Last night Miranda was walking all around the kitchen area. She was taking nine or ten steps in a row before pausing to get her balance, and when I'd say, "Who's a clever girl?" she'd turn around and give me the biggest grin.
Then this morning we were having eggs and bacon and toast, but she only had some eggs (and a little bit of bacon, but she can't chew it very well). When she saw my toast she started making noise in my direction. I asked her what she wanted and she said, "Toast." Well, she actually said something more like, "tst" but that's what she meant. She has "cheese on toast" fairly regularly and I hadn't realized she actually paid attention to what we called it, but I guess she did.
If I can get the camera to work properly (been having some difficulty with it, as well as with the software to download pictures), I hope to get some pictures of Miranda walking around and grinning.
Real little toddler
Miranda just took her pants off. She's a real toddler now! She can disrobe at will!
Clothes off
Miranda managed to take her clothes off today! She was wearing a one-piece outfit with a row of sturdy snaps (or, as Aussies say, press studs) down the front. Somehow or other, she got all the snaps undone and had the whole thing off except for one foot, which was making her very annoyed when she couldn't get her foot out.
I just wonder how long it'll be until she figures out how to take her nappy off...
Teeth and Talking
Miranda's got two more teeth now on the bottom. I'm not enitrely sure when they erupted, but it's been in the last week or so. To celebrate this, we got her a toothbrush of her very own. She's not too keen on having her teeth cleaned, but fortunately it's easy to brush her teeth since they're all at the very front. It's not like you have to convince her to open her mouth very wide, and it's a pretty quick procedure.
Yesterday all the girls were in bed getting ready to have a nap, and the cat came into the room. Miranda is absolutely fascinated with the cat (with all animals, really, but particularly with the cat). She got very excited and I said, "Cat. Cat." She considered it for a little while and then said, "Cat." I said, "Yes! Very good, that's the cat."
After a pause, Miranda then said, "Doey (Zoë), Ahdada (Miranda), Cat." She didn't add "Mama" into the list but I was still very impressed by her connection. Zoë, Miranda, and Cat.
Walking more all the time
Miranda's getting closer to walking all the time. She stands up now almost effortlessly, with no assistance at all, and she can cruise around holding on to the furniture with just one hand. She's taken a few steps (no more than three teeny ones), but mostly her steps seem to be just to turn around or get into a better position.
One of these days, though...
Hey, I'm here, too!
I was talking to Zoë's teacher, Ann, a bit today and I became aware that Miranda was subtly trying to get Ann's attention by being cute. When that didn't work, she finally reached out and touched Ann's arm and then gave one of her biggest, cutest smiles.
Basically, it's okay to pay attention to my sister and to my mother, but you also have to pay attention to me...
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