LATE NIGHTS WITH ALLEGRA

This little one stays up late. It's like she comes alive when the boys go to sleep (not that she's mellow when they're up), and just goes bananas. But it's cute, and we can't bring ourselves to deter her whimsical ways most nights.

Last night though, we both tried putting her to bed on different occasions. Neither worked. In fact, on the second try (mine), I took her up just as Kristen was dishing out some ice cream for the two of us. Allegra was back down the stairs just about 1 minute later, putting on her bathrobe, and telling us, "I uh ice cream too". She came down the stairs, headed to the kitchen, and wound up in our room with her own bowl and spoon. How can we possibly turn her down when she's that freaking cute?!

ARGH MATEY!

We're sitting in bed, Allegra between us. She pointed at Kristen's chest and asked, "S'that?"
Kristen said, "That's mommy's chest."
Allegra, cocked her head, scrunched her nose, and asked, "Pirates?"
It took Kristen a moment, before she realized, Allegra thought she was calling it a Pirate's treasure chest. How cute is that?!

A LITTLE OFF THE TOP

Allegra got a haircut recently. It wasn't because she necessarily needed (or wanted) one. No, it was more a necessity. Here's how we got there...

The kids have these little bubble-blowing fans. It's a tiny AA powered push-button deal with a bubble wand circle over fan. You dip it in bubbles, push the button, and bubbles! (Because blowing through those things was wicked hard.) So she and Tobin were playing with one of these fans.

I'm not sure who was holding it, but the fan got wound up pretty good in Allegra's delicate curls above her eyes. It was in there pretty good, and Tobin took the initiative to get it out. Yeah.

So in walks Kristen to find that there's a big chunk out of Allegra's bangs. Tobin, head hung low, explains, "Mommy, I didn't think you'd want the fan stuck in her hair forever, so I cut it out of her hair." The poor kid. He really was just trying to help - I mean, no one wants a fan stuck in their hair forever! So Kristen suggested that next time he let her know so she can try to fix it first.

And thus, a haircut for Peetie.

WILD AND CRAZY

A change is in the air. Something has to be going on. Because the past few nights, it's been impossible to miss the fact that Allegra has lost her sweet little brain. She's been like Tobin on speed almost every night for the past week.

We'll be sitting there quietly enough, just winding down for the day, and all is well. And then, with that little curl of hair hanging down in front of her face, a devilish spark ignites in those beautiful eyes. INCOMING! In an instant there's a deranged smile, and a blood curdling squeal as she starts acting like a little crazy person.

She begins bouncing around, running in and out of the room whooping and hollering, trying to punch me, climb onto my back. And then she looses control. Sometimes I try to hide under the covers, but no one's safe, no matter where they hide. And to be honest, it's about the funniest part of my day lately.

It's a far cry from the nights of months past, when she'd lay quietly between us, sucking her thumb and stroking our arms soothingly. That was pure sweetness, the way she calmed down for the night. The recent developments are more spice than sugar.

NOT

Kristen: "Allegra, do you want to take a bath or not?"
Allegra: "A not."

CRAP

Kids are sponges. It's a common enough fact, but when your little ones don't talk yet, it's easy to dismiss the idea. The crazy part for me has always been that point in time where they start to verbalize things, and you realize they've understood you for quite some time - what do they really know?! What have I said? Well, in this case, it's not me (I'm proud to say).

When things aren't all roses, Kristen's four-letter-word of choice, is 'crap'. It's pretty cute when she says it, actually - it's fast, emphasis on the '-ap' part, and almost a proper pronunciation of the word, 'crepe'. And since Allegra's yet to start preschool, she's around all the time, soaking up the experiences. Yup, you can see where this is going.

This evening, as I was doing some dishes, some water splashed to the floor. Allegra was nearby, and I heard a small, cute, "crrap". It wasn't exclamatory, but rather matter-of-fact. "Crrap." I couldn't help but laugh.

As I was carrying her around the house, on the way up to bed - she knew the final destination - she laid her head on my shoulder, and just kept muttering "crap", the entire time. I was giggling. It was just too funny.

Now we've the task of not laughing at it, and getting her to stop. Wish us luck...

CENTER STAGE

Within Allegra's reach, the dinner table is the highest and most central option for gaining the spotlight. She stands up in the middle of the table, and eats, dances, and generally makes sure she's the center of the universe in our home.

LIKE A TIGER

Peetie and I have this thing where we growl at each other. I'm not sure how it started, but one day I held up my hands on either side of my head, fingers contorted like claws, and made a playful but guttural growling noise. She ate it up, gesturing for more. This would go on and on until my voice was nearly gone, all the time Allegra squealing with joy. She quickly started doing it herself. Little fists balled-up next to her head, and a petite little growl coming from an angelic face. Back and forth we'll go.

Sometimes when I'm working or concentrating on something else, she'll want my attention. Suddenly I'll notice her next to me, growling away, waiting for me to respond in kind. Kristen shakes her head every time, "What little girl enjoys growling with her daddy?"

Mine.

NOM NOM NOM

Allegra's started doing something new. Recently when Kristen was reading her a book about cupcakes, Allegra leaned over, put her face to the page of the book, and started making a smacking/nom-nom noise as if she were eating the cupcake.

She's begun doing it all the time, and it's nearly the cutest thing you can imagine. She'll look at you with a twinkle in her eye, lean toward some two dimensional treat, and start nom-noming away. All the while, smiling because she knows what a little doll she is.

SNACK MASTER

Allegra likes to snuggle into the crook of my arm while she's watching her programs. (I don't mind one bit) Once, while sitting there, she was drinking her milk from a sippy cup that she was evidently done with. I say 'evidently' because she grabbed my hand with, placed her sippy cup in it, and let go once I was holding it. I guess whatever I can do to make her life easier...

She's a field for Funyuns 'chips'. She sat next to me in bed one night just snacking on an entire bag of them. I was just laughing uncontrollably at the sight, and she didn't bat an eye, watching her show the entire time.

Last night she was restless in our bedroom. The boys were already asleep, but she wasn't fond of being put in her crib just yet. So when she left our room and went up the stairs, I thought it might be time. I found her climbing onto her brothers' beds, with a box of trail mix in her hands. I put it on the floor and brought her back to our room, closing the door behind us. She sat at the door whining to get out. When I let her back out, she went to get the trail mix and came right back. She just needed a snack to munch on while in our room!

I hope we haven't turned her into a couch potato at only 18 months...