SELLING IT

The latest in Allegra's repertoire of tools for getting whatever she wants, is the pout. This is a professional pout too - none of those amateur tantrum screams or loud carrying on (that only frustrates a parent). The moment I have to raise my voice even the slightest, so that she knows I'm serious when I say she can't stab the wooden kitchen table with a fork (I know, I'm a jerk), this is about how it goes:

Instantly, she drops her head to facing straight down at her belly, and without a peep. She just let's it hang there, silently, in protest. After a few moments, she will very slowly start to wander off - away from the scene of the horrible injustice. Oh, and she sells it too - she keeps a perfectly even gait as she slooooowly exits left.

Should you try to run after her to console and explain the situation, she'll waive a dainty arm in your face and sadly say, "No dad." Nothing but a measured response to tug at your heart-strings (especially when you're the daddy that she has wrapped around her little finger).

If you go the other route, and let her wander off to have her own time for a few moments, and then go in after her a couple minutes later... Yeah, she'll be acting totally normal as you walk into the room she's in - that is, until she sees that you're there, and her head goes straight down again and the whole thing starts over.

This little two and a half year old princess knows what she's doing. I can only imagine how this will be perfected over the next 14 years. I shudder at the thought.

EARS

Allegra has this thing where she loves to touch my ears as she's going to sleep. She'll lay there next to me in bed, sucking her thumb on one hand, and the other is reaching for my closest ear. Once she finds one, she'll just run her hand over it, occasionally holding onto the lobe, before moving around again. She does the same thing with our arms, so I guess it's about the softness of that skin.

Sometimes when I lay her down in her bed at night, she'll reach up one last time and say "ear". I'll lean over to give her access - she gets in one last touch of my ear and then rolls over to go to sleep. This is one of those things I hope never to forget. It's so sweet and soothing - for both of us I'm guessing.

WHO'S THE BOSS?

Even before Allegra was stringing words together, she was communicating with her hands. And when I say 'communicating', I mean 'bossing'. Now that the words are coming easier, there is an awful lot of direction being given - not only to older brothers, but to mommy and daddy too.

THE MAGIC WORDS

princess pins lanyard - I'll pay for i

At Disney World, they have created quite the business around trading pins. There are carts and stores everywhere within the parks that you can pick up hundreds of different pins, backs, locking backs, and lanyards to pin them on. All are horrendously over-priced, and as such are right at home in Disney parks.

Well, the boys were perusing some pins while Kristen grabbed some fast passes to a ride. Allegra squirmed out of the stroller and decided to have a look for herself. She locked immediately on to a pink box, containing a pink Disney lanyard and several pins of the Disney Princesses. She grabbed the box off the shelf and carried it around the remainder of our time at the shop.

Figuring after a few minutes she would lose interest (as is typical), I tried getting it away from her. No luck whatsoever - she had a death grip on the thing. I tried once or twice more before Kristen came back and met us. Allegra was still carrying the box around, uninterested in giving it up no matter how I tried to reason with her.

After some discussion, we decided to get the kids each a lanyard and a couple pins to start as a regularly updated souvenir for this, and future trips. (Without paying much attention to cost, I didn't consider that 3 nylon lanyards and 6 pins would run me upwards of $80!!) So I gathered the items the boys had chosen, and then approached Allegra, ready for a fight.
"Peetie, I need that so I can pay for it."
Without even blinking an eye, she handed it right over. No fight, no problem.

Apparently 'I'll pay for it' was something of a magical phrase to her. I'm clearly in a LOT of trouble, if at only two years old she's already recognized the power she has over Daddy...

THE RUNNING ARMS OPEN WITH A SMILE GREETING

Is there any better?

I met Kristen, Tobin, and Allegra at Costco for lunch a couple days ago. When they saw me walking in behind them, Kristen turned around and told Allegra I was here. She squirmed. Kristen put her on the floor, and she nearly tripped over herself as she ran for me. He silky-fine hair blowing up and behind her, her arms wide in expectation of the daddy-hug to come. An crazed smile on her face. When she got to within a foot of me, she stopped, and just fell forward, knowing Daddy would snatch her up. (I'm glad she stopped close enough to me, so I didn't spoil her view of the world!) When I grabbed her, I got a full body hug from my tiny princess - one that she held for a glorious minute or two.

I was easily the most blessed guy in the entire Costco warehouse that day.

TINY DANCER

The music really moves our baby girl. Whether it's a simple chime from a toy, a song on Backyardigans, or something on the radio, she starts dancing away.

It's so funny to watch her start swaying her head from side to side, her little body wiggling back and forth. We're definitely guilty of just playing music to see her reaction. I need to try to capture it on video, it's just that good.

LOUIS

A big thanks to Aunt Jenna for hooking Allegra up with her very first (and probably last, while she's under my roof) Louis Vutton purse. Being a way-cool Manhattan-ite, I'm hoping Aunt Jenna found this at some knock-off place in the City...

Anyway, Allegra's princess status continues to grow. Far too cute for any 13 month old, but she's handling it well.

LATE NIGHT CUDDLE BUG

Most nights, after the boys are in their room (I don't say asleep, because, let's just be honest here), Allegra will be in bed with Kristen and I while we watch some TV, or read, or whatever. This time of night is when she comes alive, as if she knows full well it's her personal time with mommy and daddy.

I don't have a more favorite time ever. She's giggly, and growly, and rollie-polie. I can get her giggling like no other time. She wants to stand and fall over, and roll over both of us. She will growl at us to get us to growl back, which goes on for 5 minutes at a time. And then as she's about ready for bed, she'll just settle down a bit and lay sweetly on each of us (back and forth), sucking her thumb, and usually stroking our arm or face. There's no sweeter moment, and I desperately hope to remember them for the rest of my life.

Oh, and then the best part? If you ask her is she's ready for her crib, to go to bed? She nods in the affirmative and grunts at us. So we take her up and lay her down without even a peep.