Lydia Log: Ducks, Dudes, Guitars and Attitude

It's not quite the terrible twos, but Little Miss has taken to throwing the occasional little fit when she doesn't get her way. This stage was not unexpected, but still not necessarily pleasant. First we thought this new behaviour was due to teething, or ear infection, or ear infection medication, or nap schedule, but eventually we learned that, no, this is just the way it is. I can relate somewhat - I know how frustrating it is to have to stop rolling around on the bed in my underwear to have a bath. Parenthood: apparently not just easy strolling, photo ops and cute mispronunciations after all.

In other, more positive news, Lydia seems to have a loose grasp on the fact that there is a baby growing in Mom's belly (news of which I'll just drop non-chalant-ly into this here blog). When faced with her Mom's increasingly bulging midsection, and with some prompting, Lydia will peer into Terri's bellybutton and say "Hi dude", and sometimes give the bump a little hug or kiss. Very cute. Not so cute: when she tried to do the same to Dad (thus "loose grasp"). Where she learned "dude" is not clear, but I blame her hippy, surfing grandparents.

Our summer routine is also shaping up to involve a daily excursion to the local elementary school playground, where Lydia is free to run around in the crushed gravel, climb up the dusty playset stairs, slide down slides and socialize with other kids. And by "socialize" I mean stand and point and squeal. One evening there was a high school-aged kid at the playground, dressed in a duck mascot outfit (for... some... reason...). Initially, Lydia was excited and she did her quick wobbly waddle through the gravel with her finger extended in his direction. Then, said duck turned to face Lydia with his hand in the universal "gimme five" position, which terrified Little Miss who then "ducked", whinging, into her mother's knees. Every evening since, when we arrive, Lydia runs around the playground doing her duck call ("kack kack kack"), looking for her giant duck friend. Perhaps she regrets how things went down and now has five to give. Regardless - funny.

Meanwhile, back at home, we seem to have adopted what might be the most annoying toy in the world: a Wiggles toy guitar. A guitar in approximate shape only, this gaudy plastic thing has a series of buttons, plus a fake whammy bar, that each play a different sound effect or song (from the Wiggles - you may have seen their creepy, wide-mouthed, emoting faces on DVDs at your local Blockbuster). It should be noted that the sound effects can all be played simultaneously, and over the infuriatingly catchy songs, if a curious 19 month old were to try that, which Lydia does, every morning and every evening, smiling and squealing, and dancing. Hey other parents - we have a toy that is free for the taking should you be interested. Kids love it!

I guess that's about it for the news.