30 September 2014

When getting cleaned up after dinner:

Tony: Alyson, are you done?
Alyson: Yeah.
Tony moved the plate away to start cleaning her up.
Alyson: No!
Tony moved the plate back to Alyson.
Alyson, as she pushed the plate away herself: Aw dun! (All done!)

29 September 2014

During dinner, Madelyn was chewing noisily with her mouth open. We were trying to get her to stop.

Me: Madelyn, don't chew with your mouth open.
Alyson: Why?
Me: Because she sounds like a cow. She's not a cow, is she?
Alyson: Moo!

28 September 2014

While Tony was getting Alyson into her pajamas after her bath:

Alyson: Righ dare! (Right there!)
Tony: What's "right there"?
Alyson: Righ dare!
Tony: What's "right there"? Your pajamas?
Alyson: Yeah.
Tony: I have to finish putting your diaper on first and then we'll put your pajamas on.
Alyson: Oh.

27 September 2014

Tony was standing near the doorway from the living room into the hallway. Alyson wanted to go back to the playroom. She walked toward the hallway, got to her daddy, and said, "Beep beep!"

26 September 2014

Alyson gets really fussy and clingy if she realizes that I'm fixing dinner and she's hungry. Today was one of those days, so she was on my back in the Ergo while I was fixing dinner. As soon as Tony got home, she must have realized that dinner would be soon. 

Alyson to her daddy: Dow! (Down!)

Tony helped me get her down out of the Ergo. Once she was down, she walked right over to her chair.

Alyson pointing to her chair: Eh?
Tony: Are you ready to eat?
Alyson: Yeah!

25 September 2014

Alyson is an odd child. She has gotten stuffy thanks to Madelyn's cold. Before bed tonight, she blew her nose (yay for a 20-month-old who has been blowing her nose since she was about 12 months old!) and I sprayed saline up each nostril. Most kids would cry and try to keep me from doing this. Not Alyson. After I sprayed the saline in her nose and she blew her nose again, she pointed to the bottle and asked, "More?"

24 September 2014

Since she was a few months old, I have "munched" on Alyson's baby toes when Tony carries her from the bathroom to her room after a bath. Alyson has come to expect it and gets mad if it doesn't happen. After tonight's bath:

Me, as Tony brings Alyson to me: Baby toes!
I grabbed her feet and pretended to bite/kiss them while making chomping/eating noises.
Alyson, giggling: Om nom nom!!!

23 September 2014

When I came to pick the girls up after work, Alyson was very excited to see me. She was at the table working on a picture with stickers. I was trying to look at Madelyn's Alphabet Journal for school.

Alyson: Mama.
I glanced up but kept looking at Madelyn's journal.
Alyson: Mama!
Me: Just a second, Alyson.
Alyson, turning the picture toward me so that I could see it: MAMA!!!!

22 September 2014

As we were finishing up dinner, Alyson let out a huge burp.

Alyson: Burr! (Burp!)
Me: Say "excuse me".
Alyson: Dah-mo.
Alyson fake burped repeatedly: Ehhh! Burr! Ehhh! Burr! Ehhh! BURR!

21 September 2014

(Both of today's Alysonisms are good examples of things she has been doing a lot lately.)

First

Alyson handed me a little tiara hair home she had been playing with, walked into the living room on her way to the playroom, and waved at her daddy as she went past saying "Bye!"

Second

A couple with a baby sat directly in front of us in Mass. Alyson pointed and yelled, "Baby!" at the top of her lungs over and over. It took me forever to distract her and quiet her down. I hope the other people in church thought it was cute and not completely annoying. (She had a loud day in Mass. Sigh.)

20 September 2014

Alyson has started more consistently nodding and shaking her head to answer questions. When she nods, it looks like she's slowly headbanging. When she shakes her head she turns her entire body from the waist up. It's all very exaggerated and silly.

19 September 2014

Getting a straight answer out of Alyson can be quite challenging sometimes. She'll go back and forth between yes and no. After one of those times:

Me: Alyson, are you indecisive?
Alyson: Yeah.
Tony: The more appropriate answer to that is "I don't know."
Alyson laughed.

18 September 2014

An example of a typical conversation with Alyson lately:

Alyson wanted her tomato soup and was reaching for it.
Me: Wait, Alyson, it's too hot.
Alyson: Why?
Me: I had to heat it up.
Alyson: Why?
Me: I had to cook it.
Alyson: Why?
Me: So that we could eat it.
Alyson: Why?
Me: Because it's yummy.
Alyson: Oh.

17 September 2014

When Alyson was cleaned up after dinner, I was trying to get her to "jump" into my arms from her booster like we do in swim class.

Me, as Alyson jumped into my arms: Splash! Alyson, can you say "splash"?
Alyson: Pssshhhhhh!!!!

16 September 2014

While on our walk after dinner, Alyson was being silly. I took advantage of it:

Me, lifting up my knees to march: Alyson! March!

Alyson started copying what I was doing and lifted up her knees to march.

Alyson: Mar! Mar! Mar!

15 September 2014

Before dinner, Alyson was standing on the stool in the kitchen at the counter. She was hungry and the bowl of clean cherry tomatoes from the garden was within reach. She tried to sneak one.

Me: No more, Alyson. Dinner is almost ready. I'll put some on your plate.

She tried to sneak another tomato.

Tony: Alyson, no more. Mommy said she'll give you some with dinner.

She tried to sneak another and the bowl got moved away a bit. Hysterical crying ensued. And, yes, she got more tomatoes with dinner and ate all of them.

14 September 2014

One of her first completely constructed on her own (not copying what she may have heard from someone else) sentences:

"Mama! ... Mama! ... Mama!! ... I wah aye! (I want ice!)"

13 September 2014

As part of tonight's story time, Tony ready "The Pigeon Has Feelings Too" to Alyson. For the part when the pigeon is sad, Tony made a sad face and whimpered/fake cried about the pigeon being sad. Alyson had to comfort her sad daddy and turned to him and gave him a kiss.

12 September 2014

Grandma was getting Alyson to change her diaper and put her down for a nap:

Grandma, moving like she was going to start chasing and grab Alyson: I'm gonna get you....

Alyson ran off and hid behind a chair and tried to be quiet.

11 September 2014

While at dinner, Alyson had finished eating and was playing with the Mardi Gras necklace she had brought. She dropped it so that it went under her high chair, but she could still see it.

Alyson: Uh oh!
Me: Uh oh! Where did it go?
Alyson, pointing down: Uh oh!
Me: How are you going to get it?

Our server was watching and snuck in to pull it away from behind Alyson. He then quietly put it on the table next to Alyson. She looked down and didn't see it anymore.

Alyson, confused: Uh oh!
Me: Where did it go?

Alyson kept looking down and around. Finally, she looked over far enough and saw the necklace on the table. She grabbed it and was ecstatic. Of course, since she didn't understand how it got there, she dropped it again to repeat the whole process. And yes, our server continued to play along.

10 September 2014

The stubborn streak continues:

Grandma, trying to get Alyson to say it back: I love you.
Alyson: Nnnnooooo!!

09 September 2014

Madelyn hung the leash from her Build-A-Bear Twighlight Sparkle from Alyson's chair to a handle of a drawer in the kitchen. She was then trying to limbo under it. Alyson walked under the leash while barely bending down and exclaimed, "Did dit!"

08 September 2014

We had corn tonight with dinner. Alyson was done eating and was playing around in her chair a bit before getting cleaned up. Suddenly, she noticed a corn kernel stuck to the outside of her arm about midway between her wrist and elbow, maybe a bit closer to her elbow. She whipped her arm around and quickly reached down with her mouth to try to get the corn. It was such a sudden movement, it was like an animal pouncing on its prey. Unfortunately for her, the piece of corn ended up on her bib, not in her mouth, and she had trouble finding it again.

07 September 2014

Today's Alysonism isn't really a specific thing she said or did. It's been happening all day and weekend. If she sees anything out of the ordinary, such as her pile of clean clothes outside of her door in the hall, her sister's clean clothes in the hall, the wet bathing suits hanging on the shower curtain rod in their bathroom, the toddler potty we got out to get her used to its presence, the doll baby that she stripped of clothing and left in the car, etc, etc, etc, she busts out giggling as she points to whatever it is. 

06 September 2014

Alyson came rushing out of the playroom into the living room with something important to tell me.

Alyson: Mama?
Me: What?
Alyson: Mama?
Me: What, Alyson?
Alyson, pointing to the playroom: Aaeeehhhh!!
Me: What?
Alyson, again pointing: Aaeeehhhh!!
Me: I'm sorry, but I don't understand "Aaeeehhhh".
Alyson: Oh.

She turned and ran back to the playroom.

05 September 2014

The girls were at the door waving to me as I left them with Grandma this morning. After I left, Grandma told them to shut the door. Madelyn started to shut it, and Alyson got mad and cried because she wanted to help. Grandma told her to go over and help push the door. Alyson pushed really hard and grunted the whole time. When they finally closed the door, Alyson turned around and was all proud of herself.

04 September 2014

After reading a book with the characters eating popsicles:

Tony: Can you say popsicle?
Alyson: Bow.
Tony: Can you say popsicle?
Alyson: Yeah.
Tony: Say popsicle.
Alyson: No.

03 September 2014

Alyson was in full blown toddler "no" mode this evening. When we were cuddling before bed, I was getting a lot of it:

Me: Can I have a kiss?
Alyson: No.
Me: How about a hug?
Alyson: No.
Me: Okay, then can I get a squeeze?
Alyson: No.
Me: Are you ready for bed?
Alyson: No.
Me, knowing the answer was yes: Are you sleepy?
Alyson: No.
Me, expecting a "no" in response: Is your favorite answer "no"?
Alyson: Yeah.

02 September 2014

Madelyn was being a bit nuts before bed from a combination of being overtired and the cold she is denying that she has (just in time for school). As Tony was sitting down with Alyson to read her her bedtime stories:

Tony: Crazy sister.
Alyson: Yeah....

01 September 2014

We were trying to get Alyson to say everyone's names after dinner. As we went around the table, everyone seemed to be "Mama" or "Gee Gee".

Grandma: Can you say "grandma"?
Alyson: Yeah.

She wouldn't actually say it, but we do know she can.