Loving the Kitty

Although each day Retta seems to be learning and progressing at lightning speed, there is one area she could use a little help in...kitty interactions. I feel bad for our cat, but it is also hilarious to witness the relationship between Wendell and Retta. She desperately loves the cat, and since she can't say "Wendell" she calls him "Towel" instead. So, Towel will just be sleeping away minding his business and doing his cat-thing, when Retta yanks on his tail, or lays on top of him with her full body weight. Luckily he is the world's gentlest, most forgiving cat and most of the time he just lies there and takes it. We keep trying to teach her how to pet the cat softly, but she really goes at him with gusto every time. I also never suspected I would utter the phrase, "Don't rub your cheese on the kitty" ever, let alone multiple times in my life.

Retta at 18 Months

  Holy heck, how is it that Retta is now sliding on toward two?! Or should I say running full throttle at it? Little Miss is so loveable and yet SO FULL OF IT. This was the summer of just keeping her safe. Forget about clean faces and cutesy crafts and lots of photos and blog posts, this kid has been keeping me on my toes...and if she's sleeping then probably I am passed out somewhere as well, or I am drinking a glass of wine and rocking maniacally back and forth in a corner. Seriously though, when I'm not cleaning up messes or making sure she's not drowning, she is downright adorable, a real joy. She's a spitfire and yet can also be very calm and even-keeled. She's now able to put herself to bed which is a first for our offspring, so I am grateful for that. Retta has also started potty training. She loves to spend lots of time sitting (with her clothes on) on her training potty and shoving armfuls of toilet paper into the real toilet. She also just got FOUR teeth at once...she now has all her fangs just in time for Halloween. She would spend all day brushing them if I let her- she likes to chew on her toothbrush and then say "Clean?!" and have me check her teeth. She even took her first few real pedal-pushes on her tricycle the other day!


Best of all, she's had an explosion of words over the past few months, and can now pretty much copy anything anyone says. Today she spent most of the day roaming around the house saying, "hummus," and "soap." Those were the words of the day, but yesterday it was "mazing" as in amazing...and she thought everything was amazing, especially the contents of my mom's purse. Earlier this summer she would say "special" in this cute quiet whisper that made my heart melt- she would always say it with this wonder in her voice. She also started saying, "Love you!" which is a wonderful thing to hear. Her calling her sister "Ro-Ro" has given way to a full-fledged "Rowan" now and each day I am amazed at how these words get more refined, more precise in their description of what she wants. Suddenly she has the words "broken" and "scratched" and "bossy"...hmm, that last one might be related to a frequent conversation we have with the big sister. The acquisition of language is fascinating. Our favorite Retta-ism right now is that instead of saying "oopsies" when she drops something on the floor she says, "OH-PEE-SEES!" So cute. She is so much fun and I'm so proud of what a kind little compassionate baby-turned-toddler she is.