NO!!

I have to admit, I was a little..teeny...bit...secretly proud that it took Savannah so long to start saying, "No". She was probably about 20 or 21 months by the time she actually started verbalizing it. So, there I was, so happy that my little darling was being "considerate" enough not to bombard us with that wonderful little word, and I was even daring to imagine that she would just bypass it altogether. Ah, the impossible dreams we have. Once she discovered it, she eased into it, saying "no" infrequently enough to keep my hopes alive of an obedient and oh-so-compliant child.

And then she turned 2.

Ok, so maybe it wasn't quite that cut and dried. But seriously, in this past, oh, week and a half since she has been 2, I have noticed a dramatic rise in the usage of this now favorite word of hers. It really cracks me up when Ricardo and I are having a conversation, and she picks up bits and pieces of whatever we're talking about.....and if she doesn't like it, she goes into overdrive.
"No, no, no, no, no!" I guess just saying it once doesn't suffice.

Tonight Ricardo asked me, "Is this little one ready for bed?"

She knit her little brow in consternation and said, "No! No! No! No!"

She also says "No!" as a reflex answer, sometimes before she actually hears and comprehends the question. She loves blueberries, so I'll say, "Savannah! Do you want some blueberries?"

"No, no!" Then she realizes what is actually being offered, and changes her tune. "Yay, more, more!" From one extreme to another.

The good news is, despite this, she is still obedient and compliant. Mostly. Really, she is pretty well-behaved, despite the strong will that courses through those tiny little veins. Of course this is in conjunction with some well-deserved and loving discipline. :) It's amazing how much they understand at this age, I still can't believe how much she is getting through that little brain of hers. It's nice that she can understand and comply when I tell her to do something. It's so much fun to have her run around for me and get things....she's amazingly helpful.

I left for Dallas on December 21st to help Jamie move to LA. I was only gone a little over 2 days, and it went so well. The plan was for me to fly there, help her pack, and then drive with her here to NM where she would spend Christmas with us before heading onto to LA. Notice I said the plan was for me to "help". In actuality, this is what I did....the night that I arrived, it was pretty late, so we went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, ate some delicious Lemon Chicken, then drove around downtown Dallas so I could see what had changed since I moved away. The next day we went shopping at the Northpark Mall. I love this mall! I was very embarrassed to take Jamie to our malls in NM after being in this mall. :) We didn't buy anything, but it was fun just looking around in all of the great stores (Sephora, anyone?). When we got back home, I was all geared up to help Jamie pack. Here is the extent of my help....I disassembled her computer chair. That's it. I felt really bad but at the same time I felt like I would get in her way if I tried to read her mind to figure out where she wanted things. So I watched a movie and read an entire book (although I had to stay up until 2 a.m. to finish it).
I didn't really even miss Savannah all that much. Is that terrible? Now that I think about it, I feel sort of bad I didn't miss her more. It was my first time away from her for more than a few hours, but Ricardo did such a great job with her, which I knew he would. I talked to her several times on the phone, and when I heard her tiny little voice say, "Hi, Mama!", I almost cried. Just 'cause it was so cute. :) Anyway, Jamie and I drove back on Sunday, and arrived around 8:30 or so. I walked in the house with Jamie right behind me, and we peeked around the door where Ricardo was standing holding Savannah. She looked at me for a second, and then saw Jamie.

"Dje-dje!" she said. That totally cracked me up, because she was way more excited to see Jamie than me. She gave me a hug and then went straight to Jamie and pretty much wanted her to hold her the rest of the night. It was nice to see that she remembered her, because she's really only seen Jamie a few times in her life. Jamie was here 6 days, and after she left on Saturday, Savannah would periodically look up from whatever she was doing and ask, "Dje-dje?" And I would say, "Jamie went bye-bye".
"Oh, Dje-dje bye-bye," she would say, and then go back to whatever little project she was doing.

I have determined to start going to bed earlier. I don't think it's that great for me to stay up so late, because I really feel it the next day. However, it is 1:13 a.m. right now, so obviously I am not following through on my resolution. I'll leave you with a picture or two from Savannah's birthday party....


The Diego cake


Opening her fun box of dress-up stuff...she loves her pearls!