Ya-ya and Chiquita stories

Since Elmo teaches it... yes.

While brushing her teeth this morning:

In her best announcer's voice she declaims, "Look! Over there! It's a diaper! It's super yippiyuk! She's Keetah! Always causing trouble; always taking the brush!"



(Keetah had just picked up the hairbrush and started munching on it. (Eww.) And the yippiyuk is from a Shel Silverstein poem.)

A link to Yaya's original lyrics to "Row, row, row your boat."

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1970090#1970090

I had a real fun morning keeping to the girls today! Lots of playing on the floor. Keetah loved playing the drum, and Yaya made families out of her foam blocks.

We also had fun with lap rides. "The Grand Old Duke of York," "Five Little Speckled Frogs," and many verses of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" with Yaya and Keetah both on my knees....



I love days like this.

Some days parenting has an instant payoff.

As related by T:

Yesterday, Yaya rediscovered this toy phone (that records voices) at the bottom of her toy basket. She'd forgotten how it worked - it records someone's voice, has a few other stranger's voices, and whenever it's flipped shut, it rings.

Rediscovering this item from her youth (heh), she pushed a random button and heard, "Domino's Pizza. Can I take your order?" Hmmm...(push button 10 times more)...DADDY'S VOICE!!!!

Cool, she thinks... maybe she can get someone else's voice on there. Push random button: strange woman's voice says, "I love you so much!"

Uh... who is that? Her face screws up with concern. Push again...yep, still that weird chick. Irritated and confused, she slams the flip-phone shut. Thank goodness that's over! Yep, mama's still nearby. Okay... resume playing.

RRRRRIIIIINGGGG!

Should she answer her toy phone? But of course! "Hello!" she shouts, hoping Daddy is on the other end with that pizza.

Noone is there!! Hey, that's not how it's supposed to work. Now she's downright suspicious! Better ditch this thing fast! Concerned, she snaps her phone shut and walks away.

RRRRIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGGG!

"Helllllooooo?" she says warily. No familiar voice on the other end - only silence.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! AH! AH! AH! MAMAMAMAMAMAMA! MAKE IT STOOOOOOPPPP!" she shrieks at the top of her lungs, almost in tears.

Mama comes. The phone rings, unanswered, and is placed on her desk by the computer. She worries that Mama hasn't answered the phone, but is distracted by a book. All is well. Until... she walks past that desk....

Hey! she thinks to herself, Isn't that my long-lost phone?? I must pick it up and see how it works. One push of the button that illicits the weird lady's voice saying she loves Yaya and she's so done with that phone. She closes it quickly and gets out of dodge.

RRRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG....the phone demands from the other side of the playroom.

"Heeelllllooooo..." she says into the phone. Silence follows. It's not fair, I tell you. It isn't right!

"MAAAAAAAMAAAAAA! AH! AH! AH!"









Have I mentioned that she's two?

Gratuitous cuteness:

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww....

Really fabulous photos, too. Sweet baby cheeks...

Keetah cut her first three teeth all in a four-day span recently. It'd make me grumpy, too.

Recently, Yaya struck up a conversation with a girl (about 9?) in line behind us:

Yaya: "Are you a big girl?"
Big girl: "Yes."
Yaya: "Why are you big?"
Big girl: "Because I grew up and ate all of my vegetables!" (Is this a universal thing, this conspiracy to make little kids like vegetables?)
Yaya: "Do you like pizza?" (We were waiting in line for pizza.)
Big girl: "Yes."
Yaya: "What kind of vegetables do you eat?"
Big girl: "Corn."
Yaya: "OK!"

My 2-1/2 year-old daughter has better social manners than I do....

Yaya's stories sometimes drift off into scenes from her favorite books. Recently, we've been telling her Goldilocks, and reading from Goldie and the Bears which tells the story from Goldilocks' perspective.

So, the other day Yaya had a bit of a stand-off with an older girl on the slide. Yaya was going down, and the big girl was climbing up. The stopped in the middle, as neither one wanted to yield ground. Yaya said, "I'm using it!" After a few moments, the big girl moved to a different slide.

(Good for Yaya! Yay!)

So T gets Yaya to tell me the story. After several iterations of "and I said, 'I'm using it! I'm using it!'" complete with arm motions, she then says, "And the girl moved to another slide, but it was too hard. So she moved to another slide and it was tooooooo soft...."

I have a tendency toward goofiness, which Yaya occasionally picks up on. I often say, "go, go, gadget car!" when I'm impatient with people driving too slowly, for example.

Also, one of Yaya's currently favorite books is "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!"

Last night, we're at Target doing some grocery shopping. Yaya is "helping" push the shopping cart, when she suddenly pops out (loudly) with, "beep-beep! Pigeon driving the bus! Beep-beep!"

She repeats this several times, then it changes to "Go, go, gadget pigeon!"

I love that book!!



Nooooo...!

Shocking, I know.




We love that book, too. Talk about roll reversal....

At swimming lessons, Yaya got frustrated and wailed, "I can't do it!"

Time for a pep-talk, I think.

So I get her in my lap, and I say, "Yaya, you can learn how to do this, just like you've learned how to do other things. Did mommy and daddy teach you how to put on your shoes?"

"Yes."

"Did mommy and daddy teach you how to use the potty?"

"Yes."

"Did mommy and daddy teach you how to say the alphabet?"

"Yes!"

"Did mommy and daddy teach you your numbers?"

"Yes!"

"Mommy and daddy can teach you how to do this, too. You can do it!"

Now she's quite excited.

She stands up, scrunches up her little face with determination, "I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it!"

(By this time the other parents are all staring at us... Then one of them says, "OK, Yaya, you do it!")

Yaya then procedes to lay down on her tummy and start moving her hands and feet in swimming motions!!!

Then everyone starts clapping and cheering.



Perhaps I over-did the pep talk????

heeheehee

Yaya can do it!


Hooray!

For some unknown reason, T likes hip-hop. She has incorporated the tamer ones into some mix CDs that she plays while the girls are in the car with her.

One notable one that Yaya enjoys:

Hello, Nah, nah she don't live here man. I thought I told you.
Yo I think you need to step off. Aiight?

Moved into my apartment at the university
The only one who lives here is me
So why the phone ring all day long
I got no friends except Mike and he's gone for the summer
And I just want some peace and quiet
Come to my room and it's a telephone riot
Ring-a-ling-a-ling
Every time I take a step
Can't sleep, can't eat, can't breathe
can't get any of my work done
Cuz people keep calling with the same damn question
Hello is Shaniqua there?
Nah, Shaniqua moved out last year
I think you have the wrong number, this is Little T
You mean Shaniqua's brother?
Man, can't you just leave me alone,
this ain't Shaniqua's house, this ain't her phone,
this ain't her phone
And don't call back again, cause if you do you know the answer man

Shaniqua don't live here no more
Shaniqua don't live here no more
Shaniqua don't live here no more
Is Shaniqua there?
HELL NO!

Shaniqua don't live here no more
Shaniqua don't live here no more
Shaniqua don't live here no more
Is Shaniqua there?
HELL NO!

I wonder who Shaniqua is
What she does and where she lives
Is she a pothead with too many zits
A movie star with inflatable tits
Does she take the train or drive in the car
Work in the office or down at the bar
How the hell should I know
She could be albino for all I care
Hello, is Shaniqua there?
Yeah, she is but she can't talk now
She's busy milking a purple cow
And talking to the Easter bunny
Man, you think your funny
Shut up Beavis
I told you six times before

Shaniqua don't live here no mo'
Shaniqua don't live here no mo'
Shaniqua don't live here no mo'
Is Shaniqua there?
HELL NO!

Shaniqua don't live here no more
Shaniqua don't live here no more
Shaniqua don't live here no more
Is Shaniqua there?
HELL NO!

Check my machine on Friday there were 22 messages
Man, I can't win at this
One said this is for the kid living with Shaniqua
you want that chick you can keep her
Will this ever cease
So I can't get some sleep
Shaniqua moved out
Leave your message at the beep (beeeeep)
Yo, Shaniqua I love you, call me

Shaniqua don't live here no more
Shaniqua don't live here no more
Shaniqua don't live here no more
Is Shaniqua there?
HELL NO!

Shaniqua don't live here no more
Shaniqua don't live here no more
Shaniqua don't live here no more
Is Shaniqua there?
HELL NO!

So Yaya gets ahold of T's cell phone and opens it up...

"Shaniqua?"