Obsession, part II

Iris continues to ask to nurse, despite having been cut off from that particular tap for some time now. I decided to try a new tack, explaining to her that only babies nurse and that she is a big girl. She seemed somewhat interested in this line of reasoning, so I decided to push it further and suggest that she could nurse her babies. Iris is a very solicitous, if physically somewhat careless, mama to her dolls: she generously offers them drinks from the favored yellow cup, but will then fling them again and again into their bed until sheer force arranges their tiny limbs into the configuration she has in mind. So she considered my suggestion, hopped off the sofa, and trotted back with this:


which she then very tenderly stuffed down my shirt.

The obsession continues

We've been trying to teach Iris about stop lights, the classic lessons about green meaning go, red meaning stop. Helpful information to an urban child. She has taken to this with great gusto, which is why I found myself out on the corner at 5:15 this morning with Iris, watching the lights change. As soon as the light became green, she'd start "Yellow coming? Yellow coming? Yellow coming?" the entire time the light was green. Red, for some reason, she can wait out.

Here's Iris enjoying a bedtime story:


And exclaiming with joy because it featured an elephant:

New kitchen

Reference pictures for Jo and John. Not for everyone (unless you're really interested in what W. Phila kitchens looked like c.1960).

Floor plan:


"Summer" kitchen:



EIK:

Looking north, toward the dining room. You can see the built-in cabinets to the sides (wood doors).


Windows, facing east. Radiator also on this wall.


Door to the summer kitchen. The windows are now to your left. Facing south.


Fridge, next to door to summer kitchen.


If we remove the baseboard, would there be enough room to scoot the fridge over and build a box for it? See above photo showing current relationship of fridge to molding.


Skipping the bathroom door (next to the fridge), the first in the series of built-in cabinets on the west wall.


These built-in cabinets angle towards the basement door.


Now facing north again. Built-in hutch.


Bonus pictures - the deck of baby death! Yes, that's plain old metal pipe.

"I'm all naked!"

Note to relatives: Iris might like some Matchbox cars. And if food dye is less than $4 in your grocery store, send some our way. We'll reimburse. Iris is consuming vast amounts in her art projects. See below.

Iris has started narrating her activities: "I'm walking!" "I'm cooking!" (enthusiastically banging her miniature set of pots and pans together) "I'm sleeping!" (when obviously, she is not) and "I'm all naked!" All used in contextually appropriate ways, although I have my doubts she understands "I'm" and "all." I'm merely the scribe.

On to the art. With the advent of warm weather, we moved artistic endeavors outside and bravely plunged into the world of paint. Iris now can name a number of colors, her favorite being yellow, and particularly enjoys mixing more and more yellow into whatever project is at hand. (She also enjoys the yellow carshare Mini-Cooper stationed across the street and we frequently have to go touch it.) There was some unfortunate confusion about the word "brush" earlier this week (one type gets rubbed against your teeth, so why not put the other type in your mouth?) but after a couple repeats of my wiping paint off her tongue, she's straightened it out. Here she is hard at work:

Mother's Day Special

Why you should never give your small child even one square of chocolate when on public transit:

I believe it's called creative play

Yes, I gave her those lentils. She was nicely sorting them into an egg carton, when the spirit moved her to dump the entire container on the floor and make lentil angels.


Here, some more traditional toddler activity, with the homemade extra-salty playdough (to deter consumption).


And another Iris-chosen outfit:

This week's words include door, bib, a couple things we can not figure out but which are repeated and repeated and then again for good measure ("shark" for fish? have to ask her daycare teachers whether they're doing some sort of ocean unit), and poo. All in all, many exciting topics of conversation here.

Chilling

Yes, that is Iris in a poncho and rain hat sitting in her stroller to watch her show. The outfit, stroller, and show were all her idea.