Our daughter, the otter

Finding a tot swim class that doesn't run on Saturdays is quite a chore here in the land-locked Midwest. We finally did, at the Evanston Y, and Yelena is downright thrilled to be back in the water. We joined a class mid-way through and the teacher noticed right away that this wasn't Yelena's first time swimming. After seeing Yelena kick and reach/paddle throughout each mini-lap, the teacher declared that Yelena was a natural. She can't crawl or walk, but my baby was the only kid in a dozen -- and some are almost 3 years -- who consistently kicked and reached. Proof that God divides. Too bad Yelena can't be amphibious. Or at least live somewhere warmer, near a beach.

Our otter is now saying, "Ba-ba," when she wants to nurse. Eli thought this was another of my hallucinations, until she woke us up at 5:20 on Sunday morning yelling, "Ba-ba, ba-ba!" from her crib. She oos, you think she could manage boob or boo-boo, alas, ba-ba it is. We've also gotten a few more "hi's" and I get an occasional, "Ma," or "MMMMMa-ma," but no more "Mo-meee."

Yelena is also exhibiting her first sign of pre-toddler willfullness. Last week she started refusing to grab her spoon. Sometimes, she won't reach for it but if I put it in her hands she will grab it and bring it to her mouth. Not right now. She won't even clasp it, but sits there open-handed, opens her mouth and gives me a look. (She's still grabbing her cup, napkin, sandwich, toys, hair, cats, glasses, so it's not a physical issue, it's a spoon issue.) I know I could just refuse to feed her, but I figure she'll get over it in a few days or weeks and I'd rather not force such a silly issue nor take an hour for breakfast. And she's quite pleasant about it, so I'll let it slide for now.