I am woman (or in this case, a little girl) hear me roar

Little One is becoming such a little person. She has her own thoughts, ideas and plans, and as she shows them more and more, we are charmed by her.

Here are a couple of things that happened yesterday...I think they are so cute, in a she's-my-child-so-even-when-she-poops-it's-cute sort of way.

Each night at dinner, we say prayers. We all hold hands, and someone usually volunteers to say the prayer. The general rule, is that you dont start eating until we have said prayers.

Until recently, Little One just ate, and didnt participate in prayers. Every now and again, we would try to include her, but she didnt want to hold hands, and certainly couldnt keep from eating if food was on her plate.

But lately, she has been joining in, grasping our hands during the dinnertime prayer.

This past week, she even likes to add in her own petitions, mumbling and then giving a loud, "Aben" when she is done.

So, last night, we started to dig in after prayer, and Little One shouted, "HANDS!" with her own little palms reaching out to us. My Honey and I (who sit on either side of her) clasped our hands in hers, and she bowed her head and said some mumble jumble, "Aben!"

Oh, how cute! We thought it was adorable. Even after the 6th time, it was soooo cute.

But then, I was kinda getting hungry, and was growing weary of the continued demand to put my fork down to pray.

"shermena mommy hubata daddy inamina "bee" (Beauty) agacha "ow ow" (Pooper) Aben!"

"ohhhh, she is praying for me, she said my name!" Beauty cried out. Yes, it's very sweet, isnt it, but, enough already, I was thinking.

Little One continued, and with each prayer there was more gibberish, and always a big smiling "Aben!" at th end.

Ok, time to eat now! We all laughed and tried to get bites in between the prayer warriors insistance of "hands!", trying to walk the fine line of setting limits to her demands and not squashing her new found interest in prayer and independence.

Another new little thing, that Little One likes to demonstrate, is calling us into place with a pointing of the finger. For example, I was at the top of the stairs, she at the bottom, and she wanted me to come down, pronto! She said, "MOMMY!" as she fiercely took her pointed finger from up in the air and cast it down, pointing to the spot right in front of her.

"oh, Im being beckoned!" I told My Honey.

Later in the evening, she wanted to do a dance on the brick "stage" in front of the fireplace, and apparently, she wanted her siblings as front row spectators, "Bee" "Ow Ow" she called, while firmly pointing for them to sit down in front of her.

And while it is such a delight to see her blossom, there is one new ritual that I need to eradicate. Her morning revele, wake-up routine.

She has been getting up at around 5:30 or 6, which is at least an hour before I am ready. She climbs into our bed, which is a good 3 feet high, and then becomes very demanding.

"Daddy Dora!" she repeats incessantly, while clobbering him with the remote control, urging him to put on her favorite show.

Daddy, being the sound sleeper that he is, ignores her, and eventually Mommy hollers,

"Dora night night! Little One go night night!"

This goes on and on, she'll grab our faces to get our attention, pulling our chins to look at her, "Dora!"

"Dora night night! Mommy night night!"

This will go on and on, until 7am, when we can put on Dora, or one of us wakes enough to take Little One downstairs and get her some food, a distraction until the show comes on.

She is no longer a passive little baby. She is individuating, which is a beautiful and necessary part of development, if not a cause of psychosis-by-sleep-deprivation-in-parents.