Episode 67: The growl

Today was an eventful one at the park. There was a lot of showing off 0n the swings, some time spent making friends with another baby, pointing and laughing at a girl with crazy hair and shiny shoes, a very large dog that licked the baby's face and a French dad with a man- purse toting around a little boy named Clovis. When all was said and done the two and a half hour excursion ended with Av falling asleep in a swing still quietly muttering "doggy" under her breath. That, my friends, is a kick ass morning if you are 1.

Probably the best thing that happened for me was when crazy hair girl was playing near Frenchy and Clovis and the following exchange took place.

Little Girl: (playing next to a very shy Clovis) "Hey- is that a girl?"

Frenchy: "No. It is a boy, his name is Clovis."

Little Girl: "Aren't you a boy, too?"

Frenchy: "Yes, I am. My name is Russell."

Little Girl: (Pointing to man purse) "Then why do you have a bag like my mommy?"

I literally started laughing out loud when she asked that, which then prompted the baby to do the same (she pretty much laughs by default whenever anyone else does), thus causing me to miss Frenchy's answer to the question, but just hearing it asked was enough for me. In his defense, the bag was for snacks and diapers, and he also laughed at the question realizing how much of a French pansy he looked like, but this does not excuse wearing the bag around his shoulder like a purse. To be honest, Frenchy actually seemed like he might be kind of a cool dad. He nicknamed the kid's snack "crunchy men" and sang a comic book sounding song when he gave Clovis the package. "Crunchy men, crunchy men, they know you're hungry and they are here to save the day!" That would entertain me if I were a kid.

Anyway, as has been the case since about last week, there was also a lot of growling going on. Growing at animals, other kids, parents, inanimate objects- anything, really. I consider this a small victory for yours truly. Several months ago the baby debuted this hysterical growl, which for the longest time was reserved only for pigs and used very, very rarely. Determined to make the growl a regular part of her repertoire I began growling at the baby daily, usually when we would look at pictures of animals or play with a toy animal that didn't already have a designated noise (like a bunny, for example).

After a while she would do it back to me on command, and eventually she started breaking it out more on her own. Now it is a major part of her vocabulary and it is hysterical every single time. Instead of chasing the cats around screaming "ditty!" she chases them around growling (she still can't figure out why they won't stop to play with her no matter how many times I explain that running at them with your arms over your head, screaming and growling may not be the best method). Instead of making a baby noise and smiling or laughing when you look at her sometimes she just growls, she will even just start growling in the back seat of the car for no reason. This should eventually be a fantastic compliment to stink eye. All she has to do is put them together.

I consider this to be a major, significant accomplishment on my part. Since she was born I was determined to teach the baby something different, a quirk that would make her cooler than other kids. Since my attempt to make a stuffed cyclopes her favorite toy failed, I am counting the growl as this accomplishment. OK, so maybe the growl will make her more of a creepy weirdo than "cool," but in my defense she does that on her own anyway. Again, taking after her father, I suppose.