Carla, lately.

One of the best parts of parenthood is watching your little helpless babies grow into capable and independent people. I absolutely love when they start talking. The little voices, the mispronounced words, the charades to finally figure out that they mean "Popsicle" not "paw taprol (paw patrol)" and the like. 

Carla is at a point where she is stringing together short sentences and I just can't get enough. One of her first sentences was, wait for it....

"I want that."

This smart little girl has already learned how to be assertive. When I told her it isn't polite to say it that way and suggested she say, "may I please have that", she countered with "I want that peeeeeeeeease" with a scrunched up little nose that nobody could say no to. 

She infatuated with the tv cartoon "Paw Patrol" and we can't go into Target without her screaming and pointing, "Paw Taprol!!!!" as we pass by the toy aisle devoted to Paw Patrol. She has most of the figurines that are part of the show, and knows them all by name. She rattles off "Marshall, Zuma, Skye, Wubble (rubble), and Wockee (rocky)" when I show her a figurine.

Carla still loves to accessorize. Her favorite accessory as of late has been an old clutch of mine, filled with her Paw Patrol figurines. She insists on wearing her black sequined sheepskin boots even though it's 85 and humid as hell, and loves to top off the ensemble with a baseball cap three sizes too big. 

As she hones in on age two, I'm catching glimpses of teenage Carla and knowing that this girl, full of spunk and sass, is going to keep me on my toes. But along with that stubborn streak she's got, there's a whole lot of love. She's a very doting big sister to her human brother, her feline brother and all of her stuffed animals and dolls. She showers us all with snuggles and kisses and the sweetest, " I yuh youuuuu" that just melts my heart.