Maya is most definitely a little ham … no surprise at all, given her spunky personality and her desire to be the center of attention.

It’s not that she doesn’t play well on her own — she most certainly does; can spend hours coloring and diapering/feeding all her babies — but if ever you’re trying to cook/use the restroom/shower/make a phone call … she’s your typical toddler: wanting your undivided attention NOW … usually at the most inopportune times.

But she’s forgiven for all that because lately, she’s been cracking us up (for better or for worse) with the things that come out of her mouth.

This week, Luis has been in both Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico, for work so I’ve been holding down Casa H. all by myself, which means now I’m doing daycare drop-off and pick-up, something I don’t usually do, since school is right next to Luis’s office. Anyway, I’ve had some car-time with her that I don’t usually get and she’s rendered me speechless twice in the past two days.

Exhibit A
The scene: Driving to get fro-yo with some girlfriends last night.
She’s been calling me all sorts of versions of “mom” lately. Though I’ve been “mommy” for forever it seems, she’s been calling me Mom, Mommy, Mumma, Mama … so I asked her what Daddy calls me, to get her to say, “Melissa.” Her response? “DUDE!” Yes, anyone that knows my husband knows that — since the beginning of our relationship — I’ve not been baby, honey, sweetie … his term of endearment for me has always been “Dude” (and sometimes “Melissita” though that’s ironic because there’s literally nothing “little” about me!). Anyway, I nearly drove off the road when she said it, I was laughing so hard. She also told my friends the same thing when I asked in front of them: “Dude!” At least she’s consistent …

Exhibit B
The scene: Driving to school this morning.
At school, they’ve been discussing body parts so I’m not sure if that’s where this little dittie began (or because we’ve been telling her to NOT pull poor Rocco’s tail — he is an animal and could snap and it would be because he’s being harassed!!!) … but anyway she was in her car seat and said, “Minnie have tail.” I said yes, Minnie does. I asked, “Does Rocco have a tail?” “Yes, Rocco have tail.” Does Maya have a tail? “NO!!!!!!!!!!” Then I asked her if her BFF has a tail. “NO!! [BFF] have BUM!” I completely cracked up, yet again. I was not expecting that response at all, and again, it took all I had not to drive off the road.

I have a book my BFF gave me that I will definitely be adding these little stories to … this is a beyond-fun stage and for as much grief as she can give me at times (like the fit she threw in Target last night because she wanted these plastic balls but kept chucking them out of the cart or how she refused to let me brush her hair this morning and held her hands over said hair so I couldn’t get to it [I did, in the end]) … she really is fun and a good kid.

We are blessed, through and through. And I never take that for granted.