It's about Sweet Pea . . .

She's getting . . . opinionated these days.

Like Sunday. Sunday, this transpired:
I was changing her diapers, it was about 9:30am. She wanted to sit on the toilet, so I got out her pee seat, and let her perch there for a while. After using approximately half of the toilet paper on the roll to wipe her nose and her various bits, we head back to the change table. I'm not surprised or dismayed that perching on the toilet was fruitless -- she's been doing it for about 8 months now with no results. (She used to pee in the bath the second her toes grazed the water. We've been engaged in a rather half assed elimination communication attempt for a long while now.)
I lift her up to the table, lie her down, and reach for a diaper.
Sweet Pea: NOOOOOOO!
Me: (jumps out of my skin)
SP: No Baby!
Me: You're not a baby?
SP: NO!
Me: are you a big girl then?
SP: Yeah.
Me (thinking I'm all clever): Well, big girls wear diapers too
SP: No!

So we struck a deal. As long as she could stay clean and dry, she didn't have to wear a diaper. I put her in some easy to pull down jersey pants, put the pee seat on the toilet and braced myself.
She danced down the hallway, clearly elated. I've never seen her so happy.
She lasted until just after 11. I'm actually pretty impressed. (Next weekend, we'll be getting some panties in case of future attempts at being a big girl.)

She's growing up.
It's great, and it's saddening.
She speaks in almost sentences. Most often now, I hear "mommy, er doo-neen?" (Mommy, what are you doing?) - and she seems to understand and process the answers.
She loves to play 'no more monkeys jumping on the bed!' which she chants while she bounces all over our bed.
She sings identifiable songs. I sure didn't teach her 'the wheels on the bus', or 'ring around the rosey'.
She's so much fun. And she's so maddening. Especially when she wants to do something that just isn't in the schedule.

Damn, I love that kid!