We Shall Call Him George

Mila is not going to be the rule follower that her big sister is, so she had to find some other way to compete for Favorite Daughter. She decided to go for being a baby as long as possible.

It's a good strategy.

Between her refusal to walk, the change in car seat standards that leaves her rear-facing, her blatant AWWWW HELL NO when it comes to weaning, and a few of her mannerisms, she's been managing to stretch out that baby phase just a little bit further than her sister did. It's glorious, really.

But it's coming to an end. Any second now, Mila is going to wake up and be a full-blown toddler.

The beginning of the end can be traced to a specific date and time. Friday at about 8:00 pm, Little Miss Mila forgot that she's not willing to walk.

It started innocently enough. We were at a public pool. Alexis was swimming with friends while Mila and I visited with their parents. Off in the far corner, I spotted an out-of-place visitor. A little bunny stood at the grassy edge, peering through the fence that had him trapped in a box with dozens of kids.

You would think that a bunny would have the smarts to realize that being near a pool filled with screaming kids is a Very Bad Idea, but apparently that bunny forgot his smarts at home. He began far from all of the people, but then suddenly came running directly towards us. He veered no more than two feet before crashing into our little party, which was hysterical for those of us who saw him coming. Those who had their back turned only to hear, "Hey, heads up," when he suddenly came running over might have seen it differently.

Regardless, as I nearly fell over laughing, the bunny settled in about ten feet from us. He was surrounded by beach towels and humans and all sorts of things that should have been scary, but he certainly didn't care. He just sat there, cleaning his feet and enjoying the symphony of screams and shrieks that came from the pool.

Mila locked eyes on him.

And then she took off.

At first she tried crawling towards him, but I kept scooping her up and dragging her backwards. When she finally figured out that her little crawling plan wasn't working out, she stood up and began walking towards the bunny.

I let her.

She drunk-old-man walked her way a good twenty feet before I stopped her. She stood just inches from the bunny, close enough for me to get nervous that he might seriously turn around and attack. I mean, he should have been the one that was terrified in the situation, but he didn't seem to understand that. He happily focused on cleaning his paws even as the shrieking near-toddler behind him tried to figure out how to pet him, poke his eyes out, and make him be her best friend forever. Her happy squeals implied that she was about to gut him, stuff him, and keep him forever.

I drug Mila away. We returned to our posts far away and I went back to visiting with people I like. Mila went back to focusing on the bunny.

She took off again.

We repeated the cycle countless time. Never once did the bunny think to run for cover. Never once did Mila remember that she doesn't do the walking thing.

And I just stood there watching as the last shreds of baby started to fall away.

Comments

[Gina]

She totally remembered it at the mini golf place, though.

[Jessica]

Charlotte is one month younger than Mila, and she is still very much my baby (even though she looks like a full on toddler). There are times when people ask questions about her "progress" in different areas and I feel that maybe she should be a toddler, but then I cuddle with her or hold her hand to wobble about, and I am so very thankful that she is still my baby and in no hurry. I know that it is coming soon enough.