Natalia and spoons and...

No soothers for our Natty Jazz. She likes cutlery. She used to grab our forks and knives until we put a stop to that. Now we allow her spoons but she insists on sucking on them, licking them, putting them in her mouth and sometimes her ears. It is a bit disconcerting that she does this while she's walking but we keep an eye on her. At least they're not pointy.

I originally wrote that January 15.

I failed to mention her equally strong fascination with pens (particularly red ones) and pencils. We've had to clean some walls...

Also, recently we've begun to let her brush her own teeth. Not only because she has enough of them to do so but because, like most things now, she insists on doing this herself.

So these days it is not uncommon to see Natalia toddling around with a combination of any (or all) of the following in both of her pudgy little hands: spoon(s), pen(s), toothbrush(s) or a combination. We can only speculate why. My opinion is that these are becoming her "tools".

To illustrate this I have a brief but icky example. Please bear with me and read this after (not during) your latest meal!

Last night while I was online checking some hockey statistics, Natalia was contentedly playing near me. As she tends to do, she wandered away amongst the boxes and items stored in our basement that surround my "desk area" and was temporarily out of my sight.

Bear in mind that the longer Natalia is out of one's sight and the quieter she becomes the more probable it is that she is up to something. Such was the case last night. So as a dutiful and concerned daddy I was about to get up from my spurious stats and go in search of my errant daughter when I heard a strange, "sandy-sounding" cough.

High gear.

As I rounded the corner there was Natalia at the cat's litter box. Luckily I had recently cleaned it! There was litter all over the floor...and all over Natalia, or more specifically, all over Natalia's face. She was using a toothbrush as a sort of mixing tool in the litter box; its bristles were thick with clumping cat litter!

Although I did not witness it, I can only assume that the "sandy-sounding" cough was caused by her trying to brush her teeth with that nasty toothbrush! Eeeeuu!

[The brush was immediately discarded and her mouth inspected. Yes, Mark, kids really do eat "dirt"!]

New Rule: Toothbrushes will now reside only in the bathroom and only be available for use as they were intended!