Heartbreaker

Ari woke up easily this morning, and was wide awake and raring to go. She was in an extremely animated mood, talking my ear off as I got her ready, and saying "no" to everything. She wasn't saying it in a bratty or whiny way--more like an I'm-experimenting-with-this-cool-new-word way. The way she said it was so cute that I found myself purposely asking her questions, just to hear her say "no" one more time in her squeaky little voice.

In the car, she babbled away, and even sang a little, which was funny, because I wasn't singing at all. When we got to the babysitter's, she immediately headed for the toys. As I prepared to leave, I asked her to come give me a hug. She replied with a very serious "no" as she headed toward me from across the room. As she hugged me, I said, "Can you give Mommy a kiss?"

Now you have to know this about her--I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen her try to give anyone a kiss. Her usual routine is to either blow you a kiss (which, with the accompanying "muh!", is insufferably cute) or offer you her cheek so that you may kiss her.

So back to my story. When I asked her for the kiss, she drew her head back, fixed this breathtaking stare on me, and puckered up her little lips as she leaned in to me. I turned my head slightly so she could kiss me on the cheek. When I pulled back, she was still staring at me, so I said, "Oh, another one?" I offered her my other cheek as I added, "How very European of you." But again, when I pulled back, she was still staring at me with puckered lips. I leaned in to give her a quick peck on the lips, and that seemed to satisfy her. She toddled away, ready to play with her toys.

I called out to her one last time as I reached for the door. "Bye-bye, sweetie."

"Bye-bye!"

"Love you."

"Uh-voo!"

I blew her a kiss, and she returned the favor.

She's a heartbreaker, that one...