Our Little Leprechaun

As you might expect, we've been inculcating in Siena a fervent love of all things Notre Dame. She can recognize "Notre Dame" among the dozen or two words in her written vocabulary. She can say "Go Irish!" with appropriate fervor. And she can sing the Fight Song. Almost.

Here's the Fight Song, at least the part that anyone cares to sing:

Cheer, Cheer for old Notre Dame
Wake up the echoes cheering her name
Send a volley cheer on high
Shake down the thunder from the sky
What tho' the odds be great or small
Old Notre Dame will win over all
While her loyal sons are marching
Onward to Victory

What does Siena sing?

"Cheer, No' Dame. Wake up."

That's okay, though. We've got over a month 'til the USC game. Plenty of time to practice.

Easy as One-Two-Three

Siena can count to ten. I don't know when this started; I suspect that Mama has been practicing this with Siena secretly. But this morning, out of nowhere, I heard her count it out. Of course, her pronounciation could be better, but damn if she didn't say each number so that at least I could understand it.

Does this mean that she understands what she's saying? Probably not. She likely memorized this like she would a nursery rhyme. And she still has trouble counting beyond Two. But it's a start. Before long she'll be better at math than her old man.

The Little Mermaid

Having surfaced from the all-consuming marathon that is a weekend at Disneyland, I am ready to relate humorous instances of Siena's maturation.

There was a pool at the Disneyland Hotel, and Siena didn't hesitate to run right in. Sounds adorable, but it also ushers in an era of increased watchfulness, especially around pools; our concern level has elevated from Yellow to Orange.

The pool was definintely a kiddie pool, with wide steps to a two-foot shallow end, but descending to five-foot at the far end. Siena, however, couldn't wait to walk right down the steps and in over her head--it wasn't a long walk.

We also learned that the doggie paddle is not intuitive or inherent; we must be taught it, and Siena hasn't been taught it yet. When the water got over her head--and we didn't let this go on long--she just kind of stopped walking and slowly thrashing around. It was cute, but chiefly because Mama and Daddy were right there to pick her up.

OF course, other cute stuff happened at Disneyland, but that's for another blog.