Pa and I decided to keep a low profile for Audri’s birthday.  We figured too many presents and too much hoopla would overwhelm her.  It was definitely a good call.  The small celebration we did was plenty for her.

We even staggered her gifts throughout the day–starting with a programmable, talking Elmo doll that greeted her at the breakfast table with a “Happy Birthday, Audri” song.  She didn’t quite know what to make of it at first, but she warmed up to him.

Later in the day, Audri had her first vanilla cupcake, topped with fluffy, pink  frosting and a yellow flower.  She was mesmerized by the lighted “3″ candle and smiled as we three sang the “Happy Birthday” song.  She might not have been aware it was her birthday–but she definitely knew she was the center of attention.

Her birthday was a welcome distraction from some of the recent craziness we’ve been experiencing.  Audri is starting to show us her stubborn side–and when we correct her over things like not scribbling on the couch, not taking off her diaper in bed, and not getting up from the table while eating–she talks back.  It’s all babblespeak, but her tone clearly conveys her anger and frustration toward us and she makes it known that she doesn’t like being told what to do.  It’s hard because on the one hand, we have rules by which she must abide.  I get nervous about correcting her.  I had the same fear with Mr. Na–but, over time, I realized that he needed that structure.  It’s kinda cute, though, when we’ve had our little disagreements, Audri will cry–but she’ll pucker up her lips to kiss me, as if to say “are we still good?”  I give her a big kiss and tell her I love her but she needs to keep her diaper on.

Her other little power struggle stems from our trying to get her to talk.  Audri has about 20 English words she uses on a daily basis–but when we try to get her to say them, she shuts down.  In other words, when she tries to get down from the table, we’ll say, “down?” and she’ll respond by saying, “meh?” (which is her standard response to everything).  So we’ll say, “Audri say down” and she’ll reply “meh?” and this will go on for several minutes before she finally gives up and attempts to back to eating, even though she originally wanted to get down because she was full.  So, it’s stuff like that where she throws down the gauntlet.  I think, though, this is similar to our power struggle with Mr. Na over potty training.  The more we pushed, the more he resisted.  So maybe if we back down a little, she’ll initiate dialogue all on her own.

There’s nothing I love more, though, than feeling her snuggle up against me in the morning, when I come in to wake her up (the snuggling only happens, though, if she’s left her diaper on!)  I know she knows that despite our agreements, we’re still good.

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