Sophie's killer app

She understands an astonishing amount now. We'll suggest she take a seat at the foot of the bed to eat her piece of apple. She looks at us earnestly for a moment, and then plops down. It's almost like she understands people-talk.

Along with her growing awareness that she's a person in a world filled with other people comes a certain reticence when dealing with strange adults. And a fierce determination to defend her property rights when dealing with other toddlers.

Today we rolled up to My Urban Toddler. Her face changed from agonized, strapped-into-a-seat-for-God's-sake boredom to giddy joy when she realized where we were. Once in, her mother plopped her into the play area and she was off on a mission to find and take possession of the Baby Doll.

She advertised her intentions by chattering "Bay-bee! Bay-bee!" as she prowled the room looking into boxes and under chairs.

Once she'd found her Bay-bee and had installed her in her proper place (a shopping cart filled with plastic cans, two plastic strawberries, an unappetizing looking plastic fish who was loosing his coloring, and 27 dollars in play money), Sophie began pushing her about the room, ever vigilant against possible encroachment by other toddlers.

The three little boys who were sharing the play space displayed no interest in Bay-bee and thus posed no real threat. Sophie was taking no chances. Whenever they came near, she hunched her body protectively over the shopping cart while muttering "bay-bee. bay-bee" sotto voce.

Her realization that there are other people in the world has been accompanied by an annoyingly strident avarice.

There are moments of sweetness, however. Such as when she brings her little friends in daycare their stuffed animals when they appear to be having a rough time of it.

She's also fairly good at trotting out the cute when we go out in public. Her shyness means it takes a little while to get her to say Hello, but she's always ready to say Bye-Bye.

And then there's her killer app: her willingness to blow kisses on command.

When she does this, it is always a big hit. An 18-month-old blowing kisses? Please! An initial small-child solemnity makes was for a big silly grin and--Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!--her interlocutors--cashiers, coworkers, kindly strangers on the street--all uniformly melt.