No!

Ariel has learned a new word recently, and I'm feeling a lot better about it than I thought I would. That word is "no." It's usually said more like "doh," but it's accompanied by a serious expression and shaking of the head, so her meaning is very obvious. She says it in all sorts of situations.

Oftentimes, she will come up to one of us and babble away very earnestly about who-knows-what. When her daddy asks her, "Are you serious?!?" she will reply, "no...." and shake her little head. So apparently she's just kidding.

Sometimes she says "no" when she's angry, though it doesn't happen a lot yet. She has wailed "no!!" when I have taken things away from her before, as she pulled on said object and whined. I'm not so into that.

But, just a few minutes ago, we had an experience that really made me thankful for this new word. I was trying to straighten up the living room, and had gathered up a few items of clothing that she had been playing with earlier. As I walked toward the hallway to put them in the hamper, Ariel suddenly stood up straight and said, loudly and firmly, "NO!" I turned around, very surprised. "What?" I said. "These?" I tossed them to her, and she gave me a huge grin and sat down to play with them. How awesome! With this one little word, she told Mommy what she wanted and changed the course of events without any whining or tantrum-throwing. I can't help seeing it as a huge step toward independence and self-expression. I look forward to her continuing to find ways to assert herself constructively to express what she wants or needs.

So that is why, right now, it makes me happy to hear my toddler say, "No."