This is Good. Let's Encourage the Cleaning.

So. Sometime last week, I started noticing that about half-way through a meal, Eva would start saying Muh-ka! Muh-ka! Muh-ka! over and over again. I thought maybe she was looking for milk, so I kept offering her her cup. But each time, she pushed it away and said (much more...um...loudly) MUH-KA! MUH-KA!

Finally, finally, during lunch one day (after I'd offered her everything else on the table,) I realized that the poor kid was trying to say "Napkin."

She wanted a napkin.

A napkin.

So I gave her mine. And do you know what she did with it? She started wiping off her highchair tray. She started cleaning. Cleaning!

I thought maybe she was done with her meal, and was sick of waiting for me to notice that fact, so she took matters into her own hands. But no. Nope. After she did a little tray-wiping, she asked for more food. And she held onto that napkin for the rest of her meal.

Now, we know enough to put out a "napkin" for Eva (she gets a paper towel—they're a little sturdier) when we set the table. And sure enough, about half-way through each meal, she starts saying Muh-ka! Muh-ka! Muh-ka!, we hand over the napkin, and she wipes off her tray.

Sometimes I get sad thinking about how quickly she's growing and becoming a little girl instead of my tiny baby. But then she pulls something like this (Warning sign of future obsessive behavior? Nah.) and my perspective changes in an instant. She's growing quickly, yes, but it's so, so much fun!