Her name is Baby S, her species is Brutus pequeñus.

Back in January, P and I were debriefing after I had a particularly difficult day with Baby S. I don't recall the reason for her discontent, but Baby S's behavior reminded us of a tiny Neanderthal, grunting and clubbing included. P asked me for Spanish words for small and I provided a few. After about five minutes he looked at me and proudly stated that he had stumbled upon a new species. Given that his degree is in Fisheries Biology, and I spent a good two years listening to him memorizing scientific names, I thought he was having a flashback. P then declared that Baby S's species is Brutus pequeñus. She is our little brute, and we are so proud of her.

When we met Baby S, she looked so tiny and fragile, that we never suspected that there was a wonderful tomboy waiting to get out. But it was there, and she unleashed the tiny beast within as soon as we came home. Baby S likes banging on things so much, that I have considered getting her a B@m B@m outfit. Notice that I did not say Pebbles, as I'm sure Baby S would wipe the floor with her. It's funny that when I think of my beautiful, small daughter, I think of a cartoon boy.

I have a friend who subscribes to traditional gender roles. She has a daughter and a son, and it was funny to listen to her describe their behavior as "so boy full of testosterone," and "so girly girl." My friend seemed taken by her son's "violent tendencies." This was quite an exaggeration on her part, because to me, what I witnessed was garden variety toddler behavior. Now when Baby S does things that our friend considered a result of testosterone, we have a good laugh. I seriously doubt that Baby S has a Y chromosome; she just LOVES to grab an object and damage our furniture. Actually, she would gladly bang on any surface. Just our luck that we count as a surface.

Baby S is also developing a raspy voice and unless it is the result of allergies, we hope she remains that way. I am a sucker for raspy voices. Give me the voices of R0d Stewart, Bri@n Adams, Kim C@rnes, Sammy H@ggard or M@cy Gray anytime. There is something about little girls with raspy voices that turns us into mush. In the video below, you can hear it when she says hug, hot dog and ojos. She does it with certain words and it's awfully cute.

In two days, Baby S is going to meet her Abu (Abuela) and we are really excited. Then Grandpa will be here next week, for four days. Of course our first born will be here also. Baby S is going to be spoiled rotten, but we don't care. We are really grateful to Abuela and Grandpa for traveling so far to be here for the kids' birthdays. We also know that this is not likely to happen again, but we are looking forward to the memories we will make. P and I are also curious about how Grandpa is going to react to the screaming machine that is now Baby S. When he visited in August, he would remark about how quiet Baby S was, "I have not heard a peep out of her." That ship sailed a long time ago.

Peekaboo! Baby S was very excited about her Y0 G@bba G@bba shirt.

I have a few videos of Baby S making the trek to the mailbox. A few months ago, she would lose her balance at least once. Yesterday she even brought her See N Say and gosh darn it, she did not fall once (it is steep for a little person). My baby is growing too fast.