I think it’s human nature to reach beyond our grasp. It’s part of discovering, growing, learning. I see Leena groping with her chubby hand, wriggling like a tadpole to a wooden car, squirming side to side, reaching out those little fingers, inching forward until she gets hold of that car.

Meanwhile, Sonya has matchbox cars. She lines them up in her third-shelf garage. Standing on her tiptoes, she can just reach it. She’s getting tall…

… and talkative. Dressed like an astronaut, gabbing on Daddy’s iPhone.

Don’t worry— I’m aware of the growing evidence regarding the dangers of cell phone radiation, and Sonya typically doesn’t get to talk with an iPhone to her ear. In fact, Sonya expects phone calls to include a video feed, so her instinct is to hold the phone in front of her. However, she was more than happy to pose when Drex wanted to have a picture like this for a class lecture.

Meanwhile, we’re trying to be responsible about how much screen time Sonya gets each day. We allow her to watch only 30 minutes of YouTube/DVDs and have an additional 20 minutes of independent computer play or iPod Touch time, with notable exceptions for: (1) long trips (2) pediatrician’s waiting room (3) date nights left with a babysitter.

Sonya is incredibly adept at using a mouse. She recognizes icons, knows how to launch applications from the dock, and close them once she’s finished with a game. She’s already so tech-savvy at age two, Daddy better watch out!

Currently, she’s working on uppercase and lowercase alphabet matching flashcards. She recognizes most of the letters now. She can pick them out on the keyboard and write some of them crudely on paper. She can sing the entire alphabet song from start to finish. Sonya’s version goes like this:

Ay-bee-see-dee-ee-eff-gee. Aitch-eye-jay-kay-ellennennohpee! Cue. Ar. Ess! Tee-you-vee. Double-ex. Why and zee. Now I sing AY-BEE-SEE, next time, SING WITH ME!

Another big accomplishment— this past weekend, Sonya got undies! Even though accidents are still more frequent than either Drex or I might like, she’s become consistent enough about going to the potty, that we felt Sonya is ready to transition out of diapers and training pants into underwear.

“Same as Elmo,” she’s been bragging, feeling oh so proud of herself. (We’ve been watching Elmo’s Potty Time DVD. When Elmo learns how to use the potty, he gets to wear big boy undies).

Now, for those of you with daughters, buying little girls’ underwear is appalling. We couldn’t find any normal 2T briefs in Montreal. They were all high-cut or bikini-cut. Not to mention they were made of flimsy cotton and shoddy thin elastic bands. These undies didn’t look like they’d last more than two cycles in our front-loading washing machine.

So we went shopping in the little boys’ section. Sonya picked out two packs. Sturdy cotton. Wide, comfortable elastic waistbands. She even found some Iron Man underwear. Added bonus of wearing boys’ briefs? They come with a “pocket” in front where Sonya can slip one of her matchbox cars when they aren’t parked on her third-shelf garage.