We hear endless demands for cookies around our apartment these days. It seems we may have inadvertently taught Maya during the flights to and from Albany last month that cookies are infinitely available to her at any time of day upon request.

Oops.

Now we are paying the price.

7:30 a.m.: "Cookies?"

9:15 a.m., immediately after breakfast: "Cookies?"

11:30 a.m., as I slice her an apple for a snack: "Cookies?"

Lunchtime: "Cookies?"

4:00 p.m., on waking from nap: "Cookies?"

Dinnertime: "Cookies?"

Bedtime: "Cookies? Crackers? Cookies? Cookies?"

Sigh.

Sometimes you can even see the Cookie Switch in her brain turn on when she's thumbing through her Sesame Street coloring books and comes across a page with Cookie Monster on it. "Cookie Monster!" she'll shout. Then, "...cookie, Mommy?"

It's hard, when your child is small and "underweight," to hold the line on doling out snacks. But hold the line we must, else we risk creating a junkfood maven who will devour nothing but Pirate's Booty and animal crackers for the rest of her life. In our desire to bring Maya's weight up to speed, we are in danger of actually preparing her to be overweight later in life. We have to be careful!

Other Maya news: We really feel like we've got a true, whole, very communicative little person living with us these days, and it's (mostly) super-fun! She's putting phrases together, such as "Read to!" (for "read to me") and "Mommy, bite?" (for "Mommy, may I please ignore what's on my highchair tray and take several enormous bites of your dinner instead?")

Another really cool thing is her blossoming awareness of events going on around her. On our arrival at LAX after Thanksgiving, Maya noticed two adults hugging outside a taxicab on the curb and announced "Hugs." She points to other kids wailing away at Target and says, "Baby crying." At the farmers' market last Thursday night, she spotted a balloon floating way up high in the sky, just a little orange speck, and cried, "Bloon!" It's exciting having two-way conversations with Maya now, and not simply keeping up a one-sided monologue all the time. (It can be so wearying narrating out loud all day long for a baby!)

Maya's loving the new stepstool we got her from Target. She "helps" drag it into the bathroom twice a day to stand on while brushing her teeth. We shelled out for the two-step stool, because it's the only stool that gets her up high enough to actually reach the faucet. She also likes to sit on it while her daddy puts on her shoes for her. (Seth pretends he's a shoe salesman while he does this. "Plenty of room in the toe, ma'am? Can I get you a larger size? I've got plenty of fives but I'm out of four-and-a-halves...")

Maya is also loving Baby Carla, known simply as Baby around here. Baby is my old Cabbage Patch Kid "preemie" from 20-some years ago, lovingly cleaned up and presented to Maya by my mom (hi, Mom!) while we were home for Thanksgiving. Maya feeds Baby. Maya offers Baby some juice. Maya puts Baby "night-night." This morning, Maya gave Baby a "bath" in her old tub. It's all very fun to watch.

Less fun to watch are the mini-tantrums, which come on suddenly and for no apparent reason whatsoever. They freak me out and make me worry: Is Maya in pain? Is something horribly wrong and I just can't see it? What the hell is going on here?

But mostly, life with Toddler Diva Maya is full of laughter and joy!