Verbal Communication

I am not one of those women who want their babies to stay drooly and frail forever.  I like having a baby girl who is growing up and becoming more independent.  Sure, I still love all the cuddles and hugs and kisses, but now that Little L can actually say, "Hug! Kiss!" and understand the meaning of those words, I find that receiving them is all the more special.

I love that she can communicate with us now, and not just via crying and gestures.  She can actually use words, human words that are not nonsensical.  She likes to go around identifying things that she has words for, and she also likes asserting herself verbally.

A few cutie patootie examples:

* On a walk to the park yesterday, we stopped to look at the flowers.  Without prompting, Little L pointed at some purple ones and said, "Pretty!" Then she pointed at her face.  LOL.

* All day long, Little L kept telling me that she was, "Big!" Whenever she'd sit down on something too small to sit down on, or when she was able to do something on her own, she'd say, "Big!" Well, sure enough, when we got to the swings, I loaded her into the black baby swings and she began pointing at the bigger-kid blue swing and shouting, "Big! Big!" I knew that she had been setting up all day to tell me that she's old enough to go on the big swing, so I had to keep reminding her that even though she is bigger, she's still not big enough.  And true to form, not 30 seconds after I plopped her into the big blue swing, she started exclaiming, "Pah pah! Pah pah!" ("I'm scared!" in Canto) and wiggling off the seat. 

* The last two days, whenever I offer her a new piece of food at the dinner table (e.g. a new drumstick), she will hand me the old piece and say, "Trade!"

* When I informed Little L that Miss Bee was coming, she smiled and said, "Happy!"

* Little L has recently been introduced to regular markers, as well as having her toddler Crayolas to play with.  Sometimes she draws on herself, and her legs usually end up with a colourful mark or two on them.  Well, she noticed her birthmark on her leg a few days ago, and she keeps pointing at it and saying, "Mark! Marker!" I usually interject to tell her that God drew that little mark on her leg, because she is special.

* When angling to go outside, Little L usually heads over to her shoes and grabs a pair.  Today it was the Crocs (much to my dismay - why not the Pedipeds?!), and as she picked them out, she declared, "I shoe!" (read: my shoes!).

I love that she can talk.  I hope she never stops (and yes, I know I will live to regret these words). ;)