Yeah, OK

Are you ready for breakfast Brooklyn? Yeah she says with this excited voice. Ok, then get up in your big girl chair. OK she says. Eat, her hands say. Drink, they say after that. Here's your drink. Drink up. Ahhhh! she says after she is done. Ahhhh! she says again in a quieter voice. "Amby." She signs drink. Ok, is Lamby thirsty? Let's get her a drink too. Gulp Gulp her voice says. Her lips open and close. Ahhhh! she says after Lamby is done. "Hi Abby, Meow, meow" she says as Abby her kitty lies next to the window. "Kitty, Abby, meow, meow" Her little hand waves to Abby. When did this all start? My little girl went from 8 words one week to over 20 the next week. Now she is putting stuff together. It all makes sense. Yeah. All the signs she is learning are slowing dropped once she picks up the word. I can't keep her quiet any more. She loves to talk and she loves even more to be talked with.

Elmo is a bird?

Can Big Bird really be disguised as Elmo? Well Faith obviously thinks so. I could not for the life of me figure out how she learned to say the word Elmo. We don’t have him at home and neither in her Toddler II classroom. However whenever she sees her Big Bird doll she calls him Elmo. No Faith. That is Big Bird I kept saying. However today I finally figured it out. After going into the Toddler I classroom I encountered the Elmo. Elmo was dressed as a chicken. He sings the chicken dance and does a dance too. So I put two and two together and came to this conclusion. On Monday and Tuesday she was shipped over to the Toddler I room after she woke up from nap because she was waking her friends up. It was here that Faith met Elmo for the first time. Elmo says his name when singing his song so that is how she learned his name. When she saw her yellow bird she remembered that Elmo was in a chicken costume. So yes, she calls her Big Bird "Elmo". I can now see how the two could be mixed up. Kids they are so funny.

A Good Day

Today was a good day for all. A day of smiles and laughs all day. A day of a good nap. A day of good company to talk to. A good day for Faith to play with Bud. Some nights Faith wants nothing to do with Bud, however tonight I couldn't get her away from him. She runs and jumps up in his chair, "daddy" she says with excitement in her voice. I think that she has figured out that if she runs to daddy she can stay up later. If she doesn't want to do something and I want her to, she will yell for her daddy. Bud, please tell Faith she can't wear her shoes to bed. Faith, you can't wear your shoes to bed. It is hilarious. She is trying to fool us but I don't think it is working.

Poor Faith was the only girl in her class today. Looks like another day for her to get kissed. Yes, you heard me. Faith is getting kissed at school. One little boy is in the hugging and kissing phase. When Faith gets near, watch out. The teacher tries to stop him but he is quick.

Her favorite word this week is mine. We are quickly trying to X that out of the vocabulary. One boy started saying it in school and then it wasn't long after so did she. I know that it is hard for kids to share, but shouldn't you still teach them to. Teach them the word, our. I don't know. I just know I don't want her being selfish but a 1 year old's personality is selfish. She is learning to share and she is learning to say please this week. "Up......peas". She won't say it on her own but she will repeat it and then get what she wants. So hopefully it will sink in soon. Please.... sink in soon.

One more

So as you all know by now, Faith loves books. Although, a few weeks ago her favorite one was a collection of Disney stories. This week she is stuck on her train books. Faith, go pick out a book to read. Need I remind you that she must have a good 50-75 books to choose from. They are on her shelf, baskets, under her bed, and in every room of the house. Now just pick out one, Faith. Every time this week it has been her Thomas the Engine book. It is a lift flap book and she loves to look under each flap to see what it is. I think part of the reason she favors this book is because we have a train that runs by our apartment several times a day. That was one of the first things she learned to sign. Also at school when her and her friends go outside in the morning, they form a train and "choo choo" down the hall. She has even started to say, "All Aboard". How cute is that? So let's all hop on board the train and head to the circus like Thomas the Engine. One more time, mamma. Please read it one more time.

Time to brush

So Faith has got to the age where she loves to brush her teeth. She loves to watch Bud in the morning brush his. She will often stick her tongue in and out and make a "La La" noise when she wants to brush. She knows whose brush is whose, including hers. She knows that there is a train on hers because she will often use her hands to say train as she uses one hand to brush and the other to speak. It is quite funny. We purchased a stepstool for her the other day and it is by far a favorite. This means that she has graduated to big girl status. I will brush my teeth twice a day. Not Faith though, she will brush them whenever she gets the chance. If I need to get something done and need her cooperation, I will give her her toothbrush. I needed a shower the other morning. She brushed the entire time I was in there. And of course, let's not forget our stuffed animals. They all need clean teeth too. Now, everyone brush up.

Can't you hear me?

The frustration is slowly starting as Faith is trying to communicate and doesn't know the words to say. She will point and grunt, just as every toddler I'm sure has done, and then get mad because I don't know what she wants. Most of the time if I ask her to, she will go point to what she wants. The other day she wanted to put money in her bank. Her hands say bunny but I see no bunny in sight. Faith, go get what you want. She runs to her room, points up high on her shelf to her bunny bank, and then it sinks in. You want to fill your bunny bank up? Okay, then. I feel like I am playing charades and the game never ends. "Up, Up," she says over and over. Mama can't pick you up right now. Can't you see I am holding your pillow, lunch bag, my purse, Lamby, and my drink and trying to lock the house? I have no hands to lift you up. I love her so much. I love her big bear hugs for me, Bud, and all her toys. I love her kisses that smack me right on the lips. I love the way her hands sign I love you. It is great being a mom.

Potter flop

If you are a Harry Potter fan I hope that you have finished the last book before reading this. Here I have waited through 6 books to finally read the seventh and final installment. This whole time I kept saying to myself, I can't wait for the final buildup. It is going to be a huge battle like in Order of the Phoenix when Dumbledore and Voldemort fought each other at the end of the movie. I expected a climax like that. Who would have dreamed that Voldemort would have died in such a simple fashion. His own spell killed him. Can Harry do any big magic, I am left wondering. Every time he fought Voldemort someone came to the rescue. I am glad the books are finished but the boy who I thought would conquer the Great Lord didn't live up to the standard I thought he could. Who knows? Maybe James or Albus Potter will become an even better wizard than their dad.

Coming together

Can a child as young as 16 months really start stringing words together. I have always been told that it is much later. Maybe it has to do with the sign language that Faith is learning. She is learning day by day to put two or three words together with her hands to tell me what she wants. Two examples are...
I had told Faith to leave Abby alone. I told her that she was sleeping. Faith put her finger to her mouth for "Shhh", hand to ear for "Ni Ni" and then ran her hand across her forehead for "cat". Then she throws in the word Abby. I had shown her these signs when I was trying to communicate with her. However this was 10 minutes after the fact. Does she really remember that much detail?
Faith had walked by Abby's closet and saw her water. Faith strokes her hand across her forehead for "cat" then to her mouth for "drink" and then away from her mouth for "water." Yes Faith, that is Abby's water. Now leave it alone. She does the same for her food except for drink she will say "eat."
Maybe these signs are becoming easier for her because I too am beginning to use sentences with her. I wonder how her little mind works? I wonder what a little child like Faith is capable of learning? I find myself constantly learning more signs just to keep her learing and talking. As she is picking up the word itself to say she has been dropping the sign. However, I am keeping with the sign so eventually maybe she can put them all together. Hand and voice.

Ode to the Family

The last couple days we have had Bud's mom around. This meant lots of laughing and good times with Faith. I know that each time family comes up they can't believe how much she has changed. She is so smart and such a sweet little girl. She interacts with each person she meets. I was concerned that she wouldn't take to Grandma very quickly because she hasn't seen her in 4 months. However she quickly realized that Grandma was here to have fun. The last two days have been spent wrestling, going for walks, reading, and playing with babies. Faith was literally trying to push Grandma off of the couch when they both were sitting on it. She then wrestled her to the ground where she continued to growl at her and climb on top of her. I have never seen her this way however she was having fun picking on Grandma. It is so comforting to have family around. It makes me wish we could have someone around all the time. However, life moves on and so do all the members of our family.