I feel like SJ’s been tattling on Z since birth. One time, before she could ever talk at all, she came running into my room crying. Z came following right behind her yelling “she’s lying”. Hmmm. That sounds suspicious. However, she has come a long way in the past 6 months and the progression is evident in the way she and Z bicker. In October she went from just pointing at Z to actually being able to say his name.

It really was a major milestone. Then in December she started piecing two words together and saying “Z hit!” (or Z push, Z hurt, Z boo boo, etc.) Her latest achievement is the 3 word combination such as “Z hit me”. I hate to be so enthusiastic about sibling rivalry, but it really is exciting to watch her build her communication skills!

There are other things I am sure would annoy most parents, but I am just thrilled to hear her talk. For example the other night we had cut off juice for the day and told her she could have water. She didn’t like that and she just kept whining JUUUUUUICE. Then when she was given a cup of water she said “No. I want apple juice.” Perfectly clear. How am I supposed to respond to that? I didn’t give in, but I did smile and maybe clap a little.

She has said several other sentences recently like

“Mom, I hear phone”
“I hear it”
“I want pudding”
“I will do it”
“Daddy sit down.”
“Baby Ezie’s turn”

She can also count to 5 and knows several colors.

She sang 5 little monkeys along with her class for a school presentation. Here is a video of Z and SJ practicing.

Last week she was in The Very Hungry Caterpillar play and said her line perfectly, which was “I eat hotdog”, without any cue.

 Way to go SJ!

She is making great strides. Even her bedtime routine has made a complete 180 degree turn since I last complained mentioned it. It’s hard for me to capture her talking on video. I always have my hands full, and you know how kids are, they stop the moment the camera  is ready. However, the webcam helps some because she seems to respond well to the computer. That’s how the video above was recorded (Z changed the background to fish), and this one is her showing some of her vocabulary word pictures. In it she says over 20 words. I know she is very difficult to understand. There are a lot of sounds she can’t make yet, like the “C” sound which is why car sounds like “har”. She understands so much though and she is able to articulate more and more each day.

That’s just a small portion of a ten minute video! That girl is on fire. It was this time a year ago that she said her first word and now she knows a couple hundred words. For 6 years Z was the only one talking and it won’t be long now that I will have three chatter boxes on my hands. Bring it on.

Captions for the video:
Bird, cow, dog, rabbit, hand, ear, feet, eye, horse (twice in a row), bug, strawberry, hamburger, kitty cat, bike, cow (which she calls horse at first), sink, hotdog, crackers, pizza, chair, cup, bed, spoon knife, fork, boat, phone.”