Talky

Zoe hasn't been in a rush to speak. Her expressive level gaze and pointing finger, accompanied by an array of grunts, squawks, and demanding screeches, is generally more than enough to convey anything necessary. Sign language, in her mind, is meant only to emphasize "MORE MORE MORE" or demand "Give me that breast right now, milkmaid." The last two weeks, though, she's finally started picking up about word a day and we are totally loving it.

A few days ago, while sitting in her carseat, she overheard Michael and me talking about how hungry we were and one of us (to remain unnamed) growled "MEEEEEEEEEAT!!!!" She thought that was funny, and the rest of the day she spent growling in her itty-bitty-girl voice "Meeeeeeeeeee!" So cute it's really ridiculous.

She says "Thank you!" It sounds more like a sing-song "Day-doo!" She doesn't use it in context, she prefers to thank people with a goofy wrinkly-nosed smile. She just likes walking around and saying day-doo day-doo day-doo!

When you place something tasty before her, she exclaims "Yumyumyumyummy!"

If she is wrestling (one of her favorite pastimes, she starts it) with Dad or Jed, and they are on top of her, she shouts "OFF!"

She knows dad's name, which she prefers to shout at 4:30 AM when she can't sleep. "NAAH! NAAH!" Michael has been nightweaning Zoe for me (oh bless his heart) and the last few days have been a little rough. But we both giggle when she starts shouting crankily "Naah!"

Also, when Jed leaves the room and she wants him back, she shouts his name "YED!" (Do you sense there is a lot of shouting at our house? Because there is.) She shouts "Yed!" when she wakes up in the morning because Jed loves to be the first one to come see her. I have to wait at the top of the stairs while he goes down and pats her cheeks and kisses her head and gives her hugs over the top of the crib. Then I'm allowed to come down and get her out. But a few days ago, somehow, Jed figured out how to pull her out of the crib himself so now I'm not allowed to come down at all. I don't mind, they are so cute together, but I do always sneak a look down at the sibling love-fest.

She says "Shoes", which sounds exactly like Jed's way of saying it as a toddler, "Shzzzz." Both of my kids have had a strange shoe fetish.

Also, "Wheeeeeee!" as she goes backwards down the stairs. Which she has only just started doing. She is kind of stubborn. She prefers her personal slaves to carry her. It took months of leaving her screeching angrily at the top of the stairs before I caught her sneaking down them when I wasn't looking. But now it is a game worthy of "Wheeee!" if we all go down backwards together.

Finally, and my favorite, Zoe has learned to say "Jesus." She knows who he is, too! I didn't even know she recognized him until her grandma pointed it out to me one day. She points him out as a baby in nativity scenes, and she also points to paintings of him as an adult and says his name. I confess, this makes me beam in pleasure. I guess we're doing all right in the parenting area if she picks that kind of stuff up all by herself.