Huh?!

The great thing about a verbal child is that you get an idea of what is going on in their head. Sometimes it's as clear as a bell as in "I want more!" And then, sometimes, you have conversations such as the one Dillon & I had this morning while I was getting her dressed-
D: "Listen to me" (said while holding my face with both of her hands)
W: "OK"
D: "When the stairs come down, then we can dance."
W: "Alright"

Huh?! She was completely intent on telling me this. I guess it would be kind of bad if that did make sense to me. I do have a few years of education and verbal ability on her.

The other conversation we had this morning was even better. We were sitting, cuddling on the couch not long after she woke up.
W: "I love you baby."
D: "I love you baby."

That one made perfect sense and made me a little teary.

She wanted to wear the sling to carry her bear around yesterday morning. So, I put it on her, wrapped it around so she wouldn't trip and she carried the bear around for a while. I love it when she imitates the things I'm really happy that I do!

She's been helping me cook, which really turns into quite an adventure. She drags her learning tower over to wherever I'm working. If whatever I'm stirring doesn't involve raw meat or eggs, I'll let her help. She generally does pretty well provided that I picked a bowl that was plenty big for my little helper bee. When she starts getting a little wild with it, or it's time to move on to the next stage of dinner, I'll get her a little bowl with just a small amount of whatever it was and let her keep stirring. Once she gets bored, she starts feeding it to Satchmo. Then he gets underfoot because he's so focused on getting a bite of food from her that I invaribly accidently kick him, which sends him scurrying out of the way. This makes Dillon laugh, so then she wants to kick him to get the same reaction. It's incredible how fast this vicious cycle gets set up, just from stirring something in a bowl!

All by herself

This is the latest addition to "Dillon do it." It now has to be "all by herself." Often that's OK-- sometimes it's not, like when it involves carrying breakable items from point A to point B. Or finding animals on the computer. But socks and shoes she does pretty well with. Pants go well sometimes. This morning she put her shirt on by herself and just needed help with the sleeve. To her credit, she came to me and asked for help with the sleeve rather than just sitting there screaming as she used to do. She's also gotten into picking out her own clothes, which makes for some pretty interesting outfits. She often picks dresses, which is funny because I never wear them. I think this is one of those things that goes beyond imitation and is wholly her choosing.

Bless her heart, she's a bit of a dishelved mess right now. She has a cold and is getting 3 teeth- a molar and 2 eye teeth- all at the same time. On top of all of that, her hair's just long enough to be wild looking , but not long enough to actually style in some way. So, there's this constant stream of watery eyes, snot and drool with this wild hair. But, despite a few tearful moments when not feeling well just gets the better of her, she's really pretty pleasant and happy. She was even able to smile at people in the grocery store yesterday.

The new job is going well. Dillon is enjoying playing with Rowyn, my boss' little girl. There was a little nervousness in starting the second day, because historically for Dillon, the second day was harder than the first, but it went beautifully. It's really cause for a huge sigh of relief from both me and Rowyn's parents. They really like having Dillon there because it's a social opportunity for Rowyn. I like having Dillon close so I can see her during the day. I think the being able to see her during the day has really helped with the transition. Plus there are all the toys that she doesn't have at home and 2 big dogs and some cats to play with and chase around. Does sound kind of heavenly for a 2 year old, huh?