I Love This Age!

Mia is at my absolute favorite age. She is learning so fast that I am constantly surprised by what she knows. The other day she brought me a scrap of paper from the floor. I told her to put it in the trash (not thinking that she knew what I was saying) and she walked straight to the trash can and put it in. Who knew?

She talks in gibberish all day long and Troy and I hear her say lots of words. We've heard "dinosaur", "alligator", "garbage truck", and "pop pop" as well as small phrases. The other day, she held up a book and said, "This a book". What's funny about her gibberish is the facial expression and intonation that go along with it. She truly feels that she is communicating clearly and expects that everyone understands. Fortunately for us, she is happy with comments such as, "Oh, is that right?" or "Yes, I agree." She just wants to feel like she's part of the conversation. Her seriousness cracks me up. She will point and say something that sounds like "sha ba sha ba ta da pall?" Her eyebrows go up and the inflection in her voice tells us she is asking a question, so we usually answer her "question" guessing at what she said. It makes for a fun conversation!

I've taught Mia some sign language and she has caught on quickly. She can sign "please", "thank you", "more", "milk", and "juice". Of course juice is just her pointer finger waving up and down and not exactly in a "j" motion, but we understand her. I just love that she can communicate. She gets excited about it too. Now, when she sees Troy and I get any drink with a straw, she signs "please", so I've started ordering a cup of water with a straw for her so she doesn't feel left out. I just hope that her good habit of saying thank you carries over when she really does start talking!