12 Words!? She must be a girl!

Yes, it's true. I counted this morning and Talia can say 12 words: Dada, Mama, sock, thank you (ta tu), boo!, book, cup, bye bye (ba ba), woah!, stinky (kih-ky), ball, and Pooh. I don't know when she started picking up words left and right, one day I just realized she was actually saying something! She amazes us with how much she picks up by imitation.

Speaking of imitation, another one of her favorite new tricks is doing animal sounds. Her best sounds are cow ("mmm"), pig [a short, deep throated sort of growl], and lion "rAAAAh." But she will try to imitate almost any sound you give her. One night we were watching a Baby Einstein video featuring all kinds of animals ("Baby Noah"). Each segment shows a different environment (rainforests & tropics, the savannah, the outback, etc.) and shows 5 or 6 animals from that region. Each new animal is introduced with a picture and the sound it makes. Talia was trying to imitate each one. So cute!

We are also learning body parts. So far she can point to her eyes, mouth and hair. I think hair is her favorite because whenever I give her one she doesn't know she just smiles and starts whacking her head!

Physically, Talia has made a lot of progress lately! Since her first crawling experience last Sunday she has learned to get from a laying-down to a sitting-up position by herself and has started pulling up on her knees. It won't be long before she is fully mobile. Watch out Benjamin, nothing is safe anymore! Also, I discovered a sharp new tooth yesterday morning that must have come through in the night. This brings her total tooth count to a whopping 4! (For those who don't know, 4 is not an extraordinary amount of teeth for a 1 year old.)

If you were to visit our house during the day you would most likely find Talia reading a book, playing a musical instrument, or destroying something. Yes, this just about sums up her favorite pastimes. She does love to "read" books; in fact, she can not endure a diaper change without one. As soon as I lay her down on the changing table she immediately begins signing "please," meaning "please give me a book." As soon as I hand over the desired object she begins nodding emphatically and happily babbles, "ta tu" (thank you). Another favorite on Tali's daily agenda is making music. She loves to play our piano as well as the variety of instruments we have accumulated, including a tambourine, cymbals, wood block, maracas, plastic recorder and kazoo.

Unfortunately the aforementioned activities are not always undertaken with the utmost care for our possessions. Talia has single handedly destroyed many a board book, most of which I have salvaged with the help of my trusty bottle of Crayola school glue and my roll of clear packing tape. Our books were in nearly pristine condition before Talia hit the stash. Alas, that is no longer the case. Apparently the instruments are no longer safe either. Last night, while picking up the toys strewn across the living room, I discovered the plastic "plug" to the kazoo underneath the rocking chair; the underlying circle of wax paper was nowhere to be seen. (I suspect it made a not-so-tasty after-dinner snack for a small pixie wearing a diaper.) Fortunately I have seen many kazoos repaired in my day. :) Even while in bed Talia can manage to find something to get into! I finally had to remove the bumper pad from her crib after she pulled 3 of the ribbon ties to absolute shreds. I like to call her "my little destructive child."

Our days are full of fun and laughter as each one brings something new to discover and learn. I won't pretend these two crazy kiddos don't completely wear me out. (Most nights, as I close the door to their bedroom I can't help but let out a gigantic sigh of relief.) But as I stop to reflect on the beauty of their development I remember the joy of being a mom. What a privilege it is to undertake the task of teaching these sweet children "when [we] sit in [our] house, and when [we] walk by the way, and when [we] lie down and when [we] rise." (Deut. 6: 7)