Little Ms. Dictionary

I keep meaning to write a post about Talia's new words. The problem is they are multiplying far too rapidly for me to keep up! I'm sure she now knows over 50 words. So next week she'll be heading off to college....

She now knows all about Elmo. She points and says, "Melmo! Melmo!" everytime she sees her furry red friend. She has a favorite Elmo book that she wants everytime we change her diaper--either that or Mr. Brown Can Moo. (Which she calls "Bown.")

Meals have become a whole new experience. "Eat. More? Peese?," she inquires as soon as we begin to strap her into her booster seat. "Bih" (bib) and "p-ay" (pray) are her next requests. She knows all about her "poon" (spoon) and of course her "bup" (cup). She also knows the names of a few random foods like "na nuh" (banana) and "Kix." If she doesn't want what we are offering she now turns her head to the side and says "down" (as in "I want to get...") Or sometimes she simply says, "ah da" (all done)!

A few days ago I got her up from her afternoon nap and her first words were "ti-ti" (stinky) and "po po" (poo poo). And she really was! I'm still trying to get Benjamin to tell me that fun little fact about himself!

I still maintain that she is the politest 14 month old I have ever met. She says "ta tu" (thank you) or sometimes even "ta tu ma" (thank you Mama) practically without fail everytime I give her something she wants. The other night she cried out in the middle of the night. I went in to rub her back, but eventually ended up picking her up and sitting in the rocking chair to help her calm down. She almost immediately fell asleep in my arms, body totally relaxed, hand twitching slightly every now and then. After a few minutes of rhythmic breathing she stirred and repositioned herself muttering, "ta tu." So precious!!

She knows a few of her favorite things ("book," "ba-k" [block], "baby," "ba" [ball] "niy niy" [Einstein], "tay tee" [blankie]) and makes requests for some of her routine activities ("eat", "tee-s" [brush teeth], "beh" [bed--yes, sometimes she actually asks to go to bed]). She knows all our family members "Da Da," "Mama," "Beh" (Benj), and "Ya Ya."

We are constantly amazed over this vocabulary explosion! I never expected that she would be this verbal at 14 months. Our theory is that she must be working on her verbal skills in lieu of her gross motor skills (such as walking...)!