Expansion

Janna's vocabulary is rapidly (and I mean rapidly), expanding. I've heard that babies either walk or talk - and she has very pointedly chosen TALK! The Smallish One can walk, she just doesn't want to. I guess she'd rather spend her energy learning new words. Before I get accused of bragging on my kiddo, let me explain that I do realize that 13+ months is the age where a child's vocabulary and language skills start to increase. However, after having two other exuberant and chatty kids, I'm noticing that Janna is picking up words more rapidly than the other two did. And I am so proud!! She learned 5 new words yesterday! And she uses them properly, too!! Her list of words to date? Huge. A sample? See below.

Momma, Dada, Sissy, Gee (Gabriel), GaGa (Gramma), HaHa (Grampa), Nana, Daa-naa (Janna)

Dog (and she barks when you ask her what a dog says), cat (she meows and says "Ku-ca" [Kuzco]), monkey (and makes monkey noises), duck (and quack), bird (and tweet)

Milk, drink, cracker, eat, cookie, more, all done, this, that, have, no, yes, baby, doll, hi, bye-bye, night-night, nose, tum (tummy), piddies (toes), tickle, drum, choo-choo, car (and she makes car noises)

She also knows where her nose, piggies, and tummy are!!

Watching (and listening) to her grow is amazing. I was amazed with the other two (and of course, I still am), but Janna is just a little bit more amazing at the moment. I think it's because she's so content to sit. She's not as eager to be on the run as Gabriel and Elliott were.

Since I bragged about my Banana Girl, I should post some mini-brags about the Big Hosers. Gabriel is loving pre-school. LOVING it. And I couldn't be happier. He's learning new songs and games, and he's making new friends. He's only been in for 4 days, but he's already learned his left/right stuff, and he's learning to tell time.

Elliott is a pain in the tookus. Thank goodness pre-school starts next week. I need a break from her. I love her to death, but holy crap. That girlie tries my patience. Good thing she's cute. Her new "thing" is games. She loves to play games. My friend, Liz, gave me a great suggestion. Cariboo is awesome!! After only two rounds (one beginner, one advanced), she knows the letters A, B, H, J, M, N, O, S, U, V, W, X, Y, Z. She knew some of them, but now she knows all of them. I'm so proud of her! She can also recognize all of her numbers (and can count to 21), colors, and shapes.

So there you have the expansion of my kiddos' minds. I do what I can. And now I am going to expand my mind with a little reading. I just got "Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife" by Linda Berdoll. It gets pretty shitty reviews, but I love to read trash. I'll let you know how it rates.