Communication

Time keeps on slipping (slipping, slipping) into the future, and things around here are better than ever. Communication is getting easier all the time - when Penny asks for something, I can understand her, which she thinks is the greatest thing ever, to be finally understood, and I think it's great that she is communicating, and I get all excited, and then she gets more excited, so it's a nice little positive feedback loop. She's been trying to say everything we say, and sometimes she comes pretty close. Other times, she's not even speaking the same language, but has what we call in the business, "pattern perception," which means she gets the number of syllables right. It's so exciting for a speech nerd like me.

Speaking of nerdy speech things, I've been keeping track of the words Penny uses consistently (of COURSE I do!) and she has 50 words and 16 signs. The kid blows me away, and pretty soon it will be impossible to keep track of everything she says. Her "b" sounds are all "ds." So, "belly" is "de-yee," "buckle" is "duck-oh," "baby" is "deedee." And her favorite thing in the world, her binky, is "dink-dink." For which she will plaintively wail, when she's tired: "DINK-DINK!" (Yes, we still use the binky for sleep). She will say "Wok," and then I have to figure out if she's talking about her sock, a rock, or going on a walk? I can usually guess correctly, and she's thrilled, but I have the feeling Britt and I are going to be the only ones who understand her for a while. Meanwhile, she understands everything.


Don't read the opinion section, it will only make you angry.

And she can sing! And she follows commands! Penny can throw trash in the garbage or put clothes in the laundry basket when I ask. She's become my slave! And her songs sound like actual songs! She hums the alphabet to herself in the car, and when she's sleepy, she will hum the lullaby we sing to her every night. She doesn't have the words, but she has the notes and the inflection (what's the musical term for that?), and it's so sweet to hear.

Other things Pen likes to do:
Playing dress up with my shoes, and any other article of clothing (including underwear) she can put around her neck.
"Cooking" and feeding her menagerie of dollies and animals.
Stacking up towers of blocks or cups and knocking them down.
Taking apart the nesting dolls and demanding I put them back together for her, x1000.
Playing "whispering secrets," which consists of her lying on the floor and us whispering things in her ear to make her laugh. I don't know why she has to lie on the floor, but she won't receive secrets any other way.
"Talking" on the phone, or her toy remote, which she thinks is a phone.


Penny unlocks the secret of the cannibalistic nesting dolls.

I get lonely in the car when she's at her Grandma's. I'm so used to hearing her jabbering, laughing and singing, that when she's not with me, I feel like something is missing. I miss her and the sound of her voice. She's my little friend, you see.