Word Wars part deux

I think that this sweet child of mine may outspeak his hyperverbal sister.

It makes sense: even though I talked to Leah a lot when she was a baby, this time around there is someone to actually answer back, which basically means that he's hearing twice as much language. 

His little babblings are becoming more and more pronounced, and take on the form of many more consonants than Sister's did.  Around 9 months, she had mastered her G's, B's, and of course said her first word.

Logan, on the other hand, has mastered the G's and B's, but also lesser-spoken P's, K's, S's, occassionally L's, and most recently, the M's.

As in: MAMA.

It's so awesome.  I love being Mama.

Nostalgia

Time has that funny quality of passing us by so quickly without anyone stopping to take notice.

Our girl is no longer a baby.  I'm not totally sure how that happened, but she has lost those chubby, bald, tooth-less traces of her babyhood.  She's a bonafide kid - complete with big girl bed sleeping, opinion having and panty wearing.

It seems I've forgotten to document, so here are some things that she's been doing lately:

• Potty training.  I knew it would go this way.  One day, she woke up and decided to go potty in the big girl potty.  It was moving day, so I didn't have time to commit.  Fast forward and now we're two days in, and she's doing beautifully.  I won't say that there haven't been accidents - mostly when she decides she simply doesn't want to go in the toilet - but she totally gets it.  I'll never be able to claim that I potty trained her, because really, she's just decided she's ready.
• The other night at dinner, she hugged me close and said: "Mommy, you're my best friend."  It absolutely melted my heart.
• Saying the alphabet in the car.  The whole thing, on her own.  I didn't actually know she could do that. 
• Recognizing numbers.  Evidently, she now knows 4, 5 and 8.  Quite possibly more I'm not even aware of.  She pointed out 4 and 5 on an address recently, and she was totally right.  I thought she only knew 8.
• Singing up a storm.  I adore it.  She gets the tune right and the key wrong, and she inevitably knows all the words. 
• Dreaming about the future from her car seat: "Mommy, someday when I get bigger and bigger, can I sit in this seat?" (pointing to the front passenger seat).  I had to remind her not to get too big too quickly.  It sure seems fast to me. 

Conversations are elloquent at two

I've said it from the beginning, and it's still just as amazing as the very first time.  Our girl is a talker. 

She is going through such a fun phase when it comes to verbal development. Of course, she has been in the repeating everything phase of life for a while now, but the way her words and sentences get strung together, and the sweet, high-pitched inflection with which she says them are too precious. 

So I had to jot down a few of my favorites.

She can be demanding...
"Eva!  Listen!  Mommy, Eva's not lisnin' to me."
"Daddy gave this teddy to yooooouu! {meaning herself}  This teddy mine!"
"Brody!  Knock it off!"
"No like it either."
"Play in the bath more!"
"No!  Rock a minute with mommy!"

She can be inquisitive...
"What's that mommy?"
"Mommy, hear the helicopter?"
"Did you see that bird, mommy?  It fly away."

She can be funny...
"Fart!  BIG fart!"  {By the way, I would love to take back the day her daddy taught her that little gem}
"Look at me, mommy!" {Said while doing something silly}
"That tickles, Daddy!  No, Daddy, don't tickle me!"

She can be insightful...
"Leah's baby drinks from that bottle."
"Those polar bears smell stinky!"
"A triangle!  'Nother triangle, 'nother triangle."
"See those letters?  That letter R."
My favorite: "Daddy, stop bein' ornery!" (used in the exact perfect context, without any mimicking whatsoever.  LOVE.)
She has the funniest immaginary conversations, too.  Sometimes, when she is having trouble falling asleep, I can hear her upstairs in her crib and the dialogue is too hillarious and completely random.  The girl remembers everything, and it comes up sooner or later in conversation - regardless of whether there is an audience.

I don't know where she gets this stuff, but I sure am grateful I get to be there to listen.

Baby, talk is cheap.

"Nana, stay here.  Couple weeks." 

This is what Leah announced over dinner a few days ago as Nana was getting ready to go home.  I'd say her request is pretty clear, no? 

I also heard: "Know what?  I love you" in the car on the way home on Friday.  She's been experimenting with everything from "YUCK!  No like it" to "Bless you, Daddy!" after a sneeze.  And, of course, the girl knows how to ask for food.  "More oranges, please" she says. 

At dinner tonight, this pearl was overheard:

Poopy comes sometimes.

(then there was a little song that goes like this...)

Poopy tiiiiime, la la la.

Fa la la la poooopy tiiiime.



My mom always told me that we'd never laugh so hard as we do when we have kids.  So, so true.
My favorite might be, "Hi baby.  What'cha doin'?"  (Obviously this is something a certain someone in our house says to her.  The phrase is now repeated to everyone and everything.)

I'll admit it.  I totally love the vocab on this girl.  It's awesome, sweet, and more often than not, hillarious.  She keeps us in stitches with the random things she says and the amazing things she knows.

I'll be your cheerleader

I like to consider myself an optimist. That glass right there?  It's half-full.

Which is why I felt weak and whiny about sharing my anxieties and frustration related to getting pregnant. 

The comments I have received over the past week, however, make me extremely glad I did.  Your e-mails and Facebook messages and comments amazed, encouraged and humbled me, and have had me in tears more than once. 

There are so many of you out there who have been through your share of struggles on the path to motherhood.  Often a silent and lonely struggle, where people tell you with almost patronizing enthusiasm just to give it time, or that it will happen when it's supposed to.  You've gone to baby showers and smiled with as much genuine happiness as you can muster.  You've watched friends "glow" and patted bellies and wondered why it was meant to be for someone else and not for you.

I don't claim to get it.  I haven't faced the fight the way many of you have.  But sharing my struggles revealed that many of you are suffering or have suffered varying degrees of similar emotions.

In other words, I'm not alone in thinking that not getting pregnant or not staying pregnant feels like crap.  Why did I think I was some weird freak?

Why is it that, as women who willingly bare our souls about so many different topics, we keep these struggles a secret?  I am asking because I don't have an answer, just a lot of kind and empathetic comments as evidence.

It takes big girl guts to admit to this stuff, and it's neither whiny nor weak to let it be known that some days, it hurts. 

So, while I don't ever, ever want to view that glass as half-empty, nor do I want to turn this blog into one gigantic catalogue of woe is me, I do want to renew my commitment to what's honest.  Keeping all of this to ourselves does no one any good.

And if you ever need a cheerleader, don't be afraid to share, here or in person (so-to-speak): melissa.strassner@gmail.com.  It's worth it to send each other some love and support.  And icecream.  You know, if you're close enough that it won't melt...

Whispering sweet nothings

My mother tells stories of how I spoke in full sentences before my 2nd birthday.  And not just things like "I'm hungry."  According to my mother, I knowingly advised someone at the store not to buy too many bananas, 'cause they go bad real quick.  Supposedly I was like 20 months old.

I've always secretly doubted these stories, because... well, really, who does that?

And then I watch my daughter.  At a year old, she can't speak clearly in the sense that she can enunciate words.  But boy, can she say a lot.

Here's the list:

"Daddy"
"Go!" (as in, what we say to the dogs when we want them out of the room or out from under the kitchen table)
"Night night"
"Mom"
"Hi"
"Banana" (nanna)
"Cheese" (chssss!)
"Doggie"
"I love you" (my favorite! It comes out as "I yahyoo")

It's such a joy to watch her figure out the world around her.  I'm always amazed when I ask her a question and she responds appropriately.  She understands SO much, even though she can't always "say" it. 

We can't wait to see what she'll learn next!

That little word is music to my ears

Yes, this has been me for the past 11 months.  I won't even try to deny it. 

Which is why, when Leah said "Daddy" first, I was a little steamed.  Casey still gets to take showers that involve washing the conditioner out of his hair.  Casey didn't suffer through months of enforced insomnia.  Casey's body parts are still in their normal (ahem... not-hanging-down-to-the-floor, stretched-out-and saggy) positions.

What's this daddy business?

But, today I got that little word that I've been waiting months to hear:

MOM.

And you know what?  It's so worth the wait!

Mom.  Yep, that's me!

Overheard in the Strassner House

Me: "Leah, can you say 'Momma?'"

Leah: (Grinning) "Da-dee"

Me: "Can you say 'Mommy?'"

Leah: "Nah-nah.

Me: (Louder and slower) "Mom - mee"

Leah: (Pauses, thinking)......

...."Dadada!"

We'll get there - there's always next year!

Just chatting

I love how quickly everything baby-related changes. (Did I say love? I'm going to stick with that for today and amend it when it suits me...)

Leah is working diligently on her verbal ability. It has gone from mostly crying, to cooing, to wild gesticulating that looks very much like she is trying to tell me something, to having her own "conversations" with people and things.

She's been working on these conversations to varying degrees for a few weeks, but all of a sudden, they are very developed.

I adore them!

Today, we were getting ready to go to the doctor. Leah was in her bouncer as I was bustling around getting everything packed and in the car, when I heard a TON of cute little noises issuing from inside. I had to grab the camera and take a little video!

Here is Leah, "talking" to her froggy. If you're a parent, I'm sure you've seen all this before. For me and for Leah, it's the first time, and it's all kinds of amazing!