Spring break! Woot!

Five day weekend! Much needed break from my students! So happy to sleep in until 6:30! (Or maybe even 7.)

Laurel is talking a lot. Miss Sue at her daycare told me that she said "yellow" and pointed to a duck on a page in a story. She said "Where is the bus?" in the car today and then, "I don't know!" until she did see one, and then she said, "I see a big bus." I am not kidding. Full sentences. I was floored.

Mostly, though, she's playing around with words. Cupcake. Blue. Up. Breakfast. Baby. Mama. Thank you.

Baby is her favorite word. My dad bought her a little purse, and my parents stuffed it full of photos. Some of them are pictures of my brother and sister and I when we were kids, and some are of Laurel when she was a teeny baby. I wonder if she recognizes her infant self. Does she remember what it was like to be a baby? She always spends a long time analyzing the pictures of baby versions of herself and us.

There were things about Laurel that we learned right away, within weeks of her birth. She was strong-willed. Screamed like the dickens when she was not happy. She had strong legs - skinny, chicken legs - but she could always kick enough to make you pay attention. She was vocal from the first minute. I had to repost this video, because as Laurel's personality becomes more evident, I am reshaping my own ideas about nurture vs. nature. Laurel is Laurel and she has been since she came to us. Maybe there are things we do that help her grow into her best self (or not), but I can't make her into any kind of person.

So...enjoy this video of Laurel "talking" last winter, and I'll work to capture some of her new words on video during my spring break.