I feel like I blinked and TG became a toddler. Honestly, where did the time go? One minute, I'm sleep deprived trying to soothe a swaddled baby and the next, I'm trying to gain patience as my toddler attempts to feed herself with a spoon.
TG's vocabulary has sky rocketed and it simply isn't just repetition. There is a clear understanding of the definition of the words she speaks. For the most part.
At night, before she drifts off to sleep she repeats some of her words. She also lists her favorite songs. Right now, her favorite songs are Row, Row, Row Your Boat, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Are You Sleeping? and A-E-I-O-U. Two weeks ago it was Do Re Mi from the Sound of Music and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. With the later, she repeats the cadence of 'Up Above The World So High'. It comes out 'Up Above Da'.
Another blossom has appeared. TG is clearly displaying affection and attachment not only to her lovey but to other objects and to us. She has known how to hug and give a hug for some time now but she's also giving us kisses when we ask for one.
But the biggest most heartwarming display of her emotional development is her interaction with her stuffed animals. She has this duck named Dylan. When she was a wee infant, I would make Dylan speak and talk and dance for her. I didn't think anything of it and as she got older and more attached to her lovey, I left Dylan with her other stuffed animals. She has some bedtime buddies and some playtime buddies. Her bedtime buddies she seems to have a stronger connection with. Anywho, the other day, she saw Dylan sitting alongside her daytime buddies and she walked over to him, picked him up and hugged him. She smiled a big grin as if she had seen a long lost friend. Then she brought him to me and said, "Quack." and asked me to hug him. Ever since, she's placed Dylan in her bed and interacts with him daily. She even gives him a kiss and a hug before going to bed. As she drifts to sleep with her lovey in her arms, she likes to have me hold Dylan next to me.
How do kids learn emotions and connections and bonding? It's all so fascinating and to me it's a big sign she's not an infant anymore.
