Two Years

It seems that I've been waiting for two whole years to hear Willow make any leaps and bounds and the language department. Although she is not behind developmentally, she isn't extremely advanced either. I'm used to her being on the fast track in her physical and social development, so waiting for language milestones to crop up has been at times frustrating. Mostly because I just want to understand what she's thinking and what she wants/needs. Other times, I worry that there's something I could be doing differently or better to help her out. A few months ago, I was considering having her diagnosed for any speaking delays so that we could work on any challenges early on....

It's been a few months of waiting, and she seems to continually progress with words and phrases, so we'll hold off on any speech therapy for the time being.

It has been interesting to observe how she learns language. She has a slight lisp and there are certain consonants and blends that she struggles with. But she mostly seems to be trying her hand at short phrases. She uses pronouns, including "I", "me", "you"correctly. Which surprises me. Willow's list of nouns she's able to pronounce is growing longer on a daily basis. She sometimes combines pronouns with verbs and nouns. And she's always babbling, which has been her general state of being for over a year. In her babbling, you'll hear some English. Also lots of things that don't make lots of sense to adults (e.g. "one and two and one and two, and ten nine ten nine", "A, U, I, E, B" etc.).

So, probably a boring post to most everyone out there, but that's why I included these fun pictures of Willow. I like the water int he background from the sprinkler.

Anyway, all this 'language-talk' to record where she is currently. To maybe encourage myself on the progress she has made, and keep track for any future concerns that might outline themselves someday. I know she's a little smarty pants, and every kid develops differently....

Can't wait for those moments when we can converse back and forth. She comprehends so much, tries to communicate with words, body language, and unfortunately a good dose of whining. Oh, to be two years old!

She is very good about saying "please" and "thank you" or "xie xie" lately. Other phrases she has started saying, even this past week, include: "how about...that one!"; "where is ______"; "get down"; "let's go outside"; "it's a baby! a little little one!"

She has gotten the incredible privilege of riding her grandpa's combine a few times this week. Every time she hears the word "combine", she puts both her arms in the air and says "WOWWWW!!!!!" She's pretty impressed by it.

There's also a neighbor dog that's been hanging around the house every day. She calls the Johnsons dogs their names, and the neighbor dog she calls "another one".

Some daisies that Willow picked from her Grandma's flower garden and gave to Adam and me. She's such a sweet heart and we love her so much.