Vocabulary

Last month, our neighbors, Jessica and Bill, had a gorgeous baby boy who they named Max. When they were at the hospital, Emma Rose, Anabelle and I fed and played with their dogs. Their names are Mona, Jake and Bowser. The girls loved playing with them. I think they couldn't believe there are actually dogs in the world that are bigger than cats. Jake is a lab, and I'm not sure of the breeds of the Mona and Jake. Anabelle fell in love! Whenever we would come home from feeding and playing with the dogs, she would cry and say their names over and over. Well, mostly she would say "Mo (slight pause) ma." As soon as we would start over in the mornings and the afternoons, she would get excited and start saying their names. Anabelle is still talking about Mona, Jake, and Bowser. Now she mostly says Jake.

Her vocabulary is exploding! She's even giving orders. This morning, she started crying and calling for me at about 6 am. I went in her room to check on her, and when I picked her up, she said "Daddy. Vork (work)." Then she pointed to the glider and told me, "Chair." I rocked her for few minutes and then she told me, "Bed." I gave her a kiss and put her back to bed. Done!

Emma Rose also used a three syllable yesterday. When we eat dinner, Anabelle can see her reflection in the door to the back porch. If she's fussy or won't eat, I encourage her to show the baby how to eat or to see if the baby is crying. It works pretty well. Last night, I had to use the trick. Emma Rose leaned over and tried to see herself, too. She told me, "I can't see my reflection!" I had no idea she even knew that word! She also told me several weeks ago that she was exasperated!

When I take Emma Rose to ballet, Anabelle and I sit in the adjacent room where we can watch Emma Rose and the rest of the class on a television screen. This past week, I was feeding Anabelle lunch and talking to one of the other moms. It got a bit quiet and then there were a few giggles, so I looked up at the TV screen. Emma Rose had taken off her skirt and was doing her best to put it back on. She alternated between trying to get it over her head and trying to step into it. She could get the skirt over her head, but couldn't quite get both arms through the waist. Then she would get one foot in and couldn't stretch the skirt open enough to get the next foot in. After about 5 minutes of her doing her best to get her skirt on, her teaching finally came over to help.

This past weekend, Anabelle fell off the ottoman. She got a huge bump on her forehead that swelled up to be about the size of a golf ball. When I held her, she stopped crying after about 30 seconds when she saw her wooden frog pull toy on the floor. Then she yelled "Frog!" In Anabelle speak, frog still rhymes with duck. For a quick second, I thought she was just really mad that she had bumped her head. Anabelle says frog after she fell off ottoman.

Also, we have been poop-free in the bath tub for almost a month. Sadly, Anabelle has been a bit constipated. She now has tooth number 7 and tooth number 8 is on it's way in. There may also be some pre-molar or molar activity going on. Maybe once the teeth come in, the constipation will be gone.