It's like someone flipped a switch. One day, Helen was jargoning away but not saying much in the way of recognizable words. The next, she's trying to say what we say. In the past couple of days, she's added "purple", "sticky" (syrup) and "crazy" to her column of words even a stranger would recognize. These are her first words - not "milk" but "crazy". She hangs with me all day, after all. She uses sign language for most common words. If you've got a little one and are considering sign language, I gotta tell you it's pretty amazing. We started with the usuals like "more", "drink", "eat", and "all done" when we first came home. Since then, Helen knows and uses tons of signs for colors, household objects, and activities. Even better than that, she can convey most of her wants/needs through signing which helps with frustration - phew.
The other switch that's flipped is the one labeled "Helen wants to do it herself/Helen doesn't want to do it because you want her to do it". She wants to read books herself, she wants to shut the baby gates herself, she wants to put her socks on herself, she won't put on her coat, she won't sit in her car seat, she won't sit in a shopping cart, etc. This amazing time, with her figuring out how to do so many things and how to influence her environment, is so wonderful to witness and also completely aggravating. I'm learning so much about patience, allowing for transitions, and striking an appropriate balance between process and goals. There's nothing like a toddler for shining the brightest light possible on your short-comings. Helen teaches me a lesson about myself every day and for that, I am thankful.
Capturing the moment...Helen in her lion costume, Halloween 2008
