Chatterbox

Someone told me that once Bethany started talking, it would be tough to get her to stop. Well that is certainly proving to be correct. In the last month or so her vocabulary has really taken off! I'm sure I'll miss a lot in my quick list, but here are some things she is saying these days:

my shoes (especially when she wants to go outside, and is usually followed by mommy shoes? or daddy shoes? if she wants us to come too)
oh no! (exclaimed anytime someone else is talking animatedly - like she wants to participate in the conversation)
clean up (sung to a song Auntie Amber taught her to pick up her toys - but everyone around must help clean-up time or else)
boat ride or dock, usually followed by saying fast (very excited to go fast on the boat and she has a favorite spot to hold on while she jumps up and down when we speed up)
thank you and please (still working on those but sometimes said spontaneously)
ABC's (she sings the entire song along with us, sometimes hard to hear each letter, but she knows what comes next in the song)
A bee! (stated at every bug, bee or fly that comes near us)
Mommy eye, mommy nose, mommy owie (puts mommy or daddy in front of everything she is talking about us for)

A week or so ago Bethany and I were outside and she saw a fly buzzing around and she said "bee!" I told her it was a fly, which she repeated, but then I told her to say "shoo fly" and she had the most confused look on her face. She slowly bent down and took off her shoe and started shaking it at the fly saying "shoe fly!" Too funny. I'm sure a lot of what we're teaching her is confusing like that, but I don't stop to think about it from her perspective which is what made me laugh so hard at this.

Bethany is also jumping, real jumping! She gets so excited if we say we're going to see cousin "Charyee" or friends "Ayish" or "baby E" she says yay, yay, yay while jumping with both feet off the ground. She loves to try and jump off anything, which we try to discourage, but she is really coordinated and seems to do just fine pushing her boundaries if we feel it is safe enough. Her interest in balls to kick, or bounce or throw is also really interesting and I wonder if we have a little athlete on our hands?

Bethany - we love you so much! At 22 months you are an active, busy full-fledged toddler and we love you to pieces. We're so proud you've adjusted so well to your new surroundings and pray that you continue to love to sing your Bible songs and read our Bible stories each night. I love when you point out Jesus in the stories and remind us to pray for dinner or before bed if we happen to forget. You love routine and know exactly what we need to do for simple things, like going for a boat ride - you get your shoes, towell, and then make sure mommy and daddy get theirs too :) We can't wait for your new little sister to arrive because you will be a great role model for her to look up to - her big sister!