Talking Away

If chattering is a sign that we're a girl, then Emry is definitely a little girl. Our vocabulary grows every day...and even if we can't yet speak it complete sentences, it doesn't stop us from chattering away in our own language.

Emry first became a chatterer as she read books aloud to herself. Any given morning you can find her in her room, books scattered about her that she has pulled from her shelves, jabbering away as she turns pages. Some of the words she speaks will give you an idea of what she is reading: There's a Monster at the End of this Book, Dr. Suess's ABCs, Hop on Pop, Amelia Bedelia's First Field Trip or Biscuit. Those are some her favorites and we read them so often, she knows the words by the pictures. But she'll read just about anything, including the books by my bed that have no pictures in them at all, jabbering away and making up her own stories.

She also likes to give running commentary on whatever it is she's doing, particularly when she's walking back and forth between Ed and I. We do this nearly every night, me on one side of the room and Ed on the other. She gets her nightly laps in, toddling like a drunkard back and forth between us. And talking. As soon as she gets to one of us, she starts chattering away as if telling us all about her last lap - and how proud she is of herself.

It is true that we still play the guessing game a lot. She points and sounds like a little dog trying to get something. But we're getting clearer. She can say "please" and sort of say "thank you". Ironically, she says "yes" but she doesn't say "no" (she shakes her head). Her favorite books she can pronounce - sort of. Hop on Pop with very clear "P" sounds. An odd jabber that is Amelia Bedelia. A real quick "ABCs" as if it's all one word. (She can actually sing the song until she gets to the letter "E". She then either points to herself or her elephant...because she knows they start with "E".) She also likes the letter "R", sounding like a little pirate on the seven seas. She can say "banana", "peas" (which is what she calls broccoli and green beans for she actually doesn't like peas), "crack" for crackers, "Cheerios", "juice" and "Chex".

She can also say "baby" and "girl". She is well aware of babies - pointing them out everywhere we go, and she knows that the picture of our baby's sonogram on my phone is the "baby". Whenever she's sitting in my lap and my stomach growls, she reaches back and pats my growing stomach saying happily, "Baby!" And when we ask her if the baby is a boy or a girl, she happily proclaims "Girl!" Of course, when we ask if Papa is a boy or a girl, she also proudly proclaims "Girl!" I think, perhaps, she might need a little brother - just to understand the concept of a boy.