Language Explosion

Holy conversation Batman! I don't know when it happened but Autumn is a conversational guru. She can hold an actual conversation for 6-8 turns (here my developmental background comes through) and it all makes sense! And she really gets things too, maybe the kids I work with are just that delayed but I am amazed at the things I'm watching her do and learn and understand. It is fun to watch all the things I've studied actually happen in front of my eyes.

We were walking around the zoo yesterday and many of the animals in the Tropics Trail were off exhibit due to lots and lots and lots of noise from the creation of a new exhibit of crocodiles and some remodeling of the gibbons island. Autumn noticed that many of her favorites were not there. "ummmmmmmmm no bear" "monkey go?" "birds all gone" We got to the fish tanks and she started hunting for "memo" (we've watched Finding Nemo for probably a zillion times). She also tried to speak whale to the dolphins with not much luck, the glass is rather think you know. We were going from the Tropics Trail to the Minnesota Trail and she tapped her temple saying "tink tink tink" (we've also watched Pooh about a zillion times) and then she wanted to know "where amals?". So I said they were scared of the noise and were hiding in their houses. She promptly looked around for said houses. Better start watching myself here.

Later I asked her what she wanted for lunch "ummmmmm.....iono" (i don't know). This has become her new favorite phrase and she is perfecting the intonations and shoulder shrugging to go with it. What a kook! After lunch and while she was resisting a nap she was playing on the couch with her babies while I was doing the dishes. I heard her say "all done shirt" and then saw a shirt flying across the room. I looked around the corner and she was dancing shirtless on the couch. I laughed and told her she was silly which prompted a song to go with the dance all about "siwy Aunum". I went back to the dishes and heard "all done pants" and saw the pants fly across the room too. And more "siwy Aunum" singing. When I heard "all done diter" (diaper) I decided that we needed to end this strip show. I asked if we should put her clothes back on or take a bath and she decided on the bath. So off we went.

Later that night she found a roll of Christmas paper that I was going to put away and decided the roll would make good "gwasses" (I had recently made a pair of binoculars for her from a similar roll). So the paper was unrolled all down the hallway. It was ruined and when Kurt came up he asked if she was a present. She laid down on the paper and wrapped herself up. He said we should mail her to her grandparents and then she could yell surprise. So of course she did that for about an hour jumping up and yelling "prise!"

I'm glad our sick days are over and we are back to a normal schedule, though I could really get used to these kinds of days, it was lots of fun.

This is Autumn's new pet monkey (oh and her shoe). She loves to put him around her neck and carry him everywhere. The other one is of her being a present "prise!"