An Erruption

No, the erruption was not in erica's diaper. [thank goodness.] And, i'm not referencing to an explosive temper tantrum. [her sleeping problems, posted about previously, seem to be solved].

I'm talking about Erica's new verbal skills. All of a sudden, she's begun repeating a lot of what we say. I wrote awhile ago about the ten or so words that she could say: mommy/daddy, shoe, dress, stop it, catch, apple, one two three, bird, belly, erica.

I probably couldnt even list now all the words i've heard her say [or try to say]. She's constantly repeating. And she points to a lot of things now too. She knows most of her major body parts now and will point to them and even try to say them: eye, ear, nose, mouth, hand, foot, belly, hair. She likes mouth and nose a lot. She started wiping her mouth with a napkin after meals-- its so cute! Have i mentioned that andrew taught her how to give hand shakes and high fives? Its ADORABLE!

She points out objects in books too. When we were going over animals, i asked "where's the mouse..." but she pointed to her mouth! i find that funny. But, the others she was good at and tried to say too. Some favorites: puppy dog, bee, bug, cow, pig, duck, bird, horse, fish, cat, monkey. We have an inflatable monkey that hangs from the rafters in our living room. [long story.] She likes to point at him and say "monk."

I found a praying mantis yesterday in the garden. I thought she might be afraid of it, b/c she doesnt like cats and dogs. But she was thrilled with it. I held it at first and also let it walk on the grass so she could see it. Eventually she started giggling and reaching for it. Erica started by just poking it, but eventually tried picking it up. I got a bit afraid when she started to squeeze, so i put him on one of our plants and let erica just watch him. ... A few years ago, i was told that its illegal to kill praying matises b/c they're endangered. But in all my research right now [which is only like 4 websites] i dont see any mention of it. THE MAIN POINT TO THIS IS... erica thought it was cute, and was calling him "bug."



in other news-- i revamped my sidebar [again]. I added a new feature: my Zwinky. I got bored with my yahoo avatar. actually, it bothered me that they were so skinny. b/c, well, i'm not. So i saw this new type of avatar and thought it was cute. I may periodically change her outfit. But for now, i'm liking the green dress.