The Sponge of Knowledge

So here we are: all of a sudden 20 months old and talking up a storm. It was only about three weeks ago that we were still talking in one word blips but today bear is saying a variety of two word statements. It's not just "juice"any more, now it's: "apple juice (appah deuce)," or "juice please (deuce pweeese)"

But what I'm most impressed about is the fact that bear is saying two word sentences that I only once asked her to say over two months ago.

Two word sentences from long ago:                               

                       

Naked Time
  (the time in which I allow bear to run around in her diaper)

Take it

Got it/Get it
Dump it

Mickey Mouse

Fix it

Other phrases bear's using:

Mama Come/Come mommy

Chocolate milk!

Turtle eat  

Bite it 

(not sure where this one came from?)
Coco Mickey 

(coconut Mickey treat)
Self
(For: I do it myself)

Love you
Night-night time

The reason for the sudden two word boost is more due to me prompting bear to say two words. So I guess it really doesn't surprise me too much that she's saying these two word combos. What really surprises me is how fast she picked up on it, and how some of these two word statements are coming out when she's only heard them perhaps once over a month or two ago. The toddler brain definitely is a sponge of knowledge! She just soaks everything up and squeezes it back out when she's ready to let it go.

Another surprise is that bear is starting to answer me when I ask her questions such as what she wants for breakfast or what she would like to do at Disney.

"Waffles!"   "Cereal!"   "Apple Juice! (Apple deuce!)"   "Cookies"   "Treat"
(And, no I do not give her sweets for breakfast, but that doesn't stop her from asking.)

"Tiki (room)!"    "Dumbo!"    "Cups (teacups)!"    "Boat!"    "Castle!"

Previously whenever I've asked these types of questions bear would just stare at me blankly, as if I had just spoken in Klingon; frozen with a contemplative look, perhaps assuming that I had just bought a one way ticket to crazy town...

But not anymore! I'm sure she really always knew what I was trying to say, she just struggled to find the words or sounds to tell me what she wanted. And that's just fine. I knew our early one ended conversations would pay off some day in the near future.

And. Well. Here we are! In the future! The moment I've been waiting so long to see, always wondering if all that reading and talking would pay off, and it most certainly has! So go ahead and talk it up with your little one, chances are she knows just what your are saying. And if she doesn't, she'll soon figure it out.


With this new found abundance of bear words, we are now beginning to see who she really is. We now know she loves music, and which music is her favorite. We know she loves family bike rides, because she's constantly talking about bikes and her helmet. We know that she loves looking at pictures, particularly those which have her in them, as just yesterday she got very upset when the first picture I showed her was of me--"NO, NO, NO!" And we know she loves the ocean--so be careful when you drive by it, especially if you're not going to stop, because if bear catches the slightest glimpse of the water, she will beg and plead to go, with the sweetest sounding pleases you have ever heard-- so don't do it!

Some new bear tricks

-Bear can jump and get both feet off the ground.


-She can stand on her head and eat cheese, apples, or drink milk (in fact she demands one of these items as soon as she gets into this pose) all at the same time. We call it baby yoga or downward puppy...

-Bear enjoys exercise, "cise!" If she sees me doing yoga or a workout video she wants to join in. She does fairly well with mimicking what ever pose or movement I'm doing. Just yesterday she followed me as I did some sun salutes. 

-Bear has also figured out that she can stand on top of her pooh bear airplane and balance herself without falling off. Instantly following her awareness of her new skills, she figured out that she can carry the plane and bring it over to the counter and use it as a stepping stool (uh-oh...). She has yet to really put this trick to use, phew (for now)! I have also caught her doing the same balancing trick on her space heater (when not turned on), as if it were a balance beam... leaving me with a brief heart attack or palpation. We are now looking into tumbling class for her.

Turtle Time

And lastly, bear has four new turtles to go along with her original turtle. So we have a whole bale of turtles, and bear has given each one it's own name: mommy, daddy, pop pop, grammy, and baby. Baby and Grammy are the two most popular turtles, they are pretty much her babies and she takes, one or the other, every where we go. She feeds them, plays with them, and even pushes them on the swings at the playground. When the day is coming to an end, we quickly collect all of our turtles and they all sleep snuggled up close to bear (swoon!). I just love watching bear interact with her turtles. It's more the fact that she has taken them in as if they were her own babies, and I absolutely love this uniqueness about her!

Bear's fondness of turtles makes us wonder if she will grow up to study amphibians and reptiles as she also loves snakes, lizards, frogs, and dinosaurs. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess. Until then, I will enjoy watching these sweet moments because some day, I'm sure, bear just might not think so much of her turtles, at least not as fondly as she does now. No matter what, I will not forget how special her turtles are.

xo
Bear's mom.