"Words, words, words."

I'm delighted to bring that quote into my titles list. :D  And it fits so well!  Munch is talking up a storm, and much of what she says is already very clear and sure, with sentences that can be several words long (up to 8 or 9 words a couple times).  It's been incredibly fun for me and Daddy...we finally have another person to talk WITH, rather than just AT.  I thought I would make note of a few of the fun or funny things she's talked about in the recent couple of weeks...If I can remember them, with the rush of so much and so many words coming at me every day...

To start off with, she narrates everything we're doing.  "We sitting, I eating.  I sit hi-chair, dat Mama chair, I eat NOO-NOOS! (noodles, and yes, it's always loud)...No have Tig-ah, my Tig-ah, I yay (lay) down.  Mama, put banket (cover her with a blanket), I yay down, seep (sleep [on]) couch, ni-nite."   She doesn't actually sleep on the couch, fyi...but she likes snuggling in it.  It's a running audio stream from wake to sleep.  Which is hilarious because that's more or less what I did for her before she started talking.  Taking over my job, it would seem...And adding new words to her vocabulary daily.  Specifically, "byack beans" was added tonight, as she refused to eat the tasty rice and squash mix, and only picked out her favorite beans from the dish, then wanted more.

Beyond this, she parrots constantly, of course, which can have some funny results when we play with it. While driving on Saturday, Daddy and I were discussing our little parrot as she chimed in with a copied word or her own exclamation every now and again. And then to drive the point home, Daddy turned and said to her, "Can you say, 'Polly want a cracker'?" To which she enthusiastically responded, "Cra-kah!!"

On a slightly more annoying level...When I go grocery shopping, Dominick's is usually on my list of places to go.  Because of the weird way their coupons work (itemized in self-check-out, lumped together in regular cashier lines), I've gotten into the habit of always going through self-check-out, even though I don't really care for it.  The automated voice in particular irks me.  "Thank you for shopping...at Dominck's"  Same inflection, same tiny pause, same mechanical voice, every time...And guess what Munch has latched onto?  "Dane-duu shaw-ing Donick's!"  Every time.  Although it is a TON cuter when she does it verses that voice... ;)

She's given me some complicated instructions sometimes, especially on the days we're home:  "Mama read pease.  Read dis mouse book, sit dere, read mouse book.  I sit yap (lap)!"  All in one breath, or so it seems.

Tonight Daddy and I were tag-teaming a bit to get her ready for bed.  Daddy pottied her, I diapered her, and then we needed to take her shirt off.  Our conversation about that went something like this:
Me:  "Okay, it's time to take your shirt off so we can get you into some pajamas!"
Munch:  "No, no jammies.  My shirt!"
Me:  "But we can't put your jammies on if you still have your shirt, and it's time for bed."
Munch (thinks this is hilarious) :  "No jammies!  Shirt on!"
Me:  "Oh, should we put your jammies on over your shirt?"
Munch (laughing up a storm) :  "No, no!"  (then we proceeded to do a giggling 'yes, yes, no, no' battle for a moment, which doesn't get me anywhere, but makes us both laugh.)
Me (inspiration hits...or teacher training asserts itself, you choose) :  "Ok, who do you want to take off your shirt for you, Mama or Daddy?"
Munch:  "Daddyyyyy!"
Then she ran to Daddy, who pulled the shirt off without incident, and with more giggles from her, and in another moment, she was happily in her jammies.  It's all about choices, right?  ;)

But I think the best part of her finally communicating so well is that she can tell me what's wrong now.  If she wakes and cries in the middle of the night, all I have to ask is, "what's wrong?"  And she'll tearfully inform me of things like, "wa-wa" or "whey Tig-ah go?"  If she hurts herself, she can tell me what hurts without my having to guess it.  If she wants something at any time, she usually has a word for it now:  "Musak" (music), "Daw-howse" (dollhouse), "Cassoe" (castle), "Yunch" (lunch), "Dis book, no (not) dat book".  Takes off a great deal of my stress just knowing that I am actually responding to the needs she wants me to respond to.  :)  Of course there's still a great deal of gobbly-gook baby-speak...but it's fading fast!