Slightly Disappointed

Ever since Summer was teeny tiny, I have desperately wanted to know what she was thinking.  So I did everything I could to encourage her to talk as soon as possible.  I read to her all the time.  I talked to her even when she was a blob and she had no idea that my voice was in any way distinguishable from the sound of a vacuum cleaner.  I took Omega 3 supplements.

And  I got lucky.  Summer talks.  All the time.  And do you want to know what's going on in the head of this little girl?

"Button.  Light.  Flower.  Button.  Hi.  Ouch.  No.  Eyes.  Ice.  Clock.  Dot.  Button.  Bug.  Ball.  Ball.  Ball.  Pool.  Dog.  Kitty kitty.  Trees.  Shoes.  Daddy.  Dance.  Block.  Button.  Light.  Yes.  Ball.  Dog.  Danny (the Schaerr's son).  Eat.  Apa.  Baby.  Down.  Up.  Button.  Toes.  Poo.  Bye.  Out.  Dot.  Book.  Door.  Moon.  Dirt.  Hat.  Hair.  Earring.  Nose. Button..."

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

I don't know what I was expecting.  Maybe, "Mommy, I love you.  You are so good at doing what you do and I really appreciate it."  Or "A couple of years ago, I was living with Our Father in Heaven and He said..." Or even, "Mama."

But random nouns and prepositions are cool, too.

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Neglect

Dear Blog,

I've been a bad blogger as of late.  I've been neglecting you.  I'm sorry.

I have a good excuse, though.  I'm studying for the bar.  It's really hard because I'm doing it my myself, instead of paying thousands of dollars for a class.  And if I don't pass, I'll die of shame.  So I won't really be spending much time with you until after I take it, which happens the last week of July.

Don't feel bad.  You're certainly not the only area of my life that I've been neglecting.  I haven't exercised for months.  The only pants I can wear have holes or were made for doing yoga.

So don't feel bad.

Love,  Dorothy

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13 Months

Summer is 13 months old today.  Martha, the woman we're staying with, told Nathaniel that little Summer has grown a ton this past month.  I didn't realize it before, but now I can see it.  Here is a sampling of her milestones:

Walking.  This girl is walking pretty well.  When we got here, it was a few toddles and lots of falls.  Now, her falls are more rare, and therefore funnier.  She can also go pretty fast, which is great for those "I'm going to get you" games.

Talking.  Summer talks.  The cutest thing is the talking that just sounds like she's speaking her own foreign language, complete with lots of different sounds and voice inflections.  But she also says several words, including ball, tree, "what's that?" eyes, button, dog, eat, book, dot, no, yes, clock, and apa (water in Romanian).  She understands plenty of words and phrases as well, like "give mommy the _______", "turn around," fingers, toes, chair, tongue, "where do you want to go?" "give ________ a kiss," "where's Summer?" (after which she covers her face with her hands" and "I'm going to get you."  It's fun stuff to see her grow.

Um, I don't know what other milestones there are besides mobility and speech.

Anyways, this girl loves to move.  People always says stuff like, "wow, she's a wiggly one," or "I don't think I've ever seen her still."  We use Nathaniel's big leather belt to strap her into her high chair, which sometimes keeps her from getting one leg out of the high chair or attempting to crawl onto the kitchen table.  Now that she can walk, there is a lot of moving going around.  I don't really mind it, except during Church.  I think we're going to start to lay down the law.  I feel really bad for anyone who wanted a pleasant Sacrament Meeting.

She loves books.  I frequently find her just sitting down, flipping the pages and pointing at the pictures, while talking to herself in that special language of hers.

This girl is adorable.  She just has the sweetest smile that brightens everyone's day.  Summer is a joy.

Pictures Later.

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