Summer Speak

So, Summer loves to talk. She said her first word at eight and a half months old, and people are constantly commenting that she speaks better than a lot of three-year olds they know. She doesn't just parrot - she is constantly forming complex sentences she has never heard before. I love it, because it's so fun to have conversations with this girl that aren't one sided. Plus, I have a good idea of what's going on in her head.

I've tried not to blog about it too often. Once we had lunch with some friends and another family. The other family had a boy who was about six months older than Summer, and Summer spoke significantly better than he did. Later, we found out that the family was sort of embarrassed that their son couldn't say anything.

But in doing that, I think I've lost many wonderful memories of the hilarious things Summer says. This girl's speech is constantly making us laugh and making my heard burst with love when I learn what she's thinking and feeling. And I hardly remember any the specific phrases she has said.  I know that a journal is probably a more appropriate place for this sort of thing, but I think I'm just going to have to face reality and recognize that my big journaling days are over.

Plus, people should know that early speech has no relation to later intelligence. More importantly, it has no relation to happiness, or kindness, or spirituality, or tenacity, or any other trait that really means anything. So basically, Summer's speech ability doesn't matter.

But it's fun! It's so fun to hear her say, "Hi, I'm Summer. And these are my friends, Mommy and Daddy!" And I want to remember all these phrases that describe a bit of her little world.What I write is just a sad imitation of the real thing, because so much of the humor and sweetness of her phrases comes from her inflection. But I'll do my best to convey her tone.

And I know that this is going to be so much more interesting to myself and Nathaniel than anyone else in the whole world. And that is totally okay.

Anyway, here is today's gem. Summer pushed a chair up to the kitchen counter and climbed up it, only to fall down a minute later. I grabbed her and let her cry in my arms, and after a minute of wailing she said, "I tried to put the sugar in mommy's bowl, and I was sad, and I fell down...on the counter." Oh, the sad life of a two-year old!

And here is a lovely conversation that took place in the car:

Summer: "It's Ponyo's school! It's Ponyo's school!"
Nathaniel: "Ponyo's school?"
Summer: "Yeah!"
Nathaniel: "I think Ponyo's school is in Japan, and we're in Virginia."
Summer: (looking confused) "Yeah."
Nathaniel: "Are you a Japan girl?"
Summer: "No, I'm a California girl! I need to buy some stuff!"
Nathaniel: "You need to buy some stuff?"
Summer: "Yeah. Some chocolates...some peanut butter...and some candy..."

Here is another favorite. After finals ended, Nathaniel had two heavenly weeks off from almost everything and Summer got pretty used to him being around. Now, he's gone most of the day (a grueling 8:30 to 6:30 - we're getting spoiled) and I've had to explain what he's doing. Here's how she understands the situation:

"Daddy had to go on a train to go to work. A chugga chugga choo choo train! He has to go to work to get some money so he can buy stuff...some screwdrivers."

Oh, I really wish I could get these on camera. I'm really not doing them justice.

Anyway, just know that if you see a lot of Summerisms on here, I don't mean to brag and say that she's the smartest kid in the world. It's just so that I'll remember, and so that I'll have fun stories to tell her when she grows up.