The Miracle of Communication

It is fascinating to begin to know what Meredith is thinking about. She has over 50 understandable words now and seems to know what most of them mean even in different contexts.

For instance, we taught her that the oven is "hot" and the car is "hot" (always dangerous to touch the outside of the car here during a FL summer!). The other day I warmed up some food for her, and when she touched it she said "hot." What a delight to realize that she knows what the word actually means!

I like to think Meredith spoke her first sentence yesterday, though Rob says it doesn't quite count. What do you think? Here's the scenario:

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We were sitting in the dining room for breakfast, where Meredith's high-chair faces the window, which has blinds. She often likes to look at vehicles going by in the mornings.

Meredith: "Oh-bul!"
(this, of course, means "open".....she says "apple" very similarly but the context usually helps us know which one she's talking about!)

Mommy: "What do you want opened?"

Meredith: "Window!"
(pronunciation clear as day, taught by her Oma a couple weeks ago)

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So I say - it had a verb and a noun, so it's a sentence, albeit with a Mommy interruption :)

Meredith's most commonly used word, like many other children, seems to be "no." However, it is only sometimes a whiny or obstinate "no"....it's more often very matter-of-fact:
Do you want more chicken? "No".
Do you want more noodles? "No".
Do you want a drink? "No".
Do you want some fruit? "Mmmmm!!!!"
Can you say 'yeah'? "Yeah!".

Until she has a clear "s" sound, we are going with "yeah" or a nod or "OK", which she is beginning to use without prompting. What a big girl!