Walking dictionary

I apologize for the lack of postings lately, but we here have been fighting a nasty cold virus for a few weeks now. Sleep is very broken and disjointed, so I fear that my writing may be broken and disjointed as well. Unfortunately I think we shared more than just Christmas gifts with our extended family last week, and now many of the nieces and nephews, Uncles and Aunts, Grandmas and Grandpas are suffering from the same cold. Our apologies to you all!

Erin is battling the same illness that the rest of us are dealing with, but she's still managing to learn new words each day. Today, I fixed lunch for the girls, and then slowly carried my steaming bowl of soup to the table. Erin looked up, pointed at my bowl, and said "hot". I was completely amazed. I didn't even realize that she knew the meaning of this word, but somehow she understood, from the steam coming out of the bowl, that it must be "hot". She has started calling Amy "Mamy", and Beth now answers to "Ba ba". She says "up" when she wants to get up, and especially enjoys the word "baby", which she uses even when speaking of children older than she. Of course, the most useful word continues to be "uh oh", which can be utilized to respond to anything from spilled milk to Mommy crashing the side-view mirror into the garage door.

What an incredible thing it is for a baby to learn to use her voice. Her little personality is becoming more and more obvious, and we are beginning to gain little glimpses into her thoughts and feelings. She can communicate some basic needs, and even shares laughs with her sisters. It's amazing to watch her develop, and to learn more each day about this little person living and growing alongside her sisters.

And now, rather than leaving you with a witty ending sentence, I will simply take some benadryl and head off to bed. I just hope that the darling little one-year-old that I described above will also decide to sleep well tonight.