Lily Can Moo, Can You?

Oh the wonderful sounds Lily can do, she can sound like a cow, she can go moo moo! Why yes, we do read a lot of Dr. Suess at our house and thanks to "Mr Brown Can Moo" and lots of practice at home and school, Lily is quite the animal sound afficionado.

I know all parents say this, but I really am consistently amazed by her development. Lately she seems to be in overdrive both with cognition and motor skills. On the motor skills level she continues to be quite the monkey. She now pulls out dining room chairs, puts her arms around the seat, and does an impressive pull up while kicking her little feet and making a determined "mmrrr" sound. Needless to say, the table is no longer a safe haven for non-Lily objects. She's also figured out that she can reach the top of the buffett by sliding open the doors and using the ledge as a toehold. And the kitchen? One big gymboree. Most impressive for me is her playroom displays - she can now climb up the outside of the slide climber, swing a leg over, and drop onto the inside platform without help. Equally impressive is her ability to get in and out of the rocking horse all on her own. Her small motor skills and on the same track - she'll find the tiniest things on the ground, is now using utensils and actually getting some food in her mouth, has figured out the toddler gate at her school, is getting pretty skilled with her puzzles, and LOVES all things art-related: painting, pens, and especially stickers.

Verbally she's plugging right along. Her spoken vocab grows daily, but what impresses us is what she understands. She actually follows directions now - from "pick a book" to "rinse, tap and put away" for her toothbrush. She even remembers and finds things from the day before - like when I asked her "Lily, where is the red dot?" and she went right over to the cabinet, reached under, and pulled out the missing foam piece from her playmat. Yeah, yeah - I know this is normal for a toddler, but I am a proud mama and when you see it for the first time it's quite the high.