Girlie Thursdays: Smarty Pants

I haven't written much about Julia lately, which is a shame because she's at that age where she's learning and doing new things each day. But, for some reason, it's also difficult for me to write about her. With my limited writing skills, I just don't feel that I can really capture her personality, emotion, expression...just her little SELF. She is so funny, bossy, expressive, smart, creative, independent, and loving. Compared to a few months ago, her temperament has really improved, and she's not hitting as much. In fact, she is super sweet and affectionate, always offering up kisses and hugs. She particularly loves to kiss boo-boos--on herself or other people. But, I digress. What I wanted to write about today is how much she's been learning recently. It's been sneaking up on me that she knows so much these days. With Will, I was aware of his every movement and accomplishment. But with Julia, I just don't have as much time as I did with Will to sit and patiently do puzzles, or shape sorters, or letters. Yet, she seems to be doing just fine:

She knows a lot of her letters. She doesn't know many by name, but she knows who each letter is for. So, she points at an 'H' and says "HeeHee" (Hulie). Or "Tracy" when she sees a 'T' (her teacher at school). Or, "Mama! Kate!" when she sees a 'K'. Sometimes she gets so excited to tell you about the letters she sees that she just can't contain herself. However, there are quite a few letters that she doesn't know because she doesn't have anyone to associate them with. So, if your name starts with an E, I, or R, and you'd like to become an integral part of Julia's life, just let me know.

She knows almost all of her colors. Yet, unlike Will who wanted everything to be 'Lello' (which is STILL the way he says 'yellow' by the way), Julia's default answer is (of course) PINK!

She can do simple puzzles. She likes to pick up a piece, point to the spot where it will go, and say, "Dat one right DER, Mama." It's really cute (and repetitive).

She can count...to two. Two is her favorite number. If you ask her anything to do with a number, her answer is always two. So, she sounds really smart if you ask the right questions, like, "How old will you be on your birthday?" or "How many eyes do you have?" She uses this in conjunction with her letters and likes to point out anytime there are "Two Tracys! Mama, two Tracys!" (She will say this even if there are four 'T's. Two just means there are than one.)

She's starting to learn a few little songs and will sing along with you or do the motions for the ones she knows. My favorite thing is how she just seems to know the end of a line and chimes in a that point. Like, for "Twinkle, twinkle little star" she just yells 'STAR!"

She's very bossy and puts together full sentences to convey what she wants: "Come ON, Mama right now!" or "Sit right DER, Wah-wah (Will)!"

Now, don't waste your time telling me that these are all very normal almost-two-year old behaviors. I think it's clear that these point to brilliance and greatness in the making.