Kate-onese

Kate is almost 19 months and is talking up a storm these days. This week she has really started putting three or more words together to make small sentences. We often still have two or three word phrases. Yet,she'll suddenly come up with something and Josh and I will look at each other and say, "Did you hear what I think I heard?"

Her vocabulary is astounding. She amazes me with how much she knows. All of a sudden, we'll be out and she'll identify something in the grocery store or see something out the window and name it! When we are in the car, all I hear is a running commentary of everything we go past: Snow, bird, tree, boy, people, car, truck, snow, noise, house... She also has every one's names down in the family, even Jecholia (although it sounds like cholia).

She's also really perceptive to sounds! At least a dozen times a day Kate will say, "Noise! Noise! and it might be a car horn, or a car door, or a plane, or a bird, or the heat kicking on, etc. She notices it all. Yesterday, we were in Costco and she heard a baby cry long before I ever did. She kept telling me, "Baby, Baby," and low and behold she was right. However, she thinks all babies are either her cousin, Collin or Holly's little girl, Mia.

Sometimes Kate's chatter resembles English. Sometimes it's a language all it's own - a language we fondly call Kate-on-ese!

Here are some things she's been saying lately:

When mooching off Josh's or my plate: "Some me!"
With arms stretched out to be picked up: "Hold you?"
(She's just starting to experiment with pronouns!)

Kate: Where's Daddy?
Me: He's not here right now?
Kate: I find him. I find him.

As heard through the monitor in the middle of the night:
Mommy! Mommy! Where are you? I awake!

She's always yelling, "Shayla, (where) are you? (Shayla's our dog!)

I'll try to pay more attention to her conversations and document them more frequently. They really are fun to hear. I love that she can communicate with me.