So many words...

September 2009:

September 2010:

So many things are different when you compare our lives to last fall. The walking and gentle babbling that were only then taking off are both now at a full speed gallop. Elisa is speaking in small phrases now which makes me smile so much. When we are playing catch, if she misses throwing it well, she will say "sorry, I don't know" as she walks around retrieving the ball. And when she gets frustrated with something, it's usually followed by "I can't do it, mama" accompanied by a big grunt. She is singing and doing her own little hand signals when no one is watching. It's the little stuff like that which makes her seem so much bigger these days. Of course, she has also fallen in love with the word "stop" which makes me laugh. Do you want some banana, Elisa? "No, banana. STOP!" This is often in addition to starting sentences with "no." As in, "no, sleepy." Meaning, I'm not going to bed without a fight. Or "no, sit, mama." Meaning, please keep sitting and playing with me. And in a sign that might just give me hope for the future, the tantrums have become remarkably more subdued of late. There's plenty of wailing and flailing, but it's much less dramatic and usually Elisa will opt to lie down on her stomach and hide her face. She doesn't flip and thrash as much and the kicking and hitting me have eased up. So I'll take it. For now.