Words, Mischief, and Random Catalog Deliveries

Miss Madeline is continuing to amaze us by adding new words to her ever-expanding vocabulary. I don't count them as real words unless I know she understands what they mean. Sometimes, it sounds like she has said something, but there's no way she could possibly have a frame of reference for it (like when Dan swears she said "cookie" at 3 months old. I believe him. I have no doubt that she uttered the phonemes that make up the word.  She still has never seen a cookie).

I'm almost sure she knows "duck" since she says it while sitting in a duck-shaped tub while holding a rubber duck, but I'm not absolutely sure since she sometimes calls her bear a duck, as well. She says "mama," "dada," nunu" (no no), and her latest declaration is, "Uh-Oh!" She says it whenever she drops something, or when anyone else drops something, including strangers in the store. She also says something that sounds like "book," but I'm not going to add that one to the list until I know that's what she's saying.

I love it when she tries to imitate us by babbling back at us in the same tone in which we just spoke to her. :)

And speaking of words, here's a little story to entertain those of you who are parents, and inform those of you who will be.

Madeline and I went shopping for a few fall goodies to decorate the house. No sooner had I turned my head to look at a price tag, did a certain little Sweet Pea pull off a fistful of plastic berries from a wreath and cram them into her eager little mouth. She looked quite put-out as I was raking them off her tongue, and then looked me in the eye and said, "UH-OH!!" Uh-oh, indeed.

Later, after we came home, I put the little imp down on the floor to play with her stacking rings and various other toys spread around the floor. Figuring that she was safe and entertained, I took the opportunity to slip away to the potty for a minute. In 60 seconds it took me to use the bathroom, wash my hands, and dry them, this happened...



I didn't even know she could open the cabinet the movies were in!

Apparently, you have to watch these little critters constantly to keep them from hurting themselves or eating your dvd collection.

Switching the subject to something completely unrelated, does anyone else get toy and baby care catalogs they never requested?

Some of them are ridiculous, like the ones designed with the paranoid parent in mind. I'm all for baby-proofing, but good grief! And, some of the others either amuse me or make me roll my eyes. For instance, who in their right mind would pay $400 for what is essentially a Big Wheel with a picture of Thomas the Tank Engine on the front?? That's just craziness!

But, my biggest complaint about these toy catalogs is that it seems to be out of vogue to encourage kids to use their imaginations. So many of the toys are designed to do all the playing for the child, so all the child has to do is sit there and watch. How does the child learn to be creative and, well...learn?

So, that's our story for now. Do you realize that in two days, Madeline will be 10 months old?! I don't even want to talk about how old she'll be in two months.