Word Girl

Over the last few weeks, Wren has had somewhat of a language explosion. She's gone waaaaay beyond mama and dada and more than doubled the vocabulary available to her.

It should be no surprise to anyone who's ever seen her eat that three of her favorite words relate to food. I can tell how much she likes to eat something based on whether or not she has learned its name. So now, along with nana (banana), Wren will ask for her two new favorites, djeez! (cheese) and gheesh! (Goldfish crackers). Both of the words are also multipurpose: she points to our real fish and goes "Gheesh! Gheesh!" (I sincerely hope she doesn't want to eat them too) and will "DJEEEZ" if you stick a camera in her face.

Other than foods, Wren has picked up a lot of the words we use around the house a lot like hot, yay, yeah, and poopoo. Hot, Wren hears all. the. time. because she is some sort of coffee cup pirate and spends every Saturday and Sunday morning trying to dump scalding hot liquid in my lap. Wren loves pointing out thing that are hot now, like the stove and the grill... and ice cubes. While factually incorrect, I kind of see where she's coming from there. It's gotten to the point that if you just show her a picture of a coffee cup she'll hold her hand out flat over it and go "Oht! Oht!"

Wren is also starting to understand that people have their own names and now along with Mama and Dada she will say Momo, our cat Molson's nickname, and Geef! for Chief, the dog. Weirdly, she refuses, even to try, saying her own name, baby or Calder. No idea why that is. I know she knows what they mean. Well sort of. She knows Calder and brother mean, well, Calder, her brother, but when you ask her where the baby is, she's runs to the picture window and points at her reflection. Hey, Lacan, the mirror phase says whazz up. She does better with Wren and usually pounds her own chest so there's a tiny little sense of self in there somewhere.

Other random things she says now and may have said before but I don't care can't remember if I told you already: clap, Hahh (hi), buh by, dat! (that), ball, dohg (dog), uh oh! I'm sure I have left some things out. It's safe to say, it's a lot of words now. Also, Wren a veritable See n Say of animal noises.

And now, because it's technically her 16th monthday and I am here already... MILESTONES!

Mastered Skills (most kids can do):

Turns the pages of a book - Yes, but she usually just skips right to the end because she likes spoilers apparently.
Has temper tantrums when frustrated - Oh my stars and garters, yes. But they are hilarious. It's like a slow motion car wreck. You can actually see her go through the whole process of intention, frustration, consideration, losing her shit. Also, they pass pretty quickly because once we start laughing at her she comes over to investigate what's so funny.
Becomes attached to a soft toy or other object

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do):

Discovers the joy of climbing - Wren is part goat.
Stacks three blocks - I have no idea.
Uses spoon or fork - For short periods. Throwing food at the dog is a lot mor effciient with your hands though.
Learns the correct way to use common objects (e.g., the telephone) - Wren loves my phone. Not just for the games, flash cards and potential for spectacular breakage either. She'll put it to her ear and go "Hahh, hahh, hahh"I assume she is calling a grandparent. I don't think she knows that many other people.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do):
Takes off one piece of clothing by himself - I am not sure she's ever tried taking anything off. Wren spends a great deal of time trying to put clothes on but never takes them off.
Gets finicky about food - She is starting to show some pickiness. She still routinely out eats Calder though that's not really any kind of achievement.
Switches from two naps to one - This comes and goes. It all depend on WHat time ren goes to bed and what time she wakes up. All I know is that when I get home from work at 5:30 and Wren is in her crib, I am tempted to murder my husband for basically ruining my night.