The other day Clara and I drove home from speech practice in heavy traffic. I didn't feel like digging around for my iPod so I sang "Break Up With Him" by heart and she smiled a lot. Then she sang it back to me, and she would go line by line and wait for me to repeat it before continuing. It was adorable! I don't think a bystander would have understood her but I could tell which parts she was singing starting with "Hey girl...sup?" We did that 2-3x and I didn't feel in any particular hurry to get home, I was enjoying our time together so much.
Watching steam trains while playing with a Duplo train while wearing train-themed pajamas.
For a long time now when I want to share her excitement at something beautiful I say "Oh wow, so pretty!" Soon she started saying the same thing for anything impressive, whether beautiful or not. For example if the big loud garbage truck went through our lot she would say "Oh wow, so pretty!" Now she's developed a new method where she'll just say "Oh wow, so [noun]!" For example I opened the fridge the other night to let her examine inside, and she said "Oh wow, so juice!"
In somehwat matching outfits, about to go to Beth's.
I recently ordered a bunch of verb vocabulary flashcards, and when they got in I picked out 10 or so of the verbs she already knows decently. I showed her the flashcards and then I placed them next to each other on the ground and asked her to find each one. ("Where is 'go'?" "Oh! Where'sa go? Here it is!") After she found and very proudly handed me each card, I put them all back on theg round and this time asked her to find them by doing the ASL signs for each. And she did! That was pretty encouraging.
Jane is more interested than ever in what Clara's doing. Though not fully crawling yet, Jane can scoot, rool, and army crawl to where Clara is and then reach out and try to touch or take whatever toys Clara is playing with. Clara, of course, is not a big fan. Besides resisting Jane's approaches, Clara does not pay that much attention to Jane. However yesterday, out of nowhere, Clara laid down on the living room floor next to Jane to face her, and Jane thought that was hilarious. They stayed that way staring at each other for a few moments before Clara moved on, but it was very sweet.
Watching the disproportionate interest Jane has in Clara and the delight Jane has when Clara pays attention to her underscores yet again how little I know about not being the oldest. I really hope Clara is a caring guardian who shows interest in her little sister who already seems to look up to her so much. We will see how it goes. It makes me think of Sola and what a loving sister she is to Rocket and Harrison.
Sometimes I will sit on the floor next to Jane while she plays, and, like her sister before her, she seems to be content longer if I'm just nearby. Sometimes I will pause with whatever I'm absorbed in (usually on my laptop) and glance over at Jane who will already be staring at me. As soon as I look at her she busts out in a huge grin like she's so delighted to have my attention. It's quite uplifting and of course just makes me want to scoop her up and put kisses all over her, which I often do while she giggles.
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