I try so hard not to compare my children. They are so different and even in just 16 months it is easy to see. While they definitely have their similarities (both are excellent sleepers and never cry), their personalities could not be more different. Ella was very even keeled, not physical or mobile until very near her first birthday and she was very verbal. It’s hard to explain to you how much she really talked and since I wasn’t blogging then, I don’t have much video footage and what I do have is on tape… gasp! Let me assure you that she was amazing. I thought all children talked at 6 months and could speak in sentences by their first birthday. It wasn’t until people all around me began to ask us about it that I realized how different she really was. By 8 months the list of words she could say was vast. She could identify almost anything you pointed to and she understood everything we said to her. By her birthday, she was speaking in two and three word sentences and was humming and singing along with cartoon theme songs. By fifteen months she could confidently explain that the doggie ate her pacifier.
Sophie on the other hand, is extremely high-strung and very physical. I found her sitting on the dining room table at the age of 8 months. She was crawling well before Ella even considered it and was on the verge of walking at 10 months. She is loud and dangerous. She isn’t afraid of anything, she’s tough and she leaves a path of destruction behind her. This is precisely why we call her Taz. She is wild and funny and boisterous. I don’t know how I would have handled her as my first child, but I can honestly say that we are having a blast with her. She has the best sense of humor and will try absolutely anything. She will sit in the dirt and dig, walk around barefoot all over the yard and play in the rain. Ella would have never considered any of that okay.
I won’t say that I was ever worried about Sophie’s language skills, but I was certainly surprised when she didn’t talk as early as Ella. She said some words and certainly conveyed her needs and wants. I think Josh thought I was crazy when I asked the pediatrician if I should be worried about her speech and she laughed. She said that they want to see them saying 5-15 words at 15 months. Sophie is saying many more than that and she understands everything. She repeats anything that you say and you only have to teach her something once. She remembered after the first time where the pasture was on the way to school. She calls the cows every morning, just before we reach the spot. She tells us when she’s wet or dirty. She asks for breakfast and snack by name and can tell you exactly what food she wants.
I’ve been trying to catch her on video for several weeks saying all of her favorite words, but she’s quick and I haven’t managed. Until now. Inspired by the video that Jennifer posted of her daughter earlier in the week (she’s 1 day older than Sophie!), Ella and I caught Taz in a really good mood and managed to catch a lot of them. There are still some things I want to capture for posterity, so maybe I’ll have a follow up video in a few days.
We have added a few new names to our repertoire this week, but the best is her homage to Dora. Y’all, Sophie doesn’t even like television. I’ve tried to sit her down for a few minutes to watch cartoons with Ella and she is not interested. One night last week, Ella’s closet door was open and there was an old Dora doll and the hard plastic backpack sitting on a shelf. To say that Sophie went nuts would be an understatement. She started screaming “backpack, backpack!” and pointing. When I showed her the doll, she said “Dora!” Josh & I have laughed so hard this last week at how much she is fascinated with our hispanic cartoon friend. It is the only cartoon she will pay any attention to and I found myself paying $10 for an absurdly large mylar balloon at the grocery store last week because that silly purple backpack was proudly displayed. It almost put me over my weekly budget, but she was so cute calling her all over the store.
All of this to say that it seems like my littlest little has found her words. She is a handful, with an attitude, and an arsenal of precious, mispronounced words to prove it.
