I've said this before but Claire talks a lot for her age...like, a whole lot. I'm not bragging, it's just a fact (okay, I'm totally bragging but that's kind of the point of a blog devoted to your child). Depending on where you're researching, the language milestone for an 18 month old is somewhere around 10 words. My little freak of nature (and I mean that in the most endearing way) busts out 10 words in her sleep. Okay, that's an exaggeration but the point is that she talks a ton. Standing by and watching my toddler develop language has been a fun and often, hilarious, road. Here are some of the funny things that Claire has said (aside from "I love bacon.").

-Recent post-nap conversation:

Me: "Claire, are you hungry?"
Claire: "Hungry"
Me: "What would you like for lunch?"
Claire: " Lunch"
Me: "Yes, but what would you like for lunch?"
Claire: "Um...popcorn."

Not only did she answer the question correctly, she totally chose junk food for her answer. When Kyle got home I asked her what she wanted for dinner to see what she would say and her response was "chips". I swear that our household food groups go beyond chips and popcorn.

-Whenever she bumps her head (which is often, it's large), she'll say "oh no..bonking head" while she rubs her head. If she stumbles or falls she says "oh no, I fall down" and snickers like she did something funny.

-She calls blankets "blankens", pacifiers "papity", any small fruit or berries are blueberries and the basement is the "basin".

-When she asks to be picked up she says "up and down?".

-If I drive down a hill quickly or turn a sharp corner, she yells "weeeeeeeeeeee!" from her carseat.

-Earlier today she saw a cartoon drawing of a Sasquatch (versus a actual picture of the real thing of course) and said "Cookie!!!" as in, the monster. 

-Claire's Auntie Jin taught her to say "zombie" in her best scary zombie voice (because if you encountered a zombie, it would clearly identify by saying "zombie"). So now Claire randomly yells "zombie" in a little growly voice. 

-She sings Twinkle Twinkle all day long but her version is something like "winkle, winkle, wittle, are. Ow, I, wonwer, wa, choo, are." She does a funny little rocking dance while she sings that her grandma has dubbed the "Ray Charles".

-When she plays with her baby (it's actually a Glo Worm), she pretends to change it's diaper and gets out the baby wipes and says "pee you" baby....apparently we say this when we change her diaper. She always talks to her baby in a teeny tiny high pitched voice that I suppose is mimicking yours truly.

-We've gone to two of our nephew's (Claire's cousin) high school football games. Claire had a blast at both games but wasn't exactly watching the game (to my chagrin, she was focused on the cheerleaders). However, she now requests "watch football" and when it's on TV she says "yay, football, go Tyler, tackle!".

-We were eating dinner together and I was drinking water from a mason jar (yes, I'm that pinterest-y) and Claire commandeered it from me. She proceeded to fill it up with the soup she was eating. I generally let things like that go. She's 1.5, bad behavior versus exploration is in the eyes of the beholder. This beholders says, go for it kiddo. Anyway, after a few minutes of "exploration", Claire proudly said "Mama look! Dinner water!"...and then took a big drink :)

She has a lot to say. She has a lot of people who are happy to listen.

Picture time. So I spend a lot of time on this website called Clickin Moms. It's basically a photography  meets mom forum with classes, photo sharing etc. Well there are a ton a beautiful pictures of every day moments in a mom/kiddo's day. I love the pictures that I have of my little gal but I am totally guilty of picture envy when I see some of those amazing shots. Well yesterday I had a realization. We had just gotten out of the bath and my little monster was loving being all wrapped up. She was so cozy and relaxed so I decided to sit her in front of the window so she could be occupied and I could get dressed. As I was digging through my clothes pile, I looked up and saw this scene. Calm is the word that hit me. So I ran downstairs and grabbed my camera and luckily, she was still there when I got back. Still calm. I got the shot. When I uploaded it, I realized that I had gotten one of those pictures that I admire. So my realization is this: The photographers that I admire are amazingly talented and I aspire to be as knowledgeable about photography as they are. However, there is beauty in every day situations and the trick is to spot it. The light, the subject, the calm...all real. All in the moment. That's all.