The World According to HJ

So HJ has been talking up a storm these days. I'm not sure if it's the speech therapy, her age, or if she's just ready to share her thoughts with the world, but I'm loving it. I'm trying hard to remember all the funny and insightful things she says, because I know even a year ago, it was rare to hear her express so much verbally. So in no particular order, here are some of the things HJ has said in the last week that I don't want to forget...

"Mommy, it's a beautiful day," as we walk into church and she's eating a piece of canadian bacon and hashbrown from breakfast.

"I want Daddy to buy me that ________ " (fill in the blank -- bounce house, giant green plastic frog at the mall playground, whatever strikes her fancy). I find it pretty endearing at this point that she thinks Daddy can and will buy her whatever she wants. It's not like he really does.... usually!

"Daddy fix that..." in regard to any toy that breaks or runs out of batteries. To Sol's credit, he once painstakingly glued together a tiny plastic flower ring that Mommy had accidentally stepped on. 

"I want to lie down outside and look at the clouds with Corinna."

"No highway for you!" before Sol goes to work every morning. Sometimes followed by, "No highway. Not for Daddy, not for Mommy!"  for extra emphasis. 

"No Swiper, No!" every time Lila grabs one of HJ's toys and starts putting it in her mouth. Apparently Lila = Swiper. 

"No orange soap for you, Mommy (or Daddy)" -- HJ is very particular about which soap we use in the bathroom. The orange soap is hers; the blue soap is for everyone else. 

"Nobody look at my baby!" or "Nobody hold my baby!" Although Lila = Swiper sometimes, apparently she is also HJ's baby, and HJ is a very protective big sister!

Although there are still moments where I feel like we are playing charades with HJ (i.e. when she can't find something she's looking for and she can't quite describe it, I'm always like, "Ok, what color is it?" "Is it a book? A toy? Where did you play with it?") overall life has become a thousand times easier now that she can tell us how she's feeling and what she's thinking. Thank the Lord for those speech therapists and the fact that eventually HJ seems to catch up developmentally with her peers, even if it's on her own timetable. Just like everything else she does, I guess it's not her style to follow the crowd. She's just a girl who always has her own plans in mind... And now she's willing to let the world know all about it...