Ah-bee! Go, go, goooo! ME!

Our beloved toddler has just reached that stage where her language is exploding. She is trying to repeat every word that she hears, and she is learning new words faster than I can write them down in her baby book — as if she had a baby book!

I wish I could wrap up these sweet moments of broken words and repeated syllables and keep them to re-live another day. But as I watch my older three look on in wonder, I know that I will just as quickly forget about these moments as she grows and learns about new things.

So, today's blog post is mostly to remind me of the moments that inspire so much laughter in our house lately.

Jayda is less than two months shy of her second birthday now, but she's so petite that most people usually think she is younger than that.

Little sister is small, but she has a big voice, and she makes herself heard. She is demanding and persistent and when she yells it is with a loud voice that seems way too big for her little body. We think it's hilarious that she calls all of the other children in the family, "Ah-bee." This is her way of saying, "Everybody," which we know because when it's time for dinner she runs around yelling at the top of her lungs: "Ah-bee! Eat!"

In fact, she calls all other children, "Ah-bee," with only one exception. She adores one friend whose name is Ty. So, when all the other kids are around, she either is shouting, "Ty-Ty!" or "Ah-bee!" (This is not good for poor Ty-Ty. When she is yelling at Ah-bee, it could be anyone. But when she says, "Ty-Ty", only one person has to respond!)

Jayda loves sitting in a laundry basket to watch TV. Her big sister put a big blanket in the laundry basket to give her a nice cushy padding on the back and sides.

Last night, as she sat in her basket, her big sister got on her plastic rocking horse and began rocking like crazy. Jayda did not like this one bit. She climbed out of her laundry basket, which is about like watching a fifth grader try to jump over the hurdles in a high school track meet. She was shouting, "Ah-bee! Go, go, go! ME!"

She used her little 26-pound body to push big sister off the horse, and she got on and started rocking as hard as she could. But then sister got in the laundry basket. Oh, no!

"Ah-BEE!! GO! GO! GO!," she yelled. "ME!"

Finally, she stood holding the handle of her rocking horse while trying to climb into the laundry basket so she could make sure she was able to enjoy both of her favorite seats without any interference.

Finally, it was time for dessert. Her big sister asked her if she wanted a popsicle.

"Pa-pa, pa-pa," she exclaimed. This should not be confused with any of her other favorite foods:

Ba-pa (apple)
Sa-sa (salsa)
ba-pa-sa-sa (applesauce)
or pa-pa (popcorn)

It is so hard to resist her pleas for food when she walks around saying, "Peas! Peas!" (Please! Please!)

Big sister gave her a green popsicle and gave herself a red. This might have worked six months ago, the first time she had tasted the frozen sugary goodness of a popsicle. We could have give her green and then orange until the less-desirable flavors were depleted. But by now, she is wise to the ways of the world and the preferred colors of popsicles.

She took a few licks of her frozen green treat and then handed it to her sister. She stood with her mouth wide open demanding the red popsicle until finally big sissy had to give in. Finally, sister got tired of arguing over the red and gave herself a purple popsicle. This prompted a rotating popsicle exchange. Red for purple. Purple for green. Green for red. The germ exchange would have made many moms a little whoosy.

We were eventually ready to wind down for the night. Jayda brought me her two baby dolls. She gave one to me and kept the other for herself.

"Down. Down," she would instruct me. We would lay down the babies and then pat them on the tummy.

The only time Jayjay sucks her thumb is when she is tired. When she does so, she makes a little noise that sounds like, "Goy-goy." So, when we want her to rest, we say to her, "Goy-goy," and she will start sucking her thumb.

After she got her babies positioned just right, she would take their little plastic thumbs and position them in their mouths and say, "Goy-goy. Goy-goy." She would then gesture for me to pick mine up, pat it on its back and then she would start over. "Down, down." "Goy-goy."

I love that she is able to communicate so well now, but at the same time, I'm not really anxious for her to improve too quickly. She provides way too much entertainment for us with her cute way of expressing herself.