An Observation on Life at 15 Months

The summer after my junior year of college I spent six weeks in Ortigia, a little island in Sicily, studying Italian. I went to wrap up my foreign language credit. After taking Italian 101 at Clemson, I was able to take a condensed 201 summer course in Italy. Despite having a year of Italian under my belt, when I got to Italy I was overwhelmed by how little functional Italian I was able to speak.  I had a few phrases mastered, but for the most part I spent every conversation listening for a familiar word to hold on to.

After a few weeks, I realized that I was understanding more and more but my vocabulary acquisition was not keeping pace with my comprehension. While I was able to understand most of what heard, I was left replying, "I understand. But I don't have words to answer." It was certainly frustrating but I've recently gained a new appreciation for the experience. You see, Cole, at fifteen months, is just like me in Italy!

My baby has a few words she's mastered and a few signs but it's not much. And she's frustrated. She's been able to communicate with us using her signs and she's quick to answer Yes/No questions. She understands what I mean when I tell her to sit on her bottom or present her with instructions but she really can't respond verbally.  She is absolutely in the same place I was. Every week I notice her attempting new words and responding to more diverse instructions.  It'll just be a matter of time before she is spouting new words daily. But, for now, I think back to how I felt in Italy and then make every effort to speak in a way that will help her learn and reinforce the efforts she's making.

A Funny Thing Happened

People, my daughter had her first kiss! I was blindsided. We were at the park in Maryland having what I thought was a pleasant time when Cole locked eyes with a boy in the playground tunnel. He was just a few months older than her so the kiss was as precious as it was surprising. I had my camera out and was poking my head in the tunnel just as they decided to smooch. I got a picture of the moment before and the moment after. Cole was pumped! Her daddy, Scottie and I were all dumbfounded. This child has more flirt in her than Peter and I combined!

After we left the playground, we walked around the park for a bit. Cole watched some older boys playing lacrosse and then found some flowers to smell. She's quite the fan of flowers so we taught her to smell with her nose, as opposed to with her hands. 

Celebrating

Our trip to Maryland was planned around my dear friend's celebration weekend.  She is getting married at the end of August. I was supposed to be a bridesmaid but with my September due date, I won't even be able to attend the wedding. I cried a couple of times over that fact- thank you pregnancy hormones- then committed myself to attending her shower and bachelorette.

Her maids of honor organized a wonder bridal shower at the Lancaster Brewing Company. It was a neat space and being at an actual venue made set up and clean up a breeze.

After the shower, we went to a delicious dinner at Fenz, a fancy-pants restaurant in Lancaster that I'd go back to in a second, then to a few of the bars in downtown Lancaster. Again, her awesome maids of honor planned everything. We had a scavenger hunt competition, during which I was absolutely no help.

Truth be told: I'm not really a great guest at bachelorette party. Aside from the fact that I'm pregnant for the second time, I go to bed too early to be decent late night company. Just the same, I lasted until 3am when everyone hit the sack which was basically a badge of honor for me.

In the morning we headed to the Poconos for some R&R, lake views, and lots of laughing. The whole weekend was meticulously balanced between causal and fancy, relaxing and exciting.