For those of you that know me well, using a pun for the title is only surprising because it's only the first one. I felt a math pun was fitting to some degree since this post includes Emma counting. For those of you that don't know me as well, my sincerest apologies. Just think of my attempt at humor as a plateau - for a plateau is a high form of flattery. (Ok, I'm done with the puns... for now.)
I wanted to give a quick update to say that Emma has really become a sponge and is saying so much now that I hear new words daily. I've now lost count on how many words she can say and understand and I couldn't be more thrilled about it! And considering how much I love numbers, that too is impressive. The only thing I have kept count of now is how many bad words she has said - thankfully it is just one, and it was just an error in enunciation. We are working on how she says the "EEP" at the end of "sheep" because it currently sounds more like "IT" at times.
While I see Emma daily and witness the progress first hand, it is always a nice reminder to hear from those that haven't seen her as frequently about how amazed they are by her growth. For over a year, Emma has been working on learning her ABC's and counting to ten. When you would say a letter or number to her, she would make a sound back to you for the next number or letter that followed - sometimes the sound that was similar to the correct one. Within the last three months, she has really improved to where she says almost every letter and number correctly every time.
In addition to her improvements in speech, she is also becoming much more aware of her surroundings and curious about inspecting things she sees. I love to watch her mind work and see her curiosity drive her to do things she wouldn't do even six months ago. This last week, Emma went to see fireworks for the first time at the "Red, White, & Lewisville" show for the holiday. She really seemed to appreciate the experience and was only startled a couple of times when there were some louder fireworks. With the large number of people, cars, dogs, and fireworks, I was happy that she enjoyed watching all the action and was still wanting to say her ABCs and count all the way home after the show ended. She also went to the SEA LIFE Grapevine Aquarium and was delighted to watch all the fish, rays, turtles and sharks as they swam around. She was still apprehensive about touching the starfish as they were unfamiliar, but I'm sure she'll warm up to that too in time. Next we will be going back to the pool to see how she likes swimming this summer as compared to last summer. She already loves her sunglasses, so now we need to get her out so she can use them!
