Long time no post! Quick Molly update:)

Sorry I've been MIA again. But any readers here have probably also been busy over the holidays, too, so hopefully you understand:)

Things have been good here. Part of the reason I have been offline is because we have been in the process of getting a new family computer. Our shiny, new laptop is finally here and working well, but I haven't been able to explore downloading pictures yet. I have many cute stories to tell of the past few weeks, but most of them would be better with pics, so I will hold off until I have the pics uploaded and in working order.

In the meantime, I had to write a quick update on Molly. She has been developing and learning at the speed of light lately! Not that long ago, I was writing about her ability to combine words, and about her cute sound substitutions.

Well, these days, we have forgotten all about days when she didn't have many word combinations, and are instead feeling like we can actually see her brain grow and see her make new connections every single day. And, she still has lots of cute sound substitutions, but I think most people can understand her basic words pretty well, especially in context. (Though keem keem for cream cheese is still a bit tricky for new people:)

Here are a few cute stories lately:

1. We had a whole pretend play scheme on the bed the other day. She and I were snuggling on a cold morning under the blanket, and we pretended that it was a bear cave. I asked her, "Do you see a bear in the cave?" She replied, "No bear, just baby!" and pulled her baby doll under the blanket and into the cave. Then I told her she had a sweet little baby, and she suddenly announced, "Baby crying!" And then looked lovingly at the baby and asked, "Need Blankie?"..."Need pie pies (paficier)?"..."Need kisses?"...Meed Ben?" She finally decided that her baby just needed "nuggles" (snuggles), and the two of them got things sorted out perfectly:)

2. She has been amazing with pronouns lately. She says "I do it" and "My turn now." She, of course, still mixes up I/me/my all the time, but just the fact that she is using so many pronouns, and getting so many of them right, is crazy to me!
One little hard part, though, is that she has found a new way to tug on my heartstrings. She has started requesting, "Nuggle (snuggle) me, Mama!". Now, this is a perfectly darling phrase, so I'm not trying to complain. Its just that it is terribly difficult to resist!!! So in the middle of the night, if she wakes up and says, "Nuggle me Mama!"...I have been known to give in and nuggle a bit before laying her back down. And if I am in the middle of doing dishes but hear a little "Nuggle me Mama" behind me, the dishes get delayed for some nuggle time. I can't get anything done around here!

3. She has picked up the word "actually". It is histerical!! She will throw it in at random, but totally appropriate times. I'll ask, "Molly, is this your water cup?" and she will respond, "Actually, Ben's cup!"
I'll ask, "Molly do you want couscous?" She'll reply, "actually, noodles peas (please)". SO funny. And she'll hesistate for a moment too as if she's thinking about it carefully before responding..."...actually...noodles please!".

4. She has also been throwing out "because!" as an answer to questions too, lately. Seriously, when did she turn 13??! I'll ask, "Molly, why did you pour the salt out and all over the table?" She'll respond, "Because!". Can't tell you how much I love this one. ;)