TALKING! BABY!

So the walking is going astonishingly (and hilariously) well -- she just motors all over the place now -- and with that accomplished, it seems that it's time to concentrate on talking. As you regular readers know, she's been clear on the concepts of "mama," "daddy," and "no!" for quite awhile (she even says, quietly to herself as she's going toward something she knows she's not supposed to have, "noi noi noi noi noi"). But she's making some serious leaps now:

--"Mama" is applied consistently to me, and not just to all food.

--"Dagrr" is her rendition of "Daddy," and again, she knows when to use it.

--A very breathy "Hi!" is deployed correctly, in answer to a "Hi!" from us.

--An inquisitive "ma!" means "more," as in more Cheerios, banana bits, or wheat bread chunks, and she seems so pleased when we get her meaning (almost always accompanied by a scratching or an open-handed smack of the surface upon which we are to deliver the requested "ma!").

--Funniest of all, she's got a word for "kitty," since there are two black cats that regularly park their butts in our yard to sun themselves and keep an eye on the gophers tearing up the grass. She'll spy one, a smile will just about break her head open, and she points and says "iggeh!", sometimes with a "k" sound in there somewhere (not always at the beginning). And if you say "kitty" any time, she gets all excited and looks around for it -- she knows, she knows!