Abby's communication update

Abby is communicating with us so much!  Not only is she endlessly repeating words we say, but she is using her words to tell us her thoughts.  She is also putting words together to make some simple sentences.  

As my SLP eyes watch Abby absorb language, it makes my heart proud that she picks it up so quickly and readily uses it.  I'm amazed at typical language development.  Doing what I do, I often lose sight of what "typical" language and overall "typical" development looks like.  Abby, thankfully, grounds me with that realization and can only make me a better SLP.  On the flip side, it saddens me so much that Abby has surpassed the preschool children that I work with in terms of speech, language and overall communication skills.   

Just last night Abby and I were hanging out in the front yard and Abby signed "closed" and said closed.  She then pointed to the front door.  Without looking, I responded with something like "Oh, do you want the door closed?".  She nodded with a huge grin on her face knowing that I understood her correctly.  I then turned to see that our front door was standing wide open.  Thanks Abby for telling Mommy!  

New words Abby is saying:

outside
no mama
no dada
hi dada
bye dada
up mama
Papa (Grandma isn't there yet)
more milk
please 
more wawa (water)
eat (she's doing this much more spontaneously to tell us she's hungry!)
sunglasses
pants
shirt
Elmo
other sesame street characters - Grover, Oscar, Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, Big Bird...)
change (knows sign too!)
diaper (knows sign too!)
clean (knows sign too!)
I pooped (she will tell us when she poops!...I think potty training is just around the corner!)
Oh, snap!
Aw, man!

She is beginning to learn her colors - she's learning them in sign language too.  

I love to have her repeat silly words: "bomb diggity" as in Dada is the bomb diggity.  

I have a feeling that we'll be spending lots of time outside this spring and summer as Abby loves to be outside!  In a stroller, on a slide or just running around the yard, she loves to be 
"ow-si"  and cries when we have to come in.