Where's My Beret?

Stella is in love. She has discovered crayons and can't get enough.

I recently picked up some great toddler-friendly rock crayons that are easy on the earth as well as a kid's tummy. (I'm a hybrid - an idealist and a realist.) We spend about forty minutes each morning "coloring." She's slowly starting to understand the relationship between crayon and paper, but she's frankly more interested in how each crayon feels and smells. She's also super interested in sorting these days. So taking the crayons out of her special crayon tin and then putting them back causes sheer delight.

Stella has focused most of her energy over the last fifteen months on her physical development, but her language skills are starting to emerge. While she has her slowly expanding list of words - Mama, hot (pronounced "dot"), door, meow, woof woof, choo choo, Isaac (I know, crazy, huh?), Da Da (used for Papa and for telling Vinnie to get off the counter) and no - she's starting to play with sounds in a new way. I've really noticed that when we color, she talks more. She focuses on the crayons and just starts gabbing. I know, I know. Every parent thinks their kid's sounds are adorable. We're no different.

This picture kills me. She's "talking" like crazy here. I suspect she's telling me something really important, but I can't help but giggle behind my cup of tea as I see such earnest and fervent babbling. I love it.

Is it me or does Stella look old here? It's so strange to watch her grow. Sometimes, she seems to grow in leaps and bounds, and sometimes she stops to rest awhile and stays the same. Of course, she's constantly changing these days, and it's obvious to us she's absolutely and thoroughly finished the baby stage. She's plowing through the toddler stage with great velocity, keeping us amused and amazed.