Espeak espanish?

I know, I know - *gasp* - So I'm finally posting after a two month hiatus!

The first month of 08 has almost slipped through my fingers, and I already feel the whirlwind of another year passing me by.

I'm daily amazed and entertained by my sweet baby girl. Today, as I was im'ing a friend, Dani discovered that if she spins around and around in circles, she gets dizzy and falls over. It was fun to watch as she twirled with her hands over her head, saying "weeeee!" Oh, the carefree life of a toddler! So, I paused for a moment, left my to-do list on the counter, and joined her spinning around the family room.... then the kitchen... then the hallway.

Amidst the joys of watching her grow and have new experiences, one thing I've been sure to work with her on is Spanish. Her vocabulary continues to grow. She started out just saying parts of words, like "che" for "leche" (milk), and "gua" for "agua". Now she's putting more together. Eventually she'll use more English, but for now, I think we'll stick with espanol.

From the beginning, I've said different body parts as I dress her - "pie" as I put her pants on over her feet, "mano" as I put her hands through her sleeves. She's catching on. This weekend she started saying "mano" all the time. She'd get her jacket, put her hand inside the sleeve, and say "mano". It's cute.

I love just hearing her babble. One morning, we walked into her room as she was jabbering away, and she had all her stuffed animals circled around her -- I'm wondering what she was telling them. ha!
Now it seems her jabbering is turning into more of a vocabulary list she goes over and over. She just repeats all the words she knows in a sing-songy-way. "Hi, Mama. Hi, Daddy. Hi, Coal. Bye Bye, Mama. Bye Bye, Daddy. Bye Bye, Coal. Che. Agua. Tita! Mano. Mano. Mano. Coal. Coal. Tuta. Pooh. Tita!" (Tita is her blankie, Coal is our dog, tuta is short for fruta...)

I'm loving it! I do hope to raise a bilingual child who can be fluent both in mind and heart. I pray she developes a passion for the world just outside her doorstep, as well as oceans apart from us.

People often ask me what I do all day as a stay-at-home mom. I believe it is my current assignment from God. After all, what could be more important than instilling morals, character, and a love for the Lord into a precious little soul? Believe me, I have plenty of work to do, and I stay busy. But it's also one of the most rewarding times of my life. It's a blessing.