A few months ago, I thought Elianne was slower on the verbal side of things than Anissa had been at her age. She's really been proving me wrong these past few weeks, though, as she's been learning new words - and using them in creative ways - at a rapid pace. Of course, the way she says them isn't always very clear, but her face lights up with pride when we understand what she's just told us. I thought I'd jot down a list of some of the things she can (sort of) say at age 15 months, besides the obvious Mommy, Papa, hi and bye:

- "weayou?" - where are you?
- "bur" - bird
- "dee" - deer
- "bottle" - this one is perfectly clear because it is one of her favorite things. No matter how we present milk, in whatever cup or with a straw or even warmed up, she only spits it out if it's not in her precious bottle.
- "stu" - stuck
- "bre" - bread
- "geyyi" - spaghetti
- "buh" - up
- "wee" - means 3 things: tree, soother or shoe (??)
- "tubtub" - bath
- "car"
- "bee" - an actual bee, or "brush teeth"
- "bu" - bug or book
- "buddy" - bunny
- "boddy" - potty
- "wa" - water
- "bow" - bowl
- "manya" - banana
- "buy" - snack (she's trying to say "bite")or butterfly or bike
- "Emmo" - Elmo (she knows him from a cookie box)
- "Dah" - Dora
- "ball"
- "tore!" - score
- "duh" - duck
- "bag"
- "cup"
- "baby"
- "meyyi" - Mehdi: usually trying to help me call him in some other part of the house
- "fy" - a bit disturbing, but this is "fry", as in french fry. Anissa and I mentioned fries one day last week while we were eating lunch, and Elianne started demanding to have "fy" and crying in frustration when we explained we didn't have any. We don't eat fast food very often, so they must have made quite the impression on her!

The big winner, her real favorite lately, though, is..."NO!" And when she gets frustrated, especially if I take something away from her, she throws things and flops onto the floor and kicks and screams. Sound kind of like a temper tantrum to you?