Oh My, My

Remember how last Friday I Baby Bean got sick from daycare and I hoped it was just food poisoning? Well, it wasn't. It lasted all weekend and clear on through Monday. The poor little bug was sick as a dog. The weird thing is, after Friday night, it was only during the night time. She would wake up throwing up between the hours of 2:00-4:30 a.m. for the next few nights, but then be completely fine during the day. It was so sad.

But let us not dwell on my daughter not feeling well. Instead, let us speak of her accomplishments!

You know how all parents are so proud of their little ones and wonder if their child is ahead of the curve? Well, I am no exception. However, I have been humble about my baby's accomplishments because I don't have any other children around on a constant basis by which to compare her.

I have known for quite some time that she is mastering the English language very well. Her comprehension astounds me. She has been stringing words together for months now, which I knew was a bit ahead of the curve. "Kitty, where are you?"

She can tell you exactly what she wants. "More milk please." (Yes, she always says please and thank you.) "Down. Walk." (i.e., I want down so I can walk.)

She can tell you what hurts and what doesn't feel good when she is sick."Tummy hurts." "Finger hurts." Then you kiss it and she says, "All better!"

She can tell you what almost every single animal says, including elephants. "Duckies! Quack, quack!"

She understands directions well, even the ones where you tell her to turn around to face you so you can put her in her car seat, or when you tell her to put her sippy cup in her stroller tray. She knows what it means when you ask her if she is all done with her milk and wants to put it in the fridge. She can even tell the dogs to come or get out of her way.

She gives real kisses, and sometimes without being asked. She gives hugs, and the best hugs I have ever had.

Today when I picked her up from daycare, her teacher could not sing my daughter's praises enough. She said she is by far ahead of all of the other children in the class, and wonders if my daughter will be one of those students who gets bored with school because she doesn't get challenged enough. She told me BB knows every single one of the other kid's names in her class and the other one, including their nicknames. She tells them how to say thank you when she gives them something, and then tells them they are welcome. Her teacher never wonders what BB wants, because BB tells her.

Everywhere we go people comment on how smart she is. Just tonight we were at Wal.mart picking up a baby gift for a friend, and the cashier just couldn't get enough of her. I've been through his checkout before, and he has never been so friendly. He was amazed at how well she spoke and how polite she was.

I knew my baby was smart, but I am starting to realize how smart she really is. That she really is ahead of other kids her age. I can't take all of the credit though. I think she gets her smarts from her daddy. That is part of the reason I married him. He is incredibly intelligent and was in GT classes in high school. He dropped out of college because he got tired of teaching for the teachers in the classes he majored in. He realized he already knew more than they did, so what was the point in wasting the money to go to college?

When I was pregnant, people would ask me what I wanted for my baby, and my answer was always, "That she will be smarter than me." It looks like I just might get my wish, and I hope I do.