N. has also started to imitate a lot. When someone is talking on the phone, she will also talk on a toy phone—or answer whatever else is nearby. The other day she answered a piece of play food: “’ello?” If she sees someone put a hat on their head, she’ll try also, and she will attempt to brush her hair.
She’s also pretty chatty these days. She will say “Mom” and imitate things with the “B” sound. When waving, sometimes she’ll say a “b…b…” which I think will involve into a “bye.” The other morning I was singing “Baa Baa Black Sheep” to the girls, and N. started saying, “Baa.” If I was sure she would do it on command, I would dress her back up in the sheep costume and make a video.
When she’s trying out new words, she’ll often do it in a whisper. I ask her to say her sister’s name and she makes a quiet “t…t…” sound.
Speaking of her sister, it is with great pleasure that I report the success we’ve been having with potty training. The first couple of days were rough, and I was already trying to figure out how I could send her to college in diapers, but then she decided she was ready. We keep her in a pull-up at night, mostly for our own convenience, but she’s been doing great. I’m sure there will be accidents, but at this point she’s very responsible with heading to the restroom when she needs to go.
I know I dress the girls in matching clothes a lot. It’s party because it fits nicely with my personality and also because it simplifies things. I found another perk, though—it has really seemed to help K. identify N. as “hers.” K. likes when things match (this apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree), and she gets excited when N. is wearing clothes that match hers. Especially when we’re with other kids, she identifies N. as her sister and is growing to understand what that means. A couple of my friends (especially my friend S.D.) are really good at teaching their children what it means to be a family, specifically siblings, and celebrating that unique bond. It pleases me that K. has started to learn this and that the girls are bonding.
If you look closely in the next picture, K’s arm is around N. It’s hard to tell since their shirts are the same, but it is. (A really random aside—the shirt N. is wearing was K’s, and the shirt K. is wearing was a hand-me-down from a friend of a friend. What a fun coincidence that they are the same!)
And I know she learned this phrase from a friend, but this morning she said that N. is her “best friend.”
