bebe's newest word

as we were leaving bebe's doctor's appointment the other day, literally as we were all walking out of the exam room, dr. bastian said over his shoulder as he disappeared down the hall, "i'm glad about her language. it makes me really happy."

first of all, isn't it cute that he cares that much? secondly, and more important, it makes me really happy too. her little voice is so cute and it seems like almost every day now she says something she hasn't said before. one of the newest, and my current favorite, is "mermaid" (muhr-MAY). which, you know, is a really useful word when you're one! she has learned it because before nap or bed, we say goodnight to all sorts of different things in her room, and there are mermaids on her clock and one of her quilts.

recently we visited a high school friend of mine, who has two daughters, both older than bebe, and they gave us (among tons of other awesome hand-me-downs), a perfectly bebe-sized costume. a mermaid costume. bebe loves wearing it -- she points at her sparkly belly and walks around our apartment with a big smile on her face.

just for the record, here's a list of bebe's vocabulary at 12.5 months:
mama
daddy
dog
cat
truck
banana (nana)
eye
hi
mermaid
more
nurse
euan (well, she says nnnnnn!)
no
that
lambie
blueberry (boo-bree)

she makes animal sounds for:
cat
horse
cow
bee
fish
pig
bunny
sheep

and she signs for:
eat
more
nurse
music

there might be more, but that's all i can remember right now. she gets so happy when she can make us understand her, and i love to watch her take pride in herself!

_