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I’ve mentioned before about Sophia’s persistent personality .  When she wants something… stay out of her way, she is going to get it. She can say, “NOW, Mom” and she means it!

This is can be an act of defiance or an attribute.  Mostly, with WHS children, I’ve found it’s an attribute.   When Sophia says it, she does so with a smile and it’s her way of telling us she knows the difference between now and later. It’s her way of learning.  Attribute.

She has made the connection of going to school as work, like Daddy!  Because she can say “work” easier than saying “school” she will respond at the end of her day with a “bye” and “work morrow” ( which means, “See you, for school, tomorrow.”)  This is delightful as she’s been trying to form sentences and may I just say...form personality. Attribute.

She has worked so hard to modulate her language to speech.  I would say the hardest work, besides eating, has been speech.  It’s great to hear more words, Sophia style.

Lately, she has added the words, “boring” to her vocab and “dirty duck”.  So awesome.  These are our favorites.

When she was in her car seat she used the word, “boring.”  How appropriate for an 8 year old, huh?    One day, as she was telling us she was bored, we told her to look at houses or look for cows or horses and she wouldn’t be bored.  In pure “Phia” form she started singing…. The Boring Song… of course, written by her!  We were all cracking up.  And as for the words, “dirty duck”, she was washing her rubber duck in the bath and out came, “dirty duck”  or more like, “dooty duck”.  Yep, Phia style.  Like I said, these are our new favorites, well… ANY words she says are our new favorites! Attribute.

Often the week-ends are driven by wondering and persistent demands of  Phia saying “work, morrow” (going to school) with continual pressing of the question. It can be exhausting. We’ve come up with a way of helping her focus, in her understanding of, now and later.  We concluded that as long as it is today we play.  So when she asks (an hour after we’ve been home from school) “work, morrow?”, we reply, “no, it’s today so we play!”  She understands and often replies, “oh”.  Sometimes she will come back in a few minutes or in an hour or so and ask again, “work, morrow?”  I smile and point to the window and she, nodding her head, will say, “oh…day, play” and I will nod my head, yes.  I love this girl,  her learning and style.

The way she is learning, talking and expressing herself is such a gift.  Knowing and using language, organizing it and then pulling out what she has learned to actual speech with her own expression and personality, a gift.   At this stage she usually pulls from the last file learned.  For instance, she knows her colors but when you point to a color and ask her to say it, she will typically say the last color she learned, like “brown”. With  a little more prompting she can search her files and say the color you are pointing to, because she does know it AND because now she knows it and can say it!

We didn’t know what to expect or even TO expect that she would talk but when she does, it is crazy good.  Crazy good because there is no expectation.  Crazy good because…. she is, (crazy good).  Mix it all up with personality and you have persistent, crazy good, Phia!  And may I just say, the best ATTRIBUTE of all!