Warning: This post is going to be chock-a-block full of...bragging. (And if you just got that Love Actually reference, we should hang out more.) That's right, I'm about to pull the Proud Mom card and completely abandon any trace of humbleness that I've ever had. So if you're not interested in hearing it, move on. Because the bragging will commence in 3...2...1...
This child is blowing our minds.
Like, seriously. Brooke baffles us on a daily basis. Straight up baffles us. We are 2 educated, intelligent adults (he moreso than me, sure, but I can hold my own) and yet we are left with our jaws hanging open multiple times a day.
I'm not even sure I can accurately explain to you how crazy-smart this girl is. We've been impressed with her since she was born, as she's been crushing milestones like it was her job since the beginning (okay, so it is her job.) But, for the most part, they were physical things, so we attributed them largely to her size. I mean, sitting up at 4 months had to have more to do with the fact that she was already 21 lbs & super strong than it did intelligence. And when she started saying "Dada" at 8 months we thought "Okay, this is probably a little early, but not ridiculous." But now, oh but now...
So a few weeks ago I get this poll in an email: "How many words can your 16-month old clearly say?" The options were: 0-4 words, 5-8 words, 9-15 words, 16-20 words, & more than 20 words. I looked at this poll like "That's it?" So it got us both thinking about just how many words Brooke really knows right now. Because if 20 is as high as the poll goes...well this girl has got to be near 100. Curiosity got the best of me yesterday, as she pulled some crazy word out during lunch that I couldn't believe she knew (and I can't remember at the moment, of course.) I grabbed a piece of paper and started trying to list her words.
Friends, I ran out of room and had to get a 2nd piece of paper! The number I came to yesterday: 170. What? Yeah, exactly. This includes a good number of family members' names, as well as the names of the characters in the shows she watches (she can pretty much name all the monsters on Sesame Street & everybody on MMC.) And I only included words that actually sound like the real word, words that a stranger would likely be able to understand. (I can't even try to spell how she says "windy". I'm pretty sure I'm the only person that's ever picked up on that one when she says it...and really only because my hair is blowing in the wind at that point. Plus, I know her really well.) And not only does she know all of these words, she uses ALL of them on a regular basis. For example, she can tell you everything she's eating 95% of the time (did I mention that a nice chunk of the 170 was food-related?)
Oh, and today, I added about 20 more words to the list that I forgot yesterday (like "pickle" and "color" and "flashlight".)
It's not just the words, kids. She got in her cozy coupe today and buckled her pretend seat belt while saying "buckle." As she handed me the foam letters she plays with in the bathtub this morning, she correctly identified 3 of the 7 letters. No joke, she clearly said "M", "D", & waitforit "Q" as she handed them to me. Q? Really, child? She always repeats us when we tell her the letters as she gives them to us, but this was the first time she got them on her own. Speaking of letters, she can repeat the alphabet letter-by-letter and pronounces about 90% of them correctly. Oh, and a week or so ago, the husband brought home a light bulb keychain from work. Before either of us said a single word about it, Brooke took it from him and said "keys" and then her version of light bulb (which sounds a little like "bulb-bulb" and is hilarious, btw.) I just...I don't even know anymore.
I wish I could take credit for it. I'd love to sit here and tell you that we sit down home-school style and practice alphabet flashcards on the regular. But I refuse to take credit for this kid. She just shines all on her own.
Ok, bragging is over.
Well, almost. She's also crazy cute. Ok, done for reals.
(If this was all too much Brooke-is-da-bomb for you, come back soon because I promise I'll be blogging about how incredibly stubborn and sassy and stubborn and moody and oh-holy-hell how stubborn this child is very soon. Sure to knock her down a peg or two in your minds, don't worry.)
No comments:
Post a Comment