Draft written by Shannon, posted by her mom, Gretchen.

I really wish I could have been better about documenting Emmie’s language here over the last several months. It’s interesting because while on one hand, she will literally wake up saying something totally new she couldn’t say the day before, on the other hand it feels like a steady progression over the past 2-3 months.

Two months ago, Emmie was putting together 2 words, off and on. Emmie + noun = “my (noun).” Emmie + verb = “I do it.” Emmie spoon, Emmie walk, Emmie up, etc. etc. Lots of Noun + Verb, or Noun + Noun, with Emmie, Mama and Dada being the key players.

Now, she is a telegraphic communicator extraordinaire. She can easily put together 3-4 word sentences, sometimes much, much longer ones, but content always trumps grammar (including word order). A sample: Mommy little-bit milk Emmie (Emmie wants a little bit of mama-milk).

Her very favorite things to talk about are other people. She loves standing in our bay window in the kitchen (with us right behind her so she doesn’t fall) and commenting on the every movement of our neighbors. I’ve often thought that no one can commit a crime during the day because she notices everything. She knows all the neighbor’s names, except the people I keep forgetting who she calls “people,” as in “pee-po home!” whenever their garage door is open. She can even remember names she’s only heard once or twice a day or two later.