And so it starts...

Yesterday at church, I was sitting with the girls outside our worship room waiting for Forrest. There was a dry-erase board that Katie had drawn on a little and then Kristen picked up the pen. Because she is the messiest ever with pens, I said "Kristen, put down the pen." She looked at me, gave an impish grin, and said, "Why, Mommy?" Ha ha ha!!! She knew exactly what she was saying, and I just had to laugh! It gives me such joy to start to see her little brain work and then have her mouth start to communicate these things! I am sure I will need to come back and read this later on when I wish she didn't talk so much!

I was laying in bed last night thinking about other things she said during the day and really realizing that she has come a long way in a short time. During the same time at church, she laid down on the floor and I asked her if she wanted to go home and take a nap. She said "NO!" right away and then said she wanted to eat. She was coloring and said, "Look, Mommy, Ki-ki color paper." WOW! She is starting to color in things in coloring books instead of just randomly coloring. She can count to 20 with a few helps and most days can go beyond that.

Her teacher has had great reports the past few weeks about her beginning to use her finger to follow along as they "read" their poems for the month and that she is with help able to find the capital letters at the beginning of words. These are all baby steps, but I think great signs.

More than anything though, her personality just continues to shine through. The more she can communicate with us, the more we get to see her and it is very special.