…Pushing Norah on the swings at the park for a full 45 minutes yesterday, just chatting with her and making her giggle. Plus the overheard conversation between two young parents about their 21-month-old (”But he knows ‘more’ and ‘cup’ and ‘doggy’…”), obviously sparked by the way Norah (2 months younger) was chattering with me about the planes in the sky and the slide and the ladder and swinging and a million other things. There’s a fine line between proud and smug, and I try to stay on the right side of it, but oh, am I proud.

…However, she pooped in the tub today. They say pride goeth before a fall.

…The Weepies are my favorite band right now. Their CD Hideaway is in constant rotation in my car. The past few days, I’ve discovered that Norah loves them, too. As we’re driving, I’ll catch her echoing the words. I tested her today while we were playing–she can finish almost every phrase I sing. (Not always perfectly, though: “First the thought, and then the act” turned into “First the socks, and then the act” in her ears.)

…Playing in the family room yesterday, she turned to me, apropos of nothing, and said, “Zero….Nothing.” “Zero….Nothing.” Took me a minute to figure out–she was thinking of a Sesame Street episode, the one with poor whiny number Zero (”I’m Zero….nothing. That’s what zero is.”). We haven’t watched that episode in weeks.

…And tonight, she started stringing words together: “Take it Mommy” while outside playing with Brian, about a ball she apparently wanted to show me, and “Washing the duck,” while in the tub, washing the duck. She’s barely 19 months old, and I am blown away.