Megan's talking

(Playing in the rain. Even though they were both ice cold, they both shrieked a protest as we dragged them back inside)

Several times I find myself overlooking Megan's milestones. It's not because I just don't notice, I just don't stop and think "hey, that's new and cool".

But she is most definitely a toddler to her fingertips. She's begun a bit of a vocabulary explosion. I forgot about this, how quickly they pick up new words. Just today she was eagerly asking for a "duh, duh" in the bath and it took me a moment to realized she had learned the word "duck" at some unknown point, undoubtedly from her sister. Shortly after that, she pointed to the spot between her mouth and her nose and said "nose", which then prompted me pointing to different body parts and saying the word. By the end of her bath she'd learned to point to her eyes, ears, mouth and nose. And as always she knows where her belly is.

She's also picked up "book", though that one took me a moment as well. And when I handed her a dried out wipe instead (since they like to take them out and scatter them), she turned it over in her hands then wiped at her mouth with it and handed it back to me. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or just sweep her up and cover her sweet face in kisses. Since it was technically bedtime, I refrained from both.

She follows directions really well. Though now that she knows the word "no", she often protests a bit. But she doesn't just use the word without meaning. She knows what that word means and if we ask if she wants something or if we offer her something she doesn't want, she'll shake her head and say "no". Her yes is a grunt and a bounce, so we're still working on that word.

Every night she refuses to settle down for story time. She's either trying to get to the toys and grinning at me when I tell her to come sit back down (she has the cutest "I'm not going to listen to you, come and get me" grin ever), or she's climbing all over me wanting to point to the pictures and give me her made-up word. She meows at cats and repeats everything Cadence says during story time. However, once I say "the end", she promptly stops what she's doing and folds her arms for the bedtime prayer. Once prayer's over she runs over to her bed and waits for me to tuck her in. She rarely stays laying down, but she at least waits for me to spread her blanket over her before she starts her somersaults.

She has her little routines. For example, she's fine at dinner until I get up and walk past her, at which point she wants down and in my lap. After every meal she has to bring her cup with her, even if the thing's empty. Every night after bath, I get her out first and get her dressed, then leave the towel out while I go get Cadence, and every single time, Megan lays down in the middle of the towel and just grins like a little stinker while Cadence shrieks in protest. First thing in the morning, she demands snuggle time. It doesn't matter whether she was up early, or late, or if we just finished dropping James off. If I don't sit on the couch and cuddle with her for a few minutes she will not leave me be until I do.

I say it over and over again, but I can't believe I ever thought she'd pale in comparison to her high-spirited sister. I love this little girl so much and in so many different ways. I love her for all the things she has in common with her sister and I love her for all the many ways she's different. I thought I was blessed to have someone as sweet as Cadence, but I'm doubly blessed to have Megan thrown into the mix as well. Triple blessed, even, because watching them together, even with all the screaming and fighting, just melts my heart.