She Talks, and Talks, and Talks...

Hazel is now 23 months and talks non-stop. Seriously - all the time. Maybe she gets it from her Aunt Gabby:) We are always getting comments that she seems so much older because she knows so many words and signs. I would say that for the most part she knows the sign for every word she says and vice versa. She is actually talking much more than signing now, but will sometimes talk/sign at the same time. She knows that when we can't understand what she is saying to sign it too then we usually figure it out. She will even imitate finger spelling things like "park" and people's names. So cute! When she's talking, she routinely uses 3-5 word phrases. She's definitely a smart little thing! Here are some of the things she's said recently that make Mike and I look at eachother like "Where on earth did she learn that?"....

- The other day she told me "Hazel want peach shirt" when we were getting her dressed. Haha even I would have called it orange, but it was in fact peach colored.

- One that shocks other people is when she names different types of sports balls. Hazel loves sports so she knows how to say and sign the names of all the different sports balls - football, baseball, volleyball, soccer ball, etc. She will say things like "I want soccer ball" and "I like it baseball"

- Hazel also loves to sing and has some pretty clear songs. Her favorites are Once there was a Snowman, ABCs, Wheels on the Bus. We frequently hear her singing herself to sleep at night:) (She is also obsessed with the TV show Glee! We have a DVD of just the music which she would watch all day if we let her. Her favorite Glee song - Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" She sings "mamammamama, gagagagag, ohhhhh" It's cute!)

- The other day we were at the park and Hazel told me she had to go potty. Due to budget cuts in Colorado Springs all of the park bathrooms are closed. I really didn't want her to have an accident so I took her over to the bushes and had her pee there. She did and then informed me "Hazel pee in Kiara's potty!" (Kiara is our dog for those of you who don't know). I almost died laughing:)

- Hazel has learned to tell us when something is "hard" like trying to pick up something heavy or button something. Well, the other day she was trying to move a chair by herself and told me "chair tough!"

Mike and I feel so blessed to have Hazel. She honestly never ceases to amaze us with all that she does (but we also may be a tiny bit biased). More than anythings, she amazes us daily with her sweet spirit. Of course there are times she doesn't want to read scriptures or say prayers because she doesn't want to stop playing. But there have also been numerous times she has reminded us to do these things. We love you Hazel!