Little Turkey

Our Ree is 16 months and in some ways is her usual self: observant, silly and happy.  But she's also growing into quite a character.  She spent November acting like a little turkey, showing her new skills and becoming more and more like a little person rather than a baby.

Ree loves to climb.  There is absolutely no area in home that she can't get to.  Usually, this means a good amount of premeditation: where the chair needs to be moved, how to maneuver exactly so... when the end goal is in sight, she is not easily distracted.

Currently, the end goal is almost always a marker, an open cup of milk left behind by sister, or a wallet.  I'm beginning to wonder if we will ever be able to keep markers in our house again.

Her very favorite treat of all is to climb up on the kitchen table and sip Mommy's coffee.  Most of the time, if she's gone silent for more than 2 minutes, I know where to find her: drinking my coffee.

Turkey Bird is also in the middle of a communication explosion.  It's not all verbal, but something clicked with her that she can tell us what she wants with select words (uh-uh, shish (shoes), aack (snack) and nulk (milk)), and with many hand motions, some of which are actual sign language and some are her own creation.  It's fun and often funny to watch her wheels turning as she figures out how to tell us what we need to know.

Reese is still our little mess.  She is usually covered in something sticky and then rolled in dirt, crumbs, or something similar.  She's a Breaded Turkey.  And in that same vein, her favorite toy is an apple.  She loves to tuck it under her arm, snack on it, throw it and retrieve it, and snack on it some more.

Our Turkey is also ridiculously observant and clever.  She knows where her diapers are kept and brings me a new one whenever she decides it is time to be changed.  She listens to our conversations and often acts on them as if we were talking to her.  One day, I told the older girls to get their shoes on and wait for me by the door.  Reese hopped up, ran to the shoe basket by the front door, grabbed shoes (not her size) and stood at the front door.

And my very favorite thing about Ree right now is the way she stands.  When she is waiting for her turn or when she is listening intently, she folds her hands together right on the small of her back.  It's melt-worthy.

We adore this little Turkey!

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