Another Tiny Milestone

I've been trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to rememeber to talk "with" Calliope at bedtime about the day (Happiest Toddler On the Block recommends this, though I can't for the life of me remember why). I put "with" in quotes because mostly, I say things, or ask her questions, and she echoes the last word in each phrase.

But tonight, I said, "We had a nice day today! We went to the playground and who did we see?"

Normally she would echo, "see."

But instead, she paused, and then said thoughtfully, "Gack."

Another pause, "Ellie."

For the first time, she was able to recount something from the past when asked about it! For we did, indeed, see "Gack" (aka Jack) and Ellie at the playground this morning!

This is a milestone that that is small but significant to me -- the ability to tell me about things that happened in the past. Exciting!

(After the playground, we went to the shoe store so Eleanor could try on some new sandals. The girls were both smitten by the small upholstered Elmo chair at the shoe store. They could both just barely squeeze into it, but then discovered it was must more fun to try and squirm and wrestle the other one out of the chair. It was delicious to watch them collapse on top of each other, repeatedly, dissolving in gales of laughter. I'd say they were happy to be reunited after our month away from home.)