Fall Fun with Judith

Aunt Karen and Uncle John here again with a belated update after our recent visit with Judith. What a wonderful time we had with our beautiful little niece! She gets cuter and smarter every day. Although we wish we could see her more often, living so far apart does give us the opportunity to see the remarkable changes taking place as she gets older.

Judith’s communication skills amaze us – she can now clearly articulate what she wants, whether it’s soup from someone else’s bowl, a specific toy or time to play on the stairs. Ginny only had to be brought in a few times for her special translation skills.

What’s even more striking is how well Judith listens and how much she picks up – especially when the conversation concerns things she likes. We quickly adopted Robert and Ginny’s habit of spelling out words they don’t want her to hear – a must when discussing such important topics as C-A-K-E, I-C-E C-R-E-A-M, J-U-I-C-E, etc.

One of Judith’s favorite places to go is the P-A-R-K. At the mere mention of the word, she perks up, runs to grab her shoes and starts pulling the nearest adult toward the door. While we tried to visit our neighborhood park several times during her visit, we had to be careful about mentioning the word when an outing wasn’t possible. A major traumatic experience ensues otherwise!

One slipup came when Judith rode a Metra train with Aunt Karen and Grandma. As the end of the trip neared, we unthinkingly mentioned the name of our stop: Hanover Park. That was all Judith needed to hear after a long day of traveling, and she immediately began a little chant of “Going PARK, Going PARK, Going PARK…” Oops! You can never be too careful when talking in front of a sharp toddler like Judith! Thankfully, she was pretty worn out and forgot about the supposed offer of a park trip before long.

We also quickly learned that Judith has a great knack for repeating phrases she hears. Uncle John was happy to teach her some jazz musician lingo, and she was quickly saying “Hey Man” and “I Dig” to great admiration from all.

Unfortunately, Judith’s tendency to repeat things can also happen at less-than-ideal moments. At one point during the visit, Uncle John exclaimed, “Oh come on!” in response to some kitchen disaster. Judith immediately began saying “Oh come on!” Oops again!

As Uncle John noted,

“Toddlers are like little parrots!”

While this was incredibly adorable, we can’t imagine her parents were too thrilled about her picking up this new phrase. Note to self: spell everything when Judith’s around!

Sadly, our visit with Judith and Ginny was over almost before it began. We hated to see them go and can’t wait to see what new feat of learning Judith has accomplished by the next time we see her! What a B-L-E-S-S-I-N-G and a J-O-Y!