Copy Cat

After a week of questioning whether or not this "mom" thing was all it was cracked up to be (sick baby, sick me), we have had the best past couple of days. I forgot how much fun and how smart Penny is. It will never cease to amaze me how smart babies are and how quickly they learn new things. Every time she learns a new "trick," she will be so proud of herself. I will say "yaaaaaaay Reagan!" and she will just grin from ear to ear, clap her hands, and squeal. Why can't I be this amazed when I do something as simple as standing up for a few seconds without falling? Haha, I have a lot to learn. Maybe I'll go put in yet another load of laundry and then take a few moments to congratulate myself by clapping?
Anyway, lately, Reagan's favorite thing has been "copying" whatever we say or do. Her favorites are waving, clapping, dancing (the usuals), but lately she has started to repeat what we say. We are currently learning what sounds animals make and she thinks it's hilarious to listen to me do the sounds and then impersonate me. Our current favorite is a bird "cheep cheep!" and a cow "moooooooo." Something SO FUNNY about those two sounds, apparently. The only one she has down so far is a dog. She claims they say "whoo, whoo" which is totally fine by me because even I can't keep straight what they are saying these days. Bark? Woof? Ruff? Bow-wow...seriously? Bow-wow? (anyone catch the Brian Regan reference?)
Today, we were driving home from running errands and to keep her happy in the car, I was saying "I love you" over and over to her and what do you know? She said it right back! My jaw dropped. Her version was slightly imperfect in pronunciation but perfect in everything else: "yai yuh yoo!" I kept saying it over and over just to be told that I was loved over and over. I was amazed - it was truly a defining moment in my short life as a mom. No, she probably doesn't understand what it means just yet, but hearing those words come out of her mouth was the sweetest sound I have ever heard. I wished that I had some way of recording it. I'll work on that.
Jason has had fun with her new "copycat-ing" and likes to make her say "da-da" in a big manly, robust voice over and over. I wish that I had video of both of them doing this today because Jason was even funnier to watch. He was standing there and would throw a fist up in the air and say (or rather, growl, as you will hear) "DA-DA!" and she would say it back, hand motions and all. This isn't the best video because I always end up remembering that I should record these moments too late but it's still pretty funny. OH, and I apologize for Jason saying "oh...she's pooping" about halfway through the video. It's actually probably the most amusing part of the video but, just do me a favor and ignore that part. Not one of her most "lady-like" moments. HOWEVER, it is a moment that is to be rejoiced in our house because it doesn't happen often enough...my poor, sweet, irregular little girl. Enjoy.

Jason apologizes for his scary voice. You may want to turn your volume down.