Just recently, Celie's started to talk in paragraphs that include multi-syllabus phrases that are most handy in our communication. Her intonation is what makes them special--each is spoken with such enthusiasm, so as to sound more like a joyful discovery than a mere response:
When unable to answer one of Daddy's questions: "I don't know!" (usually with hands up and shoulders shrugged.)
After Mommy suggests its time to get out of the tub: "Noooo...stay in bath!"And our favorite, just about any time and out of the blue: "Love! Love! Love!"
For me, however, the most amazing part of this new stringing-together of words what it reveals about her perception of the world around us. With everything so new, she is open, receptive, and unabashed about the things that strike her fancy and captivate her imagination. Who knew, for instance, that so many people own a "Yellow Car!" ?? And yet each time we travel, Celie never fails to find at least one on each stretch of road, making an otherwise ordinary drive more colorful. 
And so I learn from Celie each day. Like so many adults, no matter how I fight it, I'm often consumed with the daily grind of getting things done. I forget to stop and search for the simple and sometimes odd beauty that exists everywhere. And yet through her eyes, both the details of life and their associations are magnified: a stop light becomes a "Red Ball!" and words like "Happy Bubbles!" transform soap suds into extraordinary harbingers of joy.
Perhaps it shouldn't come as any surprise, then, that just last night Celie was able to so quickly identify Waldo in 4 of the 6 incredibly complex scenes we studied (a feat that still leaves me shocked and astonished, sure my child is a genius!) While I wandered the page aimlessly, just hoping to stumble upon the figure by chance, Celie by contrast, was completely tuned into the task. As I watched her blue eyes scan the picture, it was clear that some concentrated powers of observation were at work, until finally she shouted..."There he is!"
