For a while now, we’ve been having full-on conversations with Maya. Typically they are observation-related … what did you eat today, who did you play with, what book are we going to read … stuff that requires more than a yes or no response but doesn’t necessarily warrant a full-on dialogue … yet often lately, it turns into that. Dinner-time is getting a lot more fun, that’s for sure!

Recently, she’s started volunteering information: singing songs from school in the back seat, unprompted. Telling us about what happened on the playground, without us asking. “Maya and Grayson runny runny outside.” Informing us who moved to the Red Room, out of nowhere (for the record, it was Owen and Ava). Recalling things like, “I go poop on the potty lastnight” (said as one word). Indeed you did, sweetie! Telling us what she likes and doesn’t like (although the other day she told me she didn’t like chicken and that’s a flat-out lie!). Or reminding us that we went to Jamaica on a big airplane and that Gamama and Pop live in New Jersey.

She’s also been demonstrating really sharp memory skills. For example, Luis ran a 5K last Sunday. Ever since, she’s been telling us — out of the blue — “Maya sad when Daddy go runny runny.” (Totally true–she cried when the race began because she must have worried he wasn’t coming back). And tonight I told her that we might be meeting friends for fro-yo tomorrow night and she looked thoughtful for a minute before saying, “I eat fro-yo with Santosh and Meena.”  — our friends we had fro-yo with more than a week ago!

The way her little mind is connecting people/places/things is just fascinating. I know this is just normal two-year-old growth and development — but it’s new to us, and, therefore, intriguing.

I know I say each stage is more fun than the next — but she is truly at a fun stage and it’s been great fun watching her blossom. Tonight we had her parent-teacher conference and it was great to hear how her teachers think she is doing. They reminded us she is telling everyone at school with absolute certainty that she’s having a sister … we shall see! 🙂

Someday, I hope she looks at these blog posts and smiles at her mom’s ridiculousness, but the truth is, I love documenting these memories! In the day-to-day rush, the little moments can get pushed to the recesses of our mind. I don’t want to ever look back and say, “Man I wish I remembered XYZ.”

So I write. And recall. And remember.

Someday, she’ll thank me.