Leaps and Bounds

Wow.

We just experienced a ton of developmental changes in the span of a few days.  For those of you familiar with The Wonder Weeks, I wholeheartedly believe we just exited the 55-week developmental phase. 

Palmer has been fussing a bit in the middle of the night for the last few weeks, which is unusual because he is typically a good sleeper.  On Tuesday, Palmer woke up with a raging fever and napped for a whopping 5.5 hours during the day.  On Tuesday night, Palmer slept like a rock and slept in late.

When he awoke on Wednesday morning, he was a whole new boy.

What's new?

1.  Vocabulary:  Palmer is adding (or attempting) new words right and left.  He said the big one we've all I've been waiting for: Mama.  He also says: uh oh, oh wow, whoa, up, down, out, bubble, and tries to repeat a lot of things that I say.

2.  Comprehension: I can definitely tell Palmer understands a lot of what we are saying and doing now.  If I give him instructions (such as, "Palmer, will you go get that cup and put it on the table?") he usually follows thru.  It's so fun to talk thru our day knowing that he is actually grasping a good portion of the world.

3.  Communicating: Last night Palmer looked up at Rick and clearly said what sounded like, "out".  Rick was confused and said, "Out?"  Palmer repeated, "Out."  Rick said, "I don't understand.  Will you point with your finger?"  Palmer walked over to the window, pointed out the back door and said, "Out."  Palmer wanted to go outside and decided he was going to tell us his preference.  Although I'm sure we will soon tire of hearing what Palmer wants, it was amazing to have him clearly communicate with us.

WHAT'S FOR DINNER/BREAKFAST:
POTATO, KALE, ROSEMARY, ONION PIZZA:
Make this now!!  I made this pizza last night for dinner because we had onions, kale, and potatoes in the bin and rosemary in the garden.  It was so delish that I am seriously considering making it again tomorrow.  I substituted real potatoes instead of sweet potatoes because that's what was in the fridge.  I'm sure it's lovely with sweet potatoes, too, and come winter I can bet we'll have sweet potato, kale, rosemary, and onion pizza.

PIONEER WOMAN ICED COFFEE:  Aunt Samantha is staying with us for a few months (more about that in a future post) and she was trying to figure out a new morning coffee routine.  Some time ago, I saw a Pioneer Woman recipe for iced coffee and thought this might be the perfect opportunity to give it a shot.  Survey says: winner.  We both added almond milk and vanilla syrup.  My Starbucks baristas are going to miss me for a little while.

-Bethany