Skunks and Jelly Beans

What a busy month it's been! I finished my summer class with an A (what a ride!), so I've been spending time with my sweet baby girl. She is such a bright light in my life, always so happy and sweet. She is picking up so much now! Last week, she was playing with her building blocks and clear as day, she said, "A!". I looked, and sure enough, her block had a big 'a' on it. I figured it was pure coincidence, and that she was probably referring to the train on the block instead of the 'a'. It sounds like train, right? Then, when J got her out of bed the next morning, she said again, clear as day, "A!", but this time, she pointed to the 'a' in Army, which was written across his shirt (he had just returned home from P.T.). So, she definitely knows 'a'. I thought that now would be a good time to start working on the alphabet with her. My favorite card is the 's' card, with a picture of a skunk on it. Every time she sees it, Zee says, "Kitty!" It reminds me of Looney Tunes, where the skunk falls in love with the painted cat. I always tell her that it's a skunk, not a kitty, then she says, "'kunk!". She's just so excited to learn.

My mother-in-law just sent me a link to an article about how toddlers learn vocabulary so quickly. Basically, they learn in a bell-shaped curve. Their vocabulary just explodes at a certain point, then it slows. According to the article, they learn words in a way analogous to a jelly bean jar. Every time you speak a word to your child, from the time she's born, it's like dropping a jelly bean into a jar. Each word has its own jar, and it needs a certain amount of jelly beans in order to be full (which means the word is now in the child's vocabulary for good). So, some words only need to be repeated, say, 100 times, while more difficult words need to be repeated much more, because the "jar" is larger and needs more jelly beans (aka repetitions). Pretty interesting, isn't it? So now I'm making an effort to expand Zee's vocabulary, which, by the way, is already great for her age level. She's a very bright little girl who loves learning, so it'll be fun to teach her new words!

Fall semester starts up again in two weeks. I'm very nervous to start this semester, and I don't know why. Perhaps because the work load is going to be heavy. I'm having a hard time reconciling school and motherhood, but most days, I feel so very capable. I just ache when I leave Zee, and when I think about the toll it's taking on her. I know that I need to finish this path within a specified period (thanks to the oh-so-wonderful military who thought it was a good idea to put a 10 year limit on the Montgomery G.I. Bill). If I work hard, I'll have my degree finished by December 2009. I think I'll be taking some time off in between then, so it will probably take a few more semesters. Hopefully there will be another baby coming soon! I took a year off after I had Zee, and it was wonderful. But I also do love getting out of the house. I love school so much, so I really do consider it "me time". I feel selfish. But it's something I need to do for myself, for Zee, and for our family.

One word of thanks to God. He really does provide. I was worried about not being able to go to school this semester for several reasons, and he has seen to it that I will be able to go. Thanks to my grandmother as well, who has given me a "love grant" (like that term I just made up?) of $1000 towards tuition. I would gladly pay back the money, but she is happy to help fund my education. How awesome is that?! I am blessed.