Chatterbox

Lily is a little smarty-pants. She was sitting in her highchair eating lunch today, and she was getting full. She picked up a piece of meat and held it over the edge of the tray, just resting her arm there. I said, "Lily, please don't drop that on the floor," and she smiled and ate the piece of meat. Then she dropped a piece on the floor when she thought I wasn't looking, and I told her, "No, don't drop your food on the floor." She just giggled, like she usually does when she's told no. Then she picked up another piece of meat and dropped it over the edge really fast, like I wouldn't notice if she did it quickly. I said, "Lily, NO," emphatically. And she laughed and said, "I drop it." I said, "Yes, I know you dropped it, and now you're done with your lunch." What a cutie! She is figuring out how to test me, and it's really hard to be firm and say no, when she says "I drop it," just as clear as a bell. Sometimes I just have to laugh with her, I can't help it.
Most of the time when Lily talks, she repeats the ends of sentences when we are talking to her. So it's hard to tell if she knows the meaning of the words she is saying. This time it was pretty obvious! Which makes sense, because her bottle will often fall (or sometimes get dropped purposely) on the floor when she sits in her highchair to drink it. So I usually say something like, "Oh, you dropped it, here you go," as I hand it back to her. So it is logical that she understands these words.
It is really funny to hear words come out of Lily's mouth. She's still so tiny, and she's starting to talk! Of course it will be a long time before she's speaking coherently on a regular basis, but real words are coming out more and more often. Even when it's not real words, she's jabbering away, telling us all kinds of stories. She's quite the chatterbox lately.