Trouble

Molly Jo Jo has a fever.

We knew something must be wrong when she slept until 7:30 in the morning. She is usually rising and shining by 6 a.m. at the latest.

Is it wrong to enjoy it when your kids are sick and you haven't given them Motrin yet? It's the only time I can get a good snuggle in.

Even though she was burning up with a fever and just desperately wanted to nurse, I showed no mercy and made her "say the word" before I gave her milk. We have been trying like mad for the last month to get her to repeat words for us, but she is either a) stubborn or b) actually has a speech problem. When I make her ask for milk, she usually purses her lips and stares at me like LADY. SERIOUSLY. ARE YOU FEEBLE? If I still feign ignorance of what she is doing plunging her hands down my neckline, she will irritably, reluctantly, say some form of the word "milk." Whether it comes out "moo" or "DA!" or "dortle-dortle," seems to make not a whit of difference to her. She literally opens her mouth and pushes out whatever syllable happens to be there: "blehhhhhhhhhhh."

I have been avoiding looking at Frankie's baby book to see what she was saying at almost seventeen months.

On the other hand, Molly is far more physically advanced than Frankie was. She scribbles well (on walls and carpet), puts on her own orange Crocs (and mom's and dad's and Frankie's), decorates herself with all my jewelry, and often I find her standing on the arm of the futon getting ready to jump. She certainly understands everything you say. Don't even whisper the word treat within a fifty-mile radius or you will find her sprinting toward the pantry trying to climb up the shelves. The other day when my parents asked Frankie if she would like to come over for a while, Molly's ears perked right up and before anyone knew it, she had climbed into her car seat and was busy attempting to buckle herself in.

The kid knows what's going on. So why won't she talk about it?