developments

I had been a little worried about Anna because she didn't talk much, but in recent weeks she has started to say a variety of new words and seems to understand much more than she can even say.

Her two most preferred words are by far my name, "Adn" and Epp's name, "Emme." But she has become better at saying my name -- I can now hear her say " 'ustin ", when I am around.

It's hard to know when Anna might say a new word. It will just happen after someone else says it, or she will be playing by herself and say it alone.

Most of her new words are Estonian words. Anna says "aitäh" very clearly, and says the words "papu" (shoe), "kuum" (hot), "õde" (sister), "auto" (car), and some names, like "Otto" and even "Oliver" (two boys in her pre-school). She knows most body parts in Estonian. In English, one word she recently started saying is "diaper." She also says "owf owf" for "dog" and "kss" for "kitty."

Anna is also very interested in new things. She points at things and wants to know what they are called. Most times she does not repeat, but if you mention them to her she will look at them or retrieve them. If you say "baby" to her, she will go pick up a baby, but she hasn't said the word "baby" yet, at least around me. And things happen when I am not around. The teacher said that she picks up the telephone and says "Hello", even though I haven't seen it.

When she plays, she is very equal to the other children. She likes to follow them and try to play along, even though she is so small. She even draws and paints with them. You can tell that she really likes to play. It's in these moments, where she is chasing Pärtel and Riinu, or Oliver and Otto, that she wants to feel like a big kid. You can just tell.

She seems more interested in books these days. She picks them up and spends time leafing through them, though it's hard to read to her because she is so busy pointing at different things to ask what they mean.

Anna is actually quite big for her age. She looks much older than she is. When she stands next to kids that are older, some of them even half a year or a year older, she is sometimes as tall and even more communicative and willing to interact with others. She is not scared of strangers like many kids. If she feels comfortable, she'll gladly let you hold her and carry her around.

One nice thing about Anna is that she loves to share. If she gets food, she'll walk right up to you and persistently stick it towards your mouth until you take a small bite or a sip of what she was drinking. Then she will smile -- happy that you ate some too -- and take a bite by herself.